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Opinion
What a debut Michael Neser had!
He scored 35 and three (albeit batting at the unfamiliar number three position), took two wickets at a low economy rate and he was good in the field.
For years Neser has been the nearly man of Australian cricket, willing and ready to play whenever he has been given the opportunity.
A regular in the Australian Test squad since 2018, Neser has always been there or thereabouts for a debut.
What has hurt him has been the perception that express pace is a better bet on flat Australian decks.
Despite this perception, Neser’s record of 236 wickets at 24.47 in the Sheffield Shield speaks for itself.
For a medium-fast bowler to achieve this level of success on wickets that are seemingly flat indicates that he is deserving of his spot and that the selectors are wrong to suggest that express pace is the best way to take wickets in Australia.
(Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
Chadd Sayers would tend to agree. One of Neser’s key attributes is his ability to bowl a stump-to-stump line and make the batsman play, and he is also very skilful with the new ball.
My problem is not with Neser. My problem is with the perception that Neser and those like him are not good enough.
In the case of Neser in particular, when there have been a few opportunities to step in.
Or when there has been an obvious need to rest one or two fast bowlers (like at the end of the India series last year), the selectors have drafted in someone else (usually James Pattinson, who had by then recovered from an injury) or overlooked him for another quick in the squad.
Pre-COVID, that was fine. Neser could simply go back and play for his state PR Big Bash League franchise and take wickets or score runs.
But when cricketers live in COVID bubbles, that experience is not available to them.
It is understandable that there needs to be some people who stick around the squad to run drinks and provide support, but Michael Neser became almost a permanent 12th man.
Indeed, had Pat Cummins not been ruled out of the Test, it is questionable whether Neser would have even made his Test debut in this series.
Neser is 31 and has spent the best part of his best years running drinks as part of the Test squad.
There is every chance that Neser may only have another three to four years left in him to play Shield cricket.
Choosing someone who is persistently overlooked when the rarest of opportunities arise does little for them or for their career.
Neser has been helped by being able to work with the Australian bowling coach, and that has no doubt impacted his bowling.
However, there seems to be little else that he has gained from the experience.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
So, what can be done about this? Firstly, player rotation, particularly on away tours, should be a priority.
On a tour to India or England, if more players can get experience playing in those conditions, that can only be a good thing for the team as a whole.
Secondly, developing a squad mentality is crucial to helping players develop.
Knowing that at any moment you could be called upon to debut for your country in any situation, not just as a like-for-like replacement, will prepare any member of the squad for their debut.
Finally, if there is a next man up who has had the experience of Michael Neser, who has been around the squad for several tours and who has done it all, then that person ought to be the very next man called up.
One problem with Jhye Richardson’s selection is that he was not really a like-for-like replacement for Josh Hazlewood, and he was elevated over a man who had done his time in and around the team.
Richardson is an excellent bowler who is six years younger than Neser. He has a dollop of extra pace that Neser does not possess.
Surely squad incumbency and consistency over ten years of first-class cricket should count for something?
Neser is not the only first example and he will not be the last.
However, this is an area that should be looked at by all countries all over the world so that the best players – the most experienced players – are given the chance to play for their countries and not just kept as squad members.
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