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The legend of Michael Neser has grown so much that the worst thing for the narrative around the continually overlooked Queenslander could be that he gets picked for the fifth Ashes Test.
With each passing match as Australia’s notoriously conservative selectors take other options, the mystery around what Neser could have delivered in England has snowballed.
With the pace trio of captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood looking tired at the end of an arduous campaign and the dual all-rounder strategy of Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh lacking impact with the ball at Old Trafford, there is almost certain to be a change in approach for the series finale when it begins on Thursday.
Young off-spinner Todd Murphy appears a strong chance to be recalled after the Aussies adopted a safety-first approach by playing Green and Marsh to shorten their shaky lower order.
Scott Boland is unlikely to return to the XI after he struggled to make breakthroughs in his two Ashes Tests in England so the door could be open for Neser to wear the baggy green cap for just the third time.
Michael Neser. (Photo by Peter Mundy/Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
After taking a hat-trick and belting a couple of centuries for Glamorgan on the county circuit, the chorus of calls for his inclusion has become hard to ignore.
“Everyone’s on the table, every selection and Michael knows that,” said coach Andrew McDonald, one of the three national selectors. “He was under serious consideration (at Old Trafford) and Leeds also. You’re always balancing those who are up and running in the series versus freshness.
“The media at times has critiqued the fact that players haven’t played for a certain amount of time and now we’re talking about players coming in fresh, so it’s a great advancement,” he added with a smirk.
Neser seems similar to England seamer Chris Woakes in that his ability to make the most of conditions in the UK while also strengthening the tail with reliable runs.
The 33-year-old has played just two day-night Tests in Adelaide for a combined 7-116 but seems to be hampered by a reputation of being a Gabba specialist who doesn’t dominate as much at less seam friendly venues in the Sheffield Shield arena.
Being brought in for the last Ashes Test at The Oval has been a blessing and a curse for Australian cricketers over the years.
Justin Langer made a memorable century there in 2001 when he was given a chance to try opening when Michael Slater was dropped while all-rounders Shaun Young (1997) and James Faulkner (2013) played what turned out to be their only ever Tests at the venue.
David Warner departs in Manchester. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
The other main contentious selection for Australia is at the top of the order where David Warner again failed to amass a big score in Manchester with starts of 32 and 28.
At least he didn’t get dismissed by Stuart Broad this time with Woakes doing the trick by inducing an edge in each innings, firstly into Jonny Bairstow’s gloves and then onto the stumps.
With the Ashes urn retained, there’s an argument to be made that the selectors no longer have to persist with the supposedly safer option of Warner and back-up opener Marcus Harris could get a run.
But the opposite viewpoint is that Warner has done enough over his storied career to earn the right to retire on his own terms, or at the very least, shown enough encouraging signs in England despite posting just one half-century that he deserves to be retained.
The selectors have been continually reluctant to put pressure on Warner and the Australian camp has been staunch in their defence of the 36-year-old left-hander so it would be a shock for him to be left out at The Oval.
“He got a couple of starts and looked good at periods of time and didn’t quite capitalise,” said McDonald. “I’m a big believer that if you can get those 20s and 30s then a big score will be just around the corner.
“There’s no doubt he’ll be disappointed in that. Zak Crawley rode his luck at certain times and put immense pressure on us. Dave’s been able to do that over time and I truly believe that there is an innings there still.”
McDonald would not concede they got it wrong by playing the two all-rounders ahead of Murphy in Manchester and claimed the result was not necessarily a fait accompli when rain ended play early even though England appeared to have a stranglehold on the contest.
“It was a disappointing three days or so. We’re not going to shy away from that and we own that. England put immense pressure on us, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.
“This team has played some great cricket over the past 18 months so to judge us on three days would be harsh.
“We didn’t see spin play a major part within the game. Whether we should have played a spinner or not, we’ll probably never know the answer to that. Going into the game we felt as though we picked the right team for the right moment and we left a few runs out there in the first innings and that compounds.
“The game wasn’t done. We still had some batters to come, we could’ve shifted some pressure. It feels as though it was a foregone conclusion that England were going to win that game. I don’t believe that and our changeroom doesn’t believe that.”
Marsh and Starc spent time off the field with niggling injuries at Old Trafford so they could be racing the clock to be fit but with the last two days of the fourth Test washed out, McDonald said he expected both bowling units to be fresh for the final fixture.
Former Victorian keeper Darren Berry raised eyebrows by suggesting on social media that Cummins would quit the captaincy after this series.
His remarks were given short shrift by McDonald, politely describing them as “most interesting”.
“Leadership takes on all different shapes and form and if we’re living and dying in the world of tactics only, I think it’s fair and reasonable to critique some of the execution and tactics that we implemented,” he said.
“But to go as far as suggesting the captain resign post-series is a bit far-fetched. There are opinions that we respect and there’s opinions that we don’t.”
England also face a monumental decision over one of their all-time greats who is showing signs that the end of his career is nigh.
More than 20 years after his debut, James Anderson will turn 41 on Sunday but whether he’s played his last Test is up in the air.
He’s managed just four wickets at 76.75 in three matches this series and captain Ben Stokes is leaning more and more on Woakes, Mark Wood and Stuart Broad as his strike weapons.
After 182 Tests and 689 wickets, the Lancashire veteran has struggled to extract his trademark late swing or much movement off the Bazball-readied flat pitches.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Former Test captain Michael Vaughan on the BBC’s Ashes Daily podcast said picking Anderson for sentimental reasons “may have cost England”.
“”Jimmy, in the three Test matches that he’s played in this series, has just had no impact at all. I don’t remember him getting a key wicket at any stage and that’s very unlike Jimmy Anderson. It might just be that for The Oval, he might not be in England’s best XI.”
Ollie Robinson was rested for the fourth Test due to a minor back strain while rookie quick Josh Tongue is also pushing for a recall.
Unless Broad is in need of a spell after five straight matches on the back of the one-off clash with Ireland, the greatest wicket-taker in England Test history could be deemed surplus to requirements in what would be a sad way to bow out.