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Pat Cummins has admitted David Warner is no guarantee to be selected for the fourth Ashes Test, conceding that Mitch Marsh will be incredibly hard to leave out at Old Trafford.
Warner’s spot at the top of Australia’s order is again under the microscope, after he was dismissed twice by Stuart Broad in seven balls in Australia’s three-wicket loss at Headingley on Sunday.
Already planning to retire in January, Warner has made plenty of starts in the past month but is yet to make the kind of big score that would secure his spot long term.
The other factor in Warner’s selection is the squeeze on Marsh ,with Cameron Green expected to be fit to return for the next Test on July 19 after missing Headingley with a hamstring strain.
Playing in his first Test in almost four years in place of Green, Marsh scored 118 in a crucial day-one knock and was then reliable with the ball.
Green edged closer to full fitness on Sunday, bowling for close to 20 minutes in the morning before acting as a substitute fielder in the first session and having another light bowl at lunch.
It means Australia’s selectors must make the tough call to pick between Marsh and Green for the next Test, unless one was moved to the top of the order and Warner was displaced.
Asked if it was possible Marsh could be retained for Old Trafford in place of Warner, Cummins said it was not out of the question.
“You keep all options open,” Cummins said. “We’ve got nine or 10 days now, so we’ll take a deep breath. We’ll go away for a few days.
“But everyone comes back into it. Greeny should be fit for Manchester. Josh (Hazlewood) will be back in there as well.
Stuart Broad celebrates dismissing David Warner. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
“So we should have a full roster and we’ll have a look at the wicket and have a chat and work out the best XI.”
Then asked if it was even possible to leave Marsh out at Manchester after his performances in Leeds, Cummins indicated it would be incredibly difficult.
“Yeah, it’s possible but, I mean, it was a pretty impressive week, wasn’t it?” Cummins said.
Warner’s scores of four and one at Headingley took his series average to 23.5, while he has now been dismissed by Broad 17 times in Test cricket.
The other selection decision for Australia will be what to do with their fast-bowling attack, with Cummins still keen to play all six Tests and Mitchell Starc a lock after a fourth-innings 5-78.
Scott Boland could therefore find himself under pressure after going wicketless at Headingley, with a fresh Hazlewood ready to return.
Australia maintain Todd Murphy can still play a big role in trying to retain the Ashes, after the offspinner was limited to just two overs in England’s fourth innings at Headingley.
Playing his first Test as Australia’s sole tweaker, Murphy went virtually unbowled on Sunday by Cummins as the hosts chased down 251 in precisely 50 overs.
The 22-year-old was handed the ball for the final over before lunch on day four, before gaining one other single over when England needed 30 for victory. The lack of use of Murphy came with Australia playing their first Test without chief spinner Nathan Lyon in almost 10 years, after a calf tear ruled the veteran out of the series.
“It was mainly just conditions-based,” Cummins said. “Didn’t quite spin as much as we thought it would. And probably didn’t bowl as many overs as we thought we would as well.
“We bowled under 60 both innings. I would have liked to get Toddy into the game a bit more. But I’m sure (the fourth Test in) Manchester will be a bit more spin-friendly.”
Murphy took 1-36 in 7.3 overs in the first innings, getting the wicket of Ben Stokes after being hit for three sixes on the extremely short straight boundary.
Cummins also defended the decision to have up to seven men on the boundary at times with less than 50 runs to win in the fourth innings.
England were six wickets down at the time and their tail on the brink of being exposed.
“I’ll have another look at it and see if there’s anything we might do differently,” Cummins said.
“I still felt like with the ball, there was a little bit in there.
“So we were happy to give away a single but still felt like we left our catchers in, the two or three slips where you felt like you were going to take your wickets anyway.
“Overall, I thought we handled it not bad. You might look at a few different ways to go about it, but I felt like we made some decent decisions out there.”
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