SeamUp
International Coach
Not that it would get to this but with NCN, Behrendorff and even CA test tube baby Stanlake all currently wrecked who is after Bird & Sayers (not that he will ever debut) ?Wouldn't be surprised if the sports science is indicating that Starc, Cummins and Haze are all in the pale red (if not Barnaby Joyce crimson) zones re workloads, so see the breakdown as a higher possibility this match.
Obvs they don't want to rest someone -- they want to decide the series here -- but if Cummins goes down 15 overs into the match, it'd mean Starc/Hazlewood both end up completely wrecked by the end of the match. So you go to Melbourne at 2-1 with an attack drawn from Bird, Sayers, an undercooked Behrendorff, or Siddle.
Instead, you drop a guy making no runs for a guy who may also make no runs but can cover the bowlers if something goes wrong. If he gets injured because he's undercooked and he has to bowl stacks of overs, ehh, whatever. And, well, if he finally becomes the player he was always supposed to be it's one hell of a bonus.
Is it the tried and tested Boland/Tremain/Mennie/Worrall or is that next group of WA boys.