Cricket news: Australian selectors call Tim David into World Cup squad
Australian selectors have a big issue on their hands to decide who misses out to fit Tim David into their World Cup side — and Mike Hussey says Steve Smith can’t make way.
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Things will get interesting come October 22 at the SCG when selectors will be forced to decide whether Tim David forces his way into the proven, star-studded first-choice batting order – and if so – who will be axed?
Many have suspected Steve Smith is the man under the most pressure from David and his eye-watering striking ability, but T20 great Mike Hussey believes it’s one of last year’s World Cup semi-final heroes who could find himself in a direct shootout for a spot in the top six.
“Personally I do like that player that can play that Steve Smith role. If you look at who is around him – Finch is very attacking, Warner very attacking, Marsh very attacking, Stoinis more your power hitter as well,” Hussey told News Corp.
“I don’t like having all the same sort of player all the way down the list. If you’ve got power hitters all the way down my fear is that if the conditions aren’t quite perfect or you come up against some really good spinners from the opposition, you can get rolled.
“ … So how do you get Tim David in there? It’s a good question. Depending on how much bowling Australia has, he’s probably more fighting with Marcus Stoinis for that power hitting spot coming towards the back end.”
Smith was backed in by former coach Justin Langer at the last World Cup in the UAE as the “Mr Fix-It” for Australia in the middle-order.
It paid dividends in the first match of the tournament when Smith and Matthew Wade saved Australia’s bacon after a batting collapse against South Africa, but from there Smith was barely needed as the batting juggernaut led by David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Wade and Stoinis clicked into gear.
However, Smith revealed this week that he too is a different proposition leading into this World Cup, with new coach Andrew McDonald giving him a fresh license to do more thrilling than fixing.
Smith believes that with this new more positive mindset, he can keep his place in the first-choice batting order despite the threat posed by an x-factor like David.
“I feel like when I’m playing good T20 cricket I’m in that team for sure,” said Smith who has made consecutive unbeaten ODI scores of 48 and 47 against Zimbabwe.
“The role I’ve been given the last couple of years is kind of Mr Fix-It role and that tag has been taken away from me now … and I felt like I could go out and play with a lot more freedom and not have any hesitation in the back of mind that I need to be a bit more reserved.
“I can just take the game on. If I want to smack someone for six first ball I’m able to do that freely.
“When I’m playing my best I play freely. I watch the ball and hit the gaps. I’m happy the tag has been removed and we’ll see how we go.”
Aaron Finch remains under pressure to score runs, but his captaincy makes him a certain starter and still a very important part of the World Cup defence. Wade was crucial in last year’s World Cup and was an IPL winner this year, and should continue to keep Josh Inglis out of the XI for now.
Hussey has watched David up close and personal in the IPL and admits it will be almost impossible to leave such a rare talent out of the line-up.“There’s not too many players around the world have that capability of what he can do. If he does get his confidence up and is hitting the ball well, he’s almost impossible to bowl to at the end,” said Hussey.
“If you can have a couple of guys going at the end, there’s no run chase that’s not gettable.
“(David) reminded me of Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya from a few years ago. They’re just so hard to bowl to. And you never, ever feel safe when they’re at the wicket that the game is done and dusted.”
T20 GUN-FOR-HIRE MAKES AUSSIE WORLD CUP SQUAD
Peter Lalor
Cricket’s mystery man, Tim David, is officially part of Australia’s T20 World Cup Squad.
Born in Singapore and discovered under the bright lights of various domestic leagues, he is set to become the first Australian since David Warner did it in 2009 to represent his country having never played a first class game _ the only others being the men and women at the dawn of the game.
After the family moved back to Australia David played cricket around Perth, but took his trade back to his place of birth and played for Singapore in the 2018-19 T20 World Cup qualifiers.
David gained traction as a T20 cricketer in the Big Bash League, first for the Scorchers and more recently for Hobart and started to gain international attention playing franchise cricket in Pakistan and England.
He landed a big pay day earlier this year when he was bought for $1.6m by Bangalore in the 2022 IPL.
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“It’s a different journey, there’s no doubt about that,” head selector George Bailey said. “It’s been really exciting, but he has been part of the domestic systems, he was rookied in Western Australia, he’s obviously been part of the Big Bash for a number of years and steadily growing a reputation there.”
David famously turned down a chance to be part of the Australian white ball squad last year, arguing it was better for him as a player to compete in franchise cricket where he was guaranteed a game.
Bailey said he did not think that David’s path was not an easy one and may not necessarily signal the start of players coming through the franchise system only as it was important to have a base in domestic cricket.
“I don’t know if we’ll see more of it,” he said. “It’s unique for a number of reasons. I think it’s really challenging for players to just be a franchise cricketer without having a base or a support network.
“It’s new too. You might see it more and more, but there’s some challenges in being just a franchise cricketer as well.
“He’s been a star of the Big Bash for some time. We sort of get to the end of the Big Bash and we kind of like to look at who’s leading the run charts and whose been facing the most balls batting at the top but if you look at franchises around the world the skill set and the ability to finish an innings _ whether that’s two balls or 20 balls _ is highly sort after.”
Ricky Ponting said recently “he’s an out-and-out match-winner, he’s the sort of player that can actually win you a World Cup”.
Ponting compared him to Andrew Symonds in the 2003 World Cup campaign.
The big hitting David’s inclusion comes at the cost of leg spinner Mitchell Swepson who slips out of the T20 squad and the next issue becomes who he will replace in the XI if he plays.
“This is a similar squad to that which became the first Australian’s men’s team to win a T20 World Cup who are now very excited about playing the tournament at home,” head selector George Bailey said.
“Mitchell Swepson was unlucky to miss out based on conditions in the UAE at the last World Cup where we planned for tired, spinning wickets compared to what we would expect are good batting conditions along with the larger grounds in Australia.
“Tim (David) continues to establish himself with some quality performances in leagues around the world, earning a place in the squad. He is a highly gifted, natural ball striker who will add extra batting depth to the group which has had a lot of success in T20 cricket.
“We expect him to play a similar role to that he has been playing in the past few years.”
Bailey also announced that David Warner would miss next month’s T20 series in India and the exciting Cameron Green would be his replacement.
“Cameron’s improvement in all facets of his game has been impressive and we are excited for him to continue the growth of his T20 cricket through further exposure to the format,” Bailey said.
Australia is hosting the T20 World Cup in October and plays its first game against New Zealand at the SCG on the 22nd.
There are warm up matches against the West Indies, England and India ahead of the tournament.
World Cup squad:
Aaron Finch (VIC/Geelong Cricket Club) (c)
Ashton Agar (WA/University Cricket Club)
Pat Cummins (NSW/Penrith Cricket Club)
Tim David (WA/Claremont-Nedlands)
Josh Hazlewood (NSW/St George Cricket Club)
Josh Inglis (WA/Joondalup Cricket Club)
Mitchell Marsh (WA/Fremantle Cricket Club)
Glenn Maxwell (VIC/Fitzroy Doncaster Cricket Club)
Kane Richardson (QLD/West Torrens Cricket Club)
Steve Smith (NSW/Sutherland Cricket Club)
Mitchell Starc (NSW/Manly Warringah Cricket Club)
Marcus Stoinis (WA/Subiaco Floreat Cricket Club)
Matthew Wade (TAS/Clarence Cricket Club)
David Warner (NSW/Randwick Petersham Cricket Club)
Adam Zampa (NSW/Sutherland Cricket Club)
DAVID’S WORLD CUP CALLUP CREATES TENSION AT THE TOP
Things will get interesting come October 22 at the SCG when selectors will be forced to decide whether David forces his way into the proven, star-studded first-choice batting order – and if so – who will be axed?
Many have suspected Steve Smith is the man under the most pressure from David and his eye-watering striking ability, but T20 great Mike Hussey believes it’s one of last year’s World Cup semi-final heroes who could find himself in a direct shootout for a spot in the top six.
“Personally I do like that player that can play that Steve Smith role. If you look at who is around him – Finch is very attacking, Warner very attacking, Marsh very attacking, Stoinis more your power hitter as well,” Hussey told News Corp.
“I don’t like having all the same sort of player all the way down the list. If you’ve got power hitters all the way down my fear is that if the conditions aren’t quite perfect or you come up against some really good spinners from the opposition, you can get rolled.
“ … So how do you get Tim David in there? It’s a good question. Depending on how much bowling Australia has, he’s probably more fighting with Marcus Stoinis for that power hitting spot coming towards the back end.”
Smith was backed in by former coach Justin Langer at the last World Cup in the UAE as the “Mr Fix-It” for Australia in the middle-order.
It paid dividends in the first match of the tournament when Smith and Matthew Wade saved Australia’s bacon after a batting collapse against South Africa, but from there Smith was barely needed as the batting juggernaut led by David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Wade and Stoinis clicked into gear.
However, Smith revealed this week that he too is a different proposition leading into this World Cup, with new coach Andrew McDonald giving him a fresh license to do more thrilling than fixing.
Smith believes that with this new more positive mindset, he can keep his place in the first-choice batting order despite the threat posed by an x-factor like David.
“I feel like when I’m playing good T20 cricket I’m in that team for sure,” said Smith who has made consecutive unbeaten ODI scores of 48 and 47 against Zimbabwe.
“The role I’ve been given the last couple of years is kind of Mr Fix-It role and that tag has been taken away from me now … and I felt like I could go out and play with a lot more freedom and not have any hesitation in the back of mind that I need to be a bit more reserved.
“I can just take the game on. If I want to smack someone for six first ball I’m able to do that freely.
“When I’m playing my best I play freely. I watch the ball and hit the gaps. I’m happy the tag has been removed and we’ll see how we go.”
Aaron Finch remains under pressure to score runs, but his captaincy makes him a certain starter and still a very important part of the World Cup defence. Wade was crucial in last year’s World Cup and was an IPL winner this year, and should continue to keep Josh Inglis out of the XI for now.
Hussey has watched David up close and personal in the IPL and admits it will be almost impossible to leave such a rare talent out of the line-up.
“There’s not too many players around the world have that capability of what he can do. If he does get his confidence up and is hitting the ball well, he’s almost impossible to bowl to at the end,” said Hussey.
“If you can have a couple of guys going at the end, there’s no run chase that’s not gettable.
“(David) reminded me of Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya from a few years ago. They’re just so hard to bowl to. And you never, ever feel safe when they’re at the wicket that the game is done and dusted.”
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