Is utilising the traditional three fast bowlers the right line-up for this upcoming T20 World Cup in June?
In this year’s edition of the BBL one of the key components of success hasn’t been the express pace of some of the quickest bowlers on the planet or even the heavy hitters.
It has been pace off the ball that’s been most effective and 34-year-old leg spinner Cameron Boyce has been the epitome of that for the Adelaide Strikers.
The Queenslander has taken the responsibility of taking the role vacated by superstar Afghan Rashid Khan just before the season started and has done it beautifully.
Boyce has done it his own way though, bowling quite slow for spinners in white-ball cricket these days, giving the ball air to spin.
And there’s the control, having an economy rate of just over 6 in his 10 games and 13 wickets to his name this season for the Strikers.
Then there’s Steve O’keefe, 40 years young who would be the slowest bowler in the competition but still effective with an economy rate of 6.46 and seven wickets in his eight games for the Sixers.
With the T20 World Cup being held in the Caribbean this year where pitches are slow, flat and offer very little for pace bowling is it the time to go spin-heavy?
A five-match T20I series in the Caribbean resulted in a 4-1 defeat before their heroic trophy win in Dubai. In that series, there were three different spinners used including Adam Zampa, Mitchell Swepson and Ashton Agar.
Someone like Cameron Boyce who has experience at the top level for Australia, and domestic cricket and has excellent control should definitely be considered for the World Cup squad to accompany Adam Zampa.
Everybody knows how good Glenn Maxwell was with the bat in the ODI World Cup last year including his jaw-dropping 201 not out against Afghanistan but some forget about how good he was with the ball.
Glenn Maxwell. (Photo by Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
He was used extensively bowling 155 overs, taking 12 wickets with an elite economy rate of 5.42. There is no doubt he will be a crucial cog in the World Cup bowling lineup again.
Chris Green is another option who was introduced to the T20 team in India late last year to play the fourth T20 match. Green offers offers loads of experience in the Caribbean playing in the CPL for many years with the Jamaica Tallawahs and the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
If you add in Tanveer Sangha there are many options at Andrew McDonald’s disposal in June.
If recent results in the Caribbean tell a story then having as many spin options is vital in a high-scoring series between the West Indies and England whereby Rehan Ahmed, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid were used. India went over to experiment and used three spinners in a game and four for the series including Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Rahul Chahar and Ravi Bishnoi.
The Australian fast bowling quartet is world class but is it right for the specific conditions at hand? Selectors made the bold call to leave out power-hitting middle order batsman Marcus Stoinis for a better player in those conditions kn Marnus Labuschange, so are they bold enough to do the same again to help them lift their second T20 World Cup?
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The mammoth rise of Jake Fraser-McGurk - his enormous potential and the destructive shot-making that he possesses makes him a very tempting option.
