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Australian Test Selection 2016/2017
- Thread starter Red
- Start date
Shady Slim
International Coach
i fail to see the rationale here for a couple of reasons
-while i am a huge henriques fan, he comes in for mmarsh or not at all in sri lanka - you'd play them both in australia if anywhere to bat deeper
-khawaja is the kind of guy who could be in the team for a long time especially in australia, because he's a great batsman in our roady conditions: means it is worth persisting with him and working on his batting vs spin rather than dropping him
-dropping burns for smarsh seems silly, and though it was silly to drop him, dropping him for smarsh was the stinger. head's there, why not give him a go rather than someone who's been given a go seven times?
-steve smith is a horrid captain with his bowlers but it was glossed over when we were winning
-while i am a huge henriques fan, he comes in for mmarsh or not at all in sri lanka - you'd play them both in australia if anywhere to bat deeper
-khawaja is the kind of guy who could be in the team for a long time especially in australia, because he's a great batsman in our roady conditions: means it is worth persisting with him and working on his batting vs spin rather than dropping him
-dropping burns for smarsh seems silly, and though it was silly to drop him, dropping him for smarsh was the stinger. head's there, why not give him a go rather than someone who's been given a go seven times?
-steve smith is a horrid captain with his bowlers but it was glossed over when we were winning
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
Bowlers get swapped in and out based on perceptions about the pitch all the time so I'm not too fussed about batsmen being left out based on the conditions.
I do have an issue with the replacements though. Shaun Marsh was the reserve bat so that's fine, but Mitch Marsh was already getting nosebleeds and not bowling much so bringing in another seam-bowling allrounder just seems completely absurd. They needed to either back one of the two they dropped, fly someone else over or play Head who went over early for the ODIs. As bad as Burns and Khawaja have seemed on this wickets, I'm just not buying that Henriques is more likely to score big runs.
I do have an issue with the replacements though. Shaun Marsh was the reserve bat so that's fine, but Mitch Marsh was already getting nosebleeds and not bowling much so bringing in another seam-bowling allrounder just seems completely absurd. They needed to either back one of the two they dropped, fly someone else over or play Head who went over early for the ODIs. As bad as Burns and Khawaja have seemed on this wickets, I'm just not buying that Henriques is more likely to score big runs.
Justo
U19 Debutant
Dropping both Burns and Khawaja was pretty poor IMO. Both are pretty good long term prospects who could actually benefit from continued exposure in these conditions and a jammy 50 or so could probably do their confidence some good for next year. That said while I'm not a fan of SMarsh I don't mind him coming in since he's the only one who's done well in Sri Lanka before (outside of the fact that the series is over and we'd be better off just sticking with younger guys).
Ultimately I think part of our problem when it comes to the sub continent/spin friendly environments is our tendency to pick "funky" teams with players that shouldn't really be near selection. Selecting the likes of Doherty, Maxwell, Holland etc aren't going to trouble players well adapted to spin friendly conditions. For team balance IMO we'd be better off dropping MMarsh who's yet to show anything and run a proper bat at 6. 4 bowlers might not be ideal but putting a decent total on the board will give our bowlers something to work with and in these conditions there's no reason why Voges and Smith couldn't take on the workload that Marsh has been performing.
In Australia I don't mind the all rounder at 6. Our top 5 pretty much always score heavily and having an extra bowling option works well on the roads we roll out but elsewhere I think we're better off stacking the batting (it helps that we have a few options these days that could be good prospects as well).
Ultimately I think part of our problem when it comes to the sub continent/spin friendly environments is our tendency to pick "funky" teams with players that shouldn't really be near selection. Selecting the likes of Doherty, Maxwell, Holland etc aren't going to trouble players well adapted to spin friendly conditions. For team balance IMO we'd be better off dropping MMarsh who's yet to show anything and run a proper bat at 6. 4 bowlers might not be ideal but putting a decent total on the board will give our bowlers something to work with and in these conditions there's no reason why Voges and Smith couldn't take on the workload that Marsh has been performing.
In Australia I don't mind the all rounder at 6. Our top 5 pretty much always score heavily and having an extra bowling option works well on the roads we roll out but elsewhere I think we're better off stacking the batting (it helps that we have a few options these days that could be good prospects as well).
adub
International Captain
I thought before the game dropping Burns and bringing in Moises were good options, but not Moz for Uzi. As noted above Burns and Uzi are guys you're looking at as future regulars so no real harm trying to give at least one of them a shot at arsing a 50 and maybe getting a bit of a handle on playing spin in SC conditions.
But I am very happy that Moz has a shot and it will be a straight shoot out with MMarsh. Whatever Marsh's ceiling might be, Henriques is a far better option as a bowling 6 at this point. Hoping he proves it in this game and puts himself in the frame to hang onto the 6 spot for the summer. (eh Smitteh - give im a bowl son).
But I am very happy that Moz has a shot and it will be a straight shoot out with MMarsh. Whatever Marsh's ceiling might be, Henriques is a far better option as a bowling 6 at this point. Hoping he proves it in this game and puts himself in the frame to hang onto the 6 spot for the summer. (eh Smitteh - give im a bowl son).
TheJediBrah
Request Your Custom Title Now!
Nah you guys aren't getting the big picture IMO. Burns and Khawaja were only "softly" dropped. They'll be right back in the team come non-asian pitches.
NUFAN
Y no Afghanistan flag
I just thought that a dead rubber was as good as time as any for the QLD pair to get some confidence in these conditions that could help them when we play India in February. Obviously a lot will happen between now and Feb - they'll need to get back into the team and then do well against good teams in South Africa and Pakistan. I know India and Sri Lanka pitches are not identical if someone brings this up too. Also, since Khawaja has returned to the Test team he has been mostly excellent. I would say that the last Test was his first absolutely terrible performance.
The Henriques selection is funky especially when he is not bowling. The guy has not scored a First Class run in the year 2016. I hope he puts in a good performance but he isn't exactly coming into this Test with good preparation, compared to say someone like Stoinis.
The Henriques selection is funky especially when he is not bowling. The guy has not scored a First Class run in the year 2016. I hope he puts in a good performance but he isn't exactly coming into this Test with good preparation, compared to say someone like Stoinis.
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
I agree with this, and I'm kind of fine with it given bowlers get dropped on a similar basis all the time. I'm just not okay with Henriques being one of the replacements.
Shady Slim
International Coach
i'm all in favour of horses for courses batsman selection too but to do so now after the series is lost just seems dumb
if you had to use a cane to walk, you use it most if not all of the time - australia waited until they fell over and broke a hip before walking around with it
thing is they will need more than just the cane now their hip is gone
i reread that and it makes no sense
if you had to use a cane to walk, you use it most if not all of the time - australia waited until they fell over and broke a hip before walking around with it
thing is they will need more than just the cane now their hip is gone
i reread that and it makes no sense
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TheJediBrah
Request Your Custom Title Now!
No he's genuinely one of the best flat-track bullies in the world, which makes him very useful to Australia
He;s just useless on turning wickets
Spark
Global Moderator
He has made a lot of runs in Tests recently tbf, so the dropping alone is kneejerk. Picking Henriques in his place is patent stupidity though.
The Battlers Prince
International Vice-Captain
It's stupid to pick Henriques and not bowl him given his recent record not showing many runs.
TheJediBrah
Request Your Custom Title Now!
I'm guessing they just wanted a change for this game and Henriques was the next closest thing to a batsman in the squad
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
Yeah, it really wouldn't have been difficult to fly over another batsman though. I mean, they actually did fly over Head early but then didn't put him in the squad despite that. I don't think Head should be playing Tests right now either but I'd rather him as a specialist batsman then Henriques. I'll still think the same if Moses slams a ton too.
I genuinely think Moises at 5, for this Test and this Test alone, is more likely to make runs than Burns opening or Khawaja at 3. I mean, Moz did hit those 50s in the ill-fated 2013 India tour, so he's not utterly inept when it comes to SC batting. Which, low bar as it is, puts him ahead of Khawaja and Burns.
That being said, if I wanted to do that I'd have gone with Head since he's there.
And, on top of all of that, I'm talking purely about here-and-now runs. Who knows if the random dropping will impact on Burns or Khawaja longer term and dent their output.
I do maintain, however, that Usman is a spud.
That being said, if I wanted to do that I'd have gone with Head since he's there.
And, on top of all of that, I'm talking purely about here-and-now runs. Who knows if the random dropping will impact on Burns or Khawaja longer term and dent their output.
I do maintain, however, that Usman is a spud.
dermo
International Vice-Captain
he's played in sri lanka before and been on a tour to india, he really should have shown a lot more improvement here
as nufan said earlier, i'm not sure he or burn's runs over the summer hold to much weight. i'd be willing to wager that given the pitches and quality of the opposition any of smarsh, head, handscomb, lynn, bancroft or maddinson would've had succesful summers.
i wouldn't be losing to much sleep if he isn't picked for the australian summer