Australian Test Selection 2016/2017

[Shri]

Three spinners is probably overkill in the modern game unless the pitch is a rank turner or a road. Even India doesn't know how to bowl 3 spinners in a test effectively at times these days. And having six bowlers is even worse unless you have a tactically brilliant captain, like England showed. 3 quicks/2 spinners should play with Smith bowling very few overs if required. Starc/Hazlewood is a better combo than anything England put up recently and should hence be at least slightly more successful.

 

[Compton]

Series prediction: Smith to take Kohli's wicket with a wicked rank ball.

 

[Compton]

Three spinners is probably overkill in the modern game unless the pitch is a rank turner or a road. Even India doesn't know how to bowl 3 spinners in a test effectively at times these days. And having six bowlers is even worse unless you have a tactically brilliant captain, like England showed. 3 quicks/2 spinners should play with Smith bowling very few overs if required. Starc/Hazlewood is a better combo than anything England put up recently and should hence be at least slightly more successful.

I don't think it's 3 spinners as much as 2 spinners and Maxwell holding an end before the new ball.

 

[Dan]

Three seamers, two spinners is all you need. I'd consider taking an extended squad, for the sake of allowing shifts in team balance/composition if required.

1. Renshaw
2. Warner
3. Marsh
4. Smith
5. Handscomb
6. Nevill
7. Marsh/Cartwright
8. Starc
9. O'Keefe
10. Hazlewood
11. Lyon

12. Khawaja
13. Maxwell
14. Cartwright/Marsh
15. Whiteman
16. Faulkner
17. Siddle
18. Bird

 

[Red]

Maxwell's a pretty good player of spin, and the fact that Boof has suddenly softened his stance on him probably tells you he'll tour.

Yep. This is even more the point than his bowling.

 

[Midwinter]

Players who should be in the test team due to their BBL form

P.Cummins
C.Lynn
G.Maxwell
M.Swepson

Have any media pundits suggested anyone else ?

 

[Nate]

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[adub]

Players who should be in the test team due to their BBL form

(e) Trick question. BBL form has precisely zero predictive value for Test performance.

 

[uvelocity]

:geeves:

 

[Justo]

IMO our best chance of competing is stacking the batting and getting runs on the board. Pretty much all of our failures are when our batting fails and the bowling has nothing to work with. At least this time we've sort of learnt from the Sri Lankan series and have S Marsh and Handcombe as potentially solid against spin.

So with that in mind I'd go with.

Warner
Renshaw
S Marsh
Smith
Handscombe
Khawaja?
Nevill+
Starc
O'Keefe
Lyon
Hazlewood

Khawaja's the main one I struggle with in this side. On the one hand he's most likely to succeed at the top of the order when he might get to face pace but on the other hand he's most likely a walking wicket against Ashwin in these conditions regardless. I'm not sure we've got anyone else who is well rated against spin (anyone know what Lynn's like?) so he gets to stay at 6. S Marsh gets to bat at 3 mostly just to try reduce the chance of collapse.

As far as getting through overs are concerned Lyon and O'Keefe should be good for 25ish overs each, Haze and Starc 18ish which only leaves 4-5 left. Smith and Warner can handle that load IMO and personally I wouldn't mind seeing Smith give himself a few more overs given the likely conditions.

If the pitch looks to be an absolute road I'd probably go with Maxwell over Khawaja (could be tempted by this regardless). He shouldn't be batting above 6 though.

If Pattinson is fit, firing and available I'd be willing to change the balance to 5 bowlers on flatter tracks but I don't think any other pacer would be good enough for such a call and Pattinson is a handy bat at least.

 

[Prince EWS]

anyone know what Lynn's like?

Pretty bad, especially when it's turning away from him.

 

[Tangles]

Is Forkers back in the good books? Be a useful guy to have on tour. Prefer him over Maxwell but that pushes Nev up a spot.

 

[Prince EWS]

I wouldn't want Nev at six in Tests under basically any circumstances, but particularly when the top order might not be very reliable. If Faulkner wouldn't bat ahead of Nev (and he wouldn't) then that leaves him only competing for a position as a specialist bowler IMO.

 

[adub]

I wouldn't want Nev at six in Tests under basically any circumstances, but particularly when the top order might not be very reliable. If Faulkner wouldn't bat ahead of Nev (and he wouldn't) then that leaves him only competing for a position as a specialist bowler IMO.

MMarsh batted in front of Nev.

Fair enough to say neither should bat at 6 (and I'd have more than a little sympathy for the position), but if Marsh can bat 6 then Forkers is easy a 6.

 

[Prince EWS]

MMarsh batted in front of Nev.

Fair enough to say neither should bat at 6 (and I'd have more than a little sympathy for the position), but if Marsh can bat 6 then Forkers is easy a 6.

Yeah but Marsh got dropped, and for good reason.

 

[uvelocity]

**** playing 2 spinners

 

[adub]

Yeah but Marsh got dropped, and for good reason.

Absolutely true.

But tbf to Forkenstein if he could reproduce his FC numbers (34 with the bat and 24 with the ball) as a test no.6 for us he'd be our best performing 6 since Huss and our best all rounder since Miller. Big IF, but considering the lengths our selectors have gone to to make an all rounder it's not completely out of the question that he might get a 2nd debut in the role.

 

[mr_mister]

Why did Forkers never get a second test anyhow? Two twenties and 6 wickets isn't a terrible return

 

[TheJediBrah]

Why did Forkers never get a second test anyhow? Two twenties and 6 wickets isn't a terrible return

incompetent selectors. Largely because he was typecast as a Limited-overs player. Which happens all the time (and vice-versa) and it's incredibly frustrating.

He was always more of a 4-day player than a limited-overs player until he made his Australia debut. Then he was just so awesome at ODIs that everyone and their dogs decided that he was an ODI specialist who did nothing but slog and bowl slower-balls so he wouldn't be good at Tests.

He's lost so much of his form over the last year or so though that selecting him now would probably be pointless

 

[Spikey]

man faulker never should have got a first test let alone a second