Mark Waugh’s full breakdown of first Test squad to play Pakistan
The Australian Test squad to face Pakistan will be named later this week - with question marks hanging over the batting and the identity of the third seamer. Former selector MARK WAUGH reveals who should be there at The Gabba.
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Australia’s squad for the first Test against Pakistan is soon to be revealed - but question marks remain over two batting spots, and also the make-up of the bowling attack.
Ahead of the all-important Australia A clash, former selector Mark Waugh gave his insight into what the will happen at the selection table this week: from the sure-things to the also-rans.
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MARK WAUGH FIRST TEST SQUAD ANALYSIS
LOCKS
STEVE SMITH
Stating the obvious here. His Ashes campaign was superb. He is the best batsman in the world.
MARNUS LABUSCHAGNE
He batted amazingly well in England under a lot of pressure. I thought his technique and his temperament stood up extremely well against really good bowling.
DAVID WARNER
I know he had his struggles in England but he has a great record in Australia and has a lot of credits in the bank. Cementing his spot is good news for Australia.
MATTHEW WADE
His second hundred of the Ashes really solidified his spot. He is at the age where he is relaxing a bit and he’s not worrying about his spot in the team. And that’s really helped him.
TIM PAINE
Obviously at Headingly he probably pulled the wrong rein a couple of times but at the end of the day the bowlers should be setting their own fields. In the last Test when they bowled first, I don’t know if it would have just been Tim’s decision, there must have been a bit of talk about it. Overall I think he’s led the team well through a difficult time.
ON THE EDGE
MARCUS HARRIS
Probably didn’t help himself coming out of the Ashes but he started the Sheffield Shield summer with a big ton for Victoria. I thought Harris looked really good last summer against India without making a big score and then he probably let himself down against Sri Lanka. He’s definitely got the talent but he’s finding a way to get out when he shouldn’t.
USMAN KHAWAJA/JOE BURNS
Was confronted with some pretty good bowling in the Ashes, but at the end of the day it’s Test match cricket and you’ve got to try and handle that and take your opportunities. Khawaja has credits in the bank on Australian soil but Marnus Labuschagne batting at 3 has put a lot more pressure on Uzzie. If he’s going to be in the team it’s probably going to be as an opener now.
He, Harris and Joe Burns are probably vying for the one spot. I think Khawaja’s game is good enough, but he’s just a bit frustrating watching him play. He’ll hit a lot of good shots and then he’ll fiddle outside off-stump. The other thing that’s crept into his game is when he got hit in the head in that World Cup, I think the short ball worries him a bit more now than it used to. I think teams are aware of that. Having said that it wouldn’t be a huge gamble to open with him in the first Test. It’s going to come down to a shootout.
TRAVIS HEAD/WILL PUCOVSKI
I was a little surprised when Head got dropped for the last Test to be honest. I thought he played reasonably well. He probably was getting out when he shouldn’t and he hasn’t quite nailed it when he’s got to 30 or 50, but I think he would have to be the frontrunner. Pucovski is the younger guy if they want to go that way.
THE BOWLERS
I think our best attack is Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. That’s my top four.
We’ve got James Pattinson and Jhye Richardson if he gets back from injury, and maybe Michael Neser as a bit of a smokey who can swing the ball. But I think definitely early on in the first and second Tests at least, we need to be picking what we think is our best attack and for mine, it’s clear who that is. Obviously Pattinson isn’t far behind, he is dangerous, and as the summer goes on the selectors will need to assess how many overs they bowl and whether they’re knocking teams over cheaply and weigh all that up. You’ve got to be flexible along the way but first-up you need your best attack.
Originally published as Mark Waugh’s full breakdown of first Test squad to play Pakistan