Australian test selection thread 2015/16

[Red]

Thread to discuss Australia's test selections over the next year.

Possible points for discussion;

- Is Watson finished as a test player, or will he go to the WIs and Eng?

- If Watson is done, who takes the troublesome #3 spot?

- Is Mitch Marsh now seen as a permanent member of the test team?

- Which of our quicks are fit and who partners Johnson and Harris in the Ashes?

- Will Johnson be effective in England? And would we drop him if he wasn't after 2 tests?

- Rogers seems likely to retire post Ashes. Will we also farewell Haddin at that time? And who replaces them if they do? Would an Ashes win mean Rogers, Watson, Harris, Johnson and maybe even Clarke might consider their futures?

 

[Justo]

Certainly an interesting time for the Australian team.

-I'd say Watson's fate may well be decided on how he performs in the rest of this world cup but with Clarke back I could easily see Shaun Marsh (or Burns) moving back up to 3 with Watson or Mitch Marsh at 6 (Watson's demotion to 6 in the ODI side as the precedent).

-I wouldn't regard Mitch Marsh as a permanent member of the side but from here on he's in direct competition with Watson IMO (previously they had separate roles in the side).

-The selection of the quicks is quite interesting IMO. With Harris out of the WI tour there'll be good competition between Starc, Hazlewood and Pattinson. I'd personally expect Hazlewood to keep the 3rd quick spot for the Ashes though. He's got the best injury record out of the lot and with Harris's never too far from injury and Johnson never too far away from being ineffective his reliability will be valuable.

-I'd say Rogers replacement will ultimately come down to what they do with Watson. Most likely Burns (specially after his century today) will end up opening but could see Shaun Marsh or even Watson getting a go there. Given that the first post Rogers Test should be against Bangladesh I'd expect Burns be given a run. I could also see Haddin moving on specially if we win. If so I'd expect Nev to get the call given how much of a beast he's been recently. Wade has been decent with the bat though so I could see him given another shot. Outside of that I couldn't see too many major significant changes to the team. Clarke, Harris and/or Johnson may sit out the Bangladesh tour to rest/give others a run but I'd expect them back for NZ barring injury or being dropped due to poor form.

Ultimately I find Voges potential selection the most interesting. I think he deserves to jump ahead of Shaun Marsh and Burns after the run of form he's had and ideally I wouldn't mind seeing something like the below given a run for the WI tour.

Warner
Rogers
Smith
Voges
Clarke*
M Marsh/Watson
Haddin+
Johnson
Starc/Pattinson
Lyon
Hazlewood

Any 2 of Burns, Shaun Marsh and Nev as reserve bats with Pattinson, Siddle/Bird and random spinner as bowling options. Could obviously swap Clarke and Voges around if you wanted but I'd like to see Clarke back at 5.

The batting order make more sense if Voges was called up for the Gabba Test over Shaun Marsh as Clarke's replacement (which is what I wanted at the time).

 

[tatsuro185]

Voges over S.Marsh imo, Marsh just doesn't deserve a spot in the test side, has embarrassingly failed too many times when called up. I Know he has 2 100's but he also has 6 ducks.

 

[morgieb]

Dropping Marsh at this stage seems a tad harsh IMO. He's probably not in Australia's six best batsmen, but he was already selected, and he hasn't done badly enough to get the axe IMO. EDIT: Although it was basically an injury replacement........I wouldn't pick him ahead of Burns.

Voges should be picked, but he should've been picked 5 years ago. I don't see Australia changing their mind now........

 

[Red]

The advantage S.Marsh has over Voges and some others is that on a tour he can be a reserve opener as well as middle order bat. I think this will be an advantage to Burns getting picked on tours as well.

It's be a nice (and very deserved) reward for Voges to tour England this summer and play some tests. He certainly deserves it after his Shield form.

 

[JBMAC]

Hey you lot What about Joe Burns? Two Test half centuries to his name.

 

[Red]

Hey you lot What about Joe Burns? Two Test half centuries to his name.

Would be ideal to replace Rogers imo. Warner and Burns could be a good opening pair for a fair few years.

From the limited amount I know about Burns, I think he'd probably also be a very good VC to TPC post Clarke. Seems like a very switched on guy.

 

[NUFAN]

I'm looking forward to the Shield Final. Voges, Agar, Coulter-Nile, Wade, Fawad or Handscomb stock could rise massively after a MoM performance in the Final, leading to an overseas tour.

Just for clarity, the above are all fighting for that last spot on the tour.

- Is Watson finished as a test player, or will he go to the WIs and Eng?

I don't think he is completely finished yet and the good thing for him is that our next Test is overseas. Basically, I feel as though Watto is a pretty decent squad member and he allows for some versatility in the makeup of the XI.

- If Watson is done, who takes the troublesome #3 spot?

Done or not done, Smith should bat 3.

- Is Mitch Marsh now seen as a permanent member of the test team?

His batting has looked decent in Test Cricket so far, but its a massive stretch to consider him one of the six best batsman in the country, its probably a stretch to say he is within the top 12. The bowling is a concern too, just not penetrative enough.

- Which of our quicks are fit and who partners Johnson and Harris in the Ashes?

Its hard to watch Mitchell Starc this World Cup and not consider him good enough to make our Test team. Haze is quality too. The 4 mentioned so far plus Siddle and Pattinson are the six quicks that I'm picking from.

- Will Johnson be effective in England? And would we drop him if he wasn't after 2 tests?

It depends. Does he play well in the Windies? is he bowling well but just unlucky? Is he the only one not performing? Are we winning?

- Rogers seems likely to retire post Ashes. Will we also farewell Haddin at that time? And who replaces them if they do? Would an Ashes win mean Rogers, Watson, Harris, Johnson and maybe even Clarke might consider their futures

If I had to guess, Haddin does not retire in England, but waits until the final home Test of the Summer at his beloved SCG to pull the pin. I still think Wade is the frontrunner to take over but Nevill and Whiteman (to a lesser extent) are definitely a chance. Rogers will retire after the Ashes, he has basically said as much. His replacement is likely to be Burns at this stage but don't be surprised to see another QLD born cricketer put his hand up and say that his favourite spot to bat is opener..

 

[tatsuro185]

Hey you lot What about Joe Burns? Two Test half centuries to his name.

Looks like a good option for the long term, give him a a few tests to learn and settle and i think we will be quality.

 

[Spark]

Hey you lot What about Joe Burns? Two Test half centuries to his name.

Let's be honest, though - they might make him feel more settled but those were some of the more facile fifties everyone's ever been donated.

 

[Antihippy]

Maxwell to use this world cup to show why you need a 150 SR for test cricket.

/s

 

[brockley]

Hate to harp on the CA contracts but that could indicate where CA are going seection policy.

I reckon Cummins will get a CA contract and he will go 2 the Ashes.
No Pattinson.

 

[brockley]

Hate to harp on the CA contracts but that could indicate where CA are going seection policy the next 12 months.

I reckon Cummins will get a CA contract and he will go 2 the Ashes.
No Pattinson.

 

[GirtBySea]

Has Shaun Marsh ever opened in FC let alone for the Tests?

 

[brockley]

No.
He did score 200 in a game for Australia A against Kenya,in a one day game.
Not going 2 happen.

 

[Niall]

Didn't Burn stink it out in Division 2 for Leicester?

I would go with Watson over Marsh all the time, Watson has so much experience in England and what exactly would Marsh offer that Watson won't?

Bowling, he is not going to rip through England, the best you could hope for is he to keep it tight and nick some wickets, Watson you know will nearly always do that. Batting, Watson will probably do ok, Marsh is no cert to do any better is he especially first time in England.

Voges has to be in the squad ahead of Marsh, he has always done well in England is in form.

 

[brockley]

Burns did stink at leicestershire but did impress for Australia A against the Lions the year before when others stunk,i think Peter Forrest and a few others had bad series.
Interested who will be in the A side to India this year,the departed Phil Hughes,and Tom Cooper now English won't be there,Usman Khawajah is nearly fit and wants to go to India so there is 1.Selection maybe strained as 17 picked for an Ashes tour is a usual number and we have a number of players playing County cricket,so could be a weak Aussie A side to tour India,which is a shame.Chris Lynn has just done a Hammy so looks like he will miss IPL and and may be touch and go for India.

 

[Niall]

Cooper has to have a chance of playing for Australia this year if he does well for Somerset doesn't he? I assume he will need a few injuries and players out of form, but from what I seen he looks very good.

 

[Riggins]

He has a chance for sure; there's not many good batsmen rolling around. Would assume how he does for Somerset is borderline irrelevant though.

 

[brockley]

He can't play for Australia as he is classed as an overseas player now its part of the ECB agreement,2nd Somerset even if he wasn't Somerset wouldn't release him for Australia A.Because its not international cricket counties are not at liberty to release a player to play for Australia A or any other A sides.Peter Handscomb can't play for Australia A either because he will be at Gloucester.It happened to Usman Khawajah last year when he was at lacashire.
Coopers status' is he is now qualifying for England under the EU policy,because when you sign as a local you must sign your loyaloties to England.He won't be able to play for the Dutch now as well.