Despite being one of the best fast bowlers in the world, Josh Hazlewood was left out of the Test team in four straight matches last year and Australia should consider doing the same with Mitchell Starc in India.
And Hazlewood may not be the answer either with Scott Boland and even Lance Morris potentially better options to partner Pat Cummins with the new ball.
Australia have traditionally erred on the conservative side in team selections and it is likely they will do the same again when the first Test in Nagpur gets underway next week.
Starc is out of action due to the finger injury he suffered during the Boxing Day Test win over South Africa so it is likely that Hazlewood will start the series alongside Cummins.
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“It’s on track, still a couple of weeks in the splint and then head over, probably meet the guys in Delhi after hopefully a first Test match win and get myself into training over there,” said Starc at the AB Medal presentation earlier this week.
Mitchell Starc of Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
And coach Andrew McDonald basically showed Australia’s hand by saying that Starc would likely come straight back for the second Test in Delhi on February 17.
“When he does get out of the splint all his workloads are going to be up to speed and it will be pretty much into that second Test, which is good news to us.”
But is it a better option to roll the dice with Boland in one of the first two Tests and if the losses start mounting, go all in with Morris in the hope that his blistering speed through the air will breach the Indian batters’ defences.
Morris has also proved to be a strong exponent at Shield level of reverse swing so that could also give him a better than remote chance of getting his first baggy green cap later in the series.
Former Test seamer Trent Copeland told The Roar in a recent interview that after watching Boland for many years at Shield level, he can succeed “in all conditions”.
| Player | All Tests | In Asia | In India | Vs India |
| Pat Cummins | 214 wickets at 21.25 | 28 at 28.78 | 8 at 30.25 | 43 at 24.46 |
| Josh Hazlewood | 222 at 25.83 | 16 at 39.18 | 9 at 32.77 | 23 at 31.21 |
| Mitchell Starc | 304 at 27.26 | 50 at 29 | 7 at 50.14 | 42 at 37.38 |
| Scott Boland | 28 at 12.21 | Has not played | Has not played | Has not played |
| Lance Morris | 59 (first-class wickets) at 25.08 | Has not played | Has not played | Has not played |
| Cameron Green | 23 at 29.78 | 3 at 63.66 | Has not played | 0-118 from 44 overs |
| Nathan Lyon | 460 at 31.65 | 118 at 32.38 | 34 at 30.58 | 94 at 34.75 |
| Mitchell Swepson | 10 at 45.8 | 10 at 45.8 | Has not played | Has not played |
| Ashton Agar | 9 at 52 | 7 at 23.14 | Has not played | Has not played |
| Todd Murphy | 29 (first-class wickets) at 25.2 | Has not played | Has not played | Has not played |
His off-cutters to right-hand batters, which therefore move away from lefties, have been finding edges and front pads for many seasons.
India’s record on home soil over the past 12 years is an incredible 39 wins from 51 Tests with just four losses.
Two of those defeats came in 2012 when Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann spun England to glory with James Anderson and Steven Finn backing them up.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
The other two were Steve O’Keefe’s 12-wicket match at Pune in 2017 and Jack Leach leading the English attack with six scalps in a 227-run triumph at Chennai two years ago.
If history is any guide, the success of left-arm orthodox tweakers like Panesar, O’Keefe and Leach shows why the Australian selectors have been keen to get Agar back in the Test XI.
Finn was a tall right-armer who banged the ball into the wicket hard, similar to Boland, and when Australia won 2-1 in 2004, their last series triumph in India, Jason Gillespie was the leading wicket-taker for the tourists with 20.
Boland is very similar to Gillespie in the way he extracts seam from even the most unfriendly surfaces.
While he is yet to play Test cricket in India, there is also the not insignificant matter of Boland’s bowling average is still one of the best of all time at 12.21 after taking 28 wickets in his six matches.
Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The case against Hazlewood is the same reason he was omitted from the last two matches on the Pakistan tour and both games in Sri Lanka last year – he struggles in Asian conditions.
In his last six innings on the continent, he has taken just one wicket while conceding 168 runs from a combined 81.1 overs. He remains ultra economical but struggles to make breakthroughs.
The case for Starc, when he’s back to full fitness, is much stronger but not as air-tight as you might think.
While his record in Asia overall is impressive for a fast bowler with 50 wickets from 15 Tests at 29 runs per scalp, he struggled in India when the Australians last toured in 2017.
Starc managed just seven wickets in the four Tests, with an average of 50.14 and a strike rate of a victim every 86.1 deliveries. The only country where he has a worse record is the UAE where he’s taken six wickets at 53.16 and a strike rate of 100 from three matches.
His Asian record is saved by his returns in Sri Lanka where he has 29 wickets at 17.48.
Starc does offer the added advantages of being a left-armer which not only adds variation to the attack but provides extra footmarks for the spinners.
Cummins’ position shouldn’t be brought into question, as it has been in the white-ball squads from time to time – he not only has a decent return from his only trip to India six years ago (eight wickets in two Tests at 30.25) but he has troubled their batters more than pretty much every opponent in recent years.
He has bagged 35 wickets in eight Tests in Australia and has been successful home and away in removing their first drop mainstay, Cheteshwar Pujara, seven times in 10 matches. Only Anderson (12 times in 24 matches) and Nathan Lyon (10 in 18) have dismissed the prolific 98-Test veteran on more occasions.
The Australian skipper has also sent Virat Kohli packing five times in six Tests – every other bowler who has dismissed him that many times has needed at least 16 matches.
Clear as mud
Guest
i like your classification. ok with Haddin I mean "not automatically recalled". although he did consider himself dropped when wade was preferred in 2012-13. and Marsh confirmed he was dropped after the missed test in 2015? i presume him missing the tests in england and India in 2010 was the famous people's elbow? it's a long long time ago --- the wave of NSW longstayers began in 2010. all have served australia well. I would have dropped Strarc along the way (they did drop him in 2019 Ashes); and Warner. Haze hanging on by a thread IMHO. Khawaja a type 2-er who was repeatedly dropped. but generally this investment in a flush of talented youth has served us well. others have been tried and rejected - Maddinson. Michael Clarke was dropped. Steve O'Keefe rejected. i'm not sure what any of this means. notwithstanding MoHen's bizarre recall for Sri Lanka in 2016
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
Clarification: Nevill didn't play in the Test when Haddin was n/a, he was called into the squad.
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
Muddy, Ahh yes, Peter Nevill. Remember him well. Born & raised in Victoria where he had his path to #1 keeper blocked by the ex Tassie Matt Wade, he departed to Sinney. [Note: This makes him a Level 3 Blue. Level 1's are born, bred & current NSW players. eg Smith, Warner & Waughs. Level 2's are the same as 1's except that they've fled the place. eg Gilchrist, Khawaja]. Nevill was nowhere near the historical standard of Oz keepers, he being the result of the Gilchrist Effect where batting was more important than keeping. That renowned judge of a player (and briefly a Test selector) M Waugh declared that Nevill was, "good enough to bat at #6 in Tests". Perhaps he should have batted there more than the once that he did in his 23 innings as his career average, mostly at #7, was 22.3. And at the blockers' S/R of 40.7. His career also featured a dazzling piece of NSWism when he filled in a Test for the unavailable incumbent. Yep, his State teammate BJ Haddin. Strangely, the deafening squeals that Nevill, "Wasn't even his State's #1 keeper!" which ruined eardrums in 'our' media when Healy was plucked for the BG were inexplicably absent. Haddin: You claim that he was "multiply dropped". You sure about that? I thought the only Tests he missed were due to "personal reasons".
Clear as mud
Guest
Peter Nevill Who himself took over from the multiply dropped Haddin
Perthstayer
Roar Rookie
Wow. 6-9 months ago several commentators/writers were saying Australia has possibly its best combined fast bowling unit in decades. Has it really gone to crap do quickly??
Clear as mud
Guest
Haze got a 6-for on a minefield and then was just steady We don’t need steady when we have Cummins and Boland, who contain but probably threaten more
Ace
Roar Rookie
A shame Rowdy..all that spin is a turn off. As long as it doesn't cause a leg to break as you rotate
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Tests too. Lots of times both Marsh boys were doing well when injury intervened...moreso than when a trough of form was the problem.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Doesn't that cast some anomaly of some sort?
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
I think there is some sort asterix attached to the D/N Tests. Nope. But a few clicks on Statsguru gives Starc the following bowling averages. D/N 18.2..... Day 29.6.... Combined 27.3.
JamesH
Roar Guru
Certainly the Marsh's white ball careers could have looked very different if they had not been limited by injury. They both would have played a lot more ODIs, particularly Shaun. He had a period where he was performing really well in that format for Australia but kept hurting his back and hamstrings. Richardson is an endless source of frustration. With his talent he could have been pressuring the existing test trio for a spot in the side by now. Instead we're all just waiting for him to be able to play cricket for an extended period. I'm crossing my fingers he doesn't become just another 'what if' story. Starc and Boland are 33, Hazlewood and Neser 32. There won't be a better time for Richardson to string together 12 months of strong, healthy cricket.
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
Is anyone thinking of winning chance in India for Aus? Latest series odds: India 1.65, Oz 3.75, Draw 5.0.
Chanon
Roar Rookie
My motto ‘crazy is that crazy does’
Chanon
Roar Rookie
They need to give Boland a bowl once again he’s been left out due to ill conceived ideas. I would go for broke & drop Warner & promote our wicketkeeper to opener & have 5 bowlers in the 11. Crazy idea but only thinking outside the box will rattle India on home soil.
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
lol! Good one...
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Not without thinking of Dusty Springfield's "Wishing, and hoping, and a praying...."
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
I think there is some sort asterix attached to the D/N Tests.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
We ain't a patch on that. We have a bowling captain who makes poor bowling changes We have a fast bowler who can go for a taxi fare We have a v good bowler who is susceptible to strains And we have a bowler who will do very well in all conditions. ---------- In entirely other news l know who'll get left out.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Perhaps it was a mythconception?
tim
Guest
Actually, you couldn't be more wrong. I had a bunch of dental work done in India a few years ago, in a clinic that would put most dental establishments in either Australia or the USA (where I currently live) to shame. My first visit, I had a full clean and small fillings to two front teeth for about $85. On a second visit, a few days later, I had an implant put in and two zircon crowns - total cost $900! The dentist was brilliant, very down to earth and professional - he wasn't happy with one of the crowns, and at his own expense had a second mold taken and another crown ordered in. Because I was running late to get to the airport for my return flight home, he even arranged for the taxi to get me there - it was waiting outside as I settled my bill. So don't be too quick to judge due to misconceptions about standards in a place like India. Go to a good dentist in a major city like Delhi, and the quality of the work is excellent at a fraction of the cost in Australia. They're also very honest in a way that isn't common in a place like the USA, where dentists will milk you for every dollar they can make. I had extensive work done to my teeth a couple of years before I went to India, yet only a couple of months before the trip I went in for a checkup and was told I needed four fillings. I was disappointed, coming so soon after the other work had been done. Yet when I went to India, I consulted two separate dentists, and both of them said the same thing when they looked at my teeth - I only needed the two fillings I eventually received at the front, while the the other teeth mentioned by my american dentist were fine. Having looked at all four teeth, each of them picked exactly the same teeth that needed work, and the same two teeth that were fine. That told me all I needed to know that the American dentist had wanted to do unnecessary work for the sake of a buck. That's more or less like a doctor operating on someone for something they don't need.