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Opinion
This is Australia’s best Test team since the 2006-07 changing of the guard.
We spend a lot of time analysing the weaknesses of opponents and the advantages of playing at home but it’s time to give this current squad its due – they are the most dominant Test team on the planet and better than any XI that Australia have dished up since Shane Warner, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer retired at the SCG at the start of 2007.
There is no weak link in this side, anywhere, particularly now that David Warner has ended his run of outs.
From the openers to the middle order, the long sought-after genuine all-rounder, wicketkeeper, spinner and pace attack, it’s class all round.
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There are two gaps in the resume before this side can rank alongside the very best Australian squads in history – they have to conquer India in February-March and win the World Test Championship final in June.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Even when injuries strike, they have the luxury of bringing in the likes of Scott Boland, who would be an automatic starter in most Test XIs on the planet, while the likes of Michael Neser, Peter Handscomb, Mitchell Swepson, Ashton Agar, Matt Renshaw, Marcus Harris are champing at the bit for another crack at Test cricket.
And then there’s the Wild Thing up the sleeve in Lance Morris. Did you see the vision of him bowling to Victorian left-hander Ashley Chandresinghe?
Whoa, mumma. That’s some serious heat pinging into the nets.
Ultra speed doesn’t always translate into success but Morris is well worth a try in next week’s SCG Test and it’s encouraging to hear coach Andrew McDonald indicate that he’d like to give him a run to while Mitchell Starc rehabilitates his finger injury even though the conservative option would be to roll with Josh Hazlewood and Boland alongside Pat Cummins to form the pace attack.
In the era under the captaincy of Tim Paine and Cummins since Steve Smith and Warner returned in 2019 from their ball-tampering bans, Australia have won 18, lost just five and drawn eight of their 31 Tests.
It’s a much better record than at any stretch during the latter stages of Ricky Ponting’s time as skipper or when Michael Clarke and Smith were handed the captaincy.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
The majority of this current line-up are either smack bang in the meaty peak of their careers like Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head, Cummins or experienced campaigners who are still world-class like Hazlewood, Starc, Nathan Lyon, Smith and Usman Khawaja.
An unfortunate aspect of Test cricket as we approach 2023 is that there are few teams worldwide who can challenge Australia, particularly on home soil.
Realistically, now that South Africa have fallen well back in the pack due to their dearth of batters capable of building a decent innings let alone a good one, the only team that would start anywhere near an even-money bet to win a series in Australia is India.
The Bazball-revived England side could do so in a couple of years but they have lost a combined 13 of their past 15 matches Down Under.
India are up to second in the World Test Championship standings and will likely be Australia’s opponents at The Oval in June but they have not been as impressive in the past year or so compared to the team which mastered Australia 2-1 in 2020-21 even when Virat Kohli was absent for the final two Tests.
They will of course be a more formidable on their own pitches for the four-Test series which starts in February and now that Australia have wrapped up the series over the Proteas, they’d be mad not to try a second spinner at the SCG in the third match next week.
Sydney used to be a spinner’s haven but has favoured batters first, seamers second and spinners third over the past decade or more.
But this summer it has been dry and turning – if you believe Nic Maddinson’s assessment after the BBL match on Wednesday night, it’s going to be tough going for the batters.
Travis Head of Australia is congratulated by teammates after running out Khaya Zondo. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Whether it’s Agar, Swepson or Victorian bolter Todd Murphy, the selectors should be giving their preferred second tweaker a trundle to give them a warm-up before the trip to India.
This team is so close to being one of the best of all time. Nothing can be left to chance with two major hurdles on the horizon.
And then after the India tour and World Test Championship final there’s the small matter of the Ashes.
They have not won a series in England since 2001 but even accounting for the Bazball renaissance, they should be favourites to not only retain the urn but win next year’s contest and doing that would put them up there with the truly great Australian teams.