Ashes 2021-22: All the latest Australian team news ahead of fourth Test at the SCG
The SCG isn’t likely to produce the special gifts needed for another Aussie bowling Test debut this week as spin looks set to again take a back seat to quick bowling. Here’s the latest.
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Mitchell Swepson might have to wait until the March tour of Pakistan for his first baggy green cap following forecasts of more showers than spin in Sydney.
A well grassed deck and forecast for mid-match rain could make life difficult for the slow men at the SCG where leg-spinner Swepson was hoping to play his first Test with established slow man Nathan Lyon.
Lyon would relish the chance to bowl with Swepson but admitted the prospect of rain could make life challenging for the slow men.
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“Yeah, it seems every time we put stumps in the ground it seems to bring the rain,’’ Lyon said.
“But that’s out of our control. Does it become a bit challenging for spinners? Yeah it can. If the ball gets wet. But we’re pretty lucky these days with the quality of the groundskeepers here to make the surface pretty dry and the grounds drain pretty quickly.
“I think Swepo is developing extremely well. He has been Queensland’s best player for a number of years now, that’s my opinion.
“I’m a big fan of spin bowlers. Swepo has been around our group for a long period of time now. When he gets his opportunity, no doubt, he’ll take it and run. I’m excited about our relationship. I feel we’re building.
“To be honest, I love bowling in partnerships with spinners, for sure. Obviously I’ve done it a lot in in sub-continental conditions. So if the opportunity does come to to play two spinners here, I know we’ll really enjoy bowling together in partnerships.”
Sydney used to have a proud reputation for being the spinner’s haven of Australian cricket but after a decade of hard toil, Lyon averages more than 40 per Test wicket there, making it his second worst Test ground in Australia after the WACA.
“The spin hasn’t probably been there over the last five years to be honest with you,’’ he said.
If Josh Hazlewood proves his fitness from a side strain, he could rejoin Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc in Australia’s traditional first-choice attack.
Aussies’ big decision made even harder
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Josh Hazlewood and Jhye Richardson had a private bowling session at the SCG on Saturday, as their fitness push threatens the survival of magic man Scott Boland.
Sydney Cricket Ground officials will take the rare step of inviting both Australia and England to train on the centre wicket block on Monday – a generous move which should give selectors the best possible chance of deciphering the conditions and deciding whether to hand leggie Mitchell Swepson a debut as a second spinner, or stick with a conventional attack.
News Corp understands Australia are increasingly confident they’ll have a full pace battery to choose from, presenting an almighty headache for national selector George Bailey.
Hazlewood and Richardson both trained strongly on Saturday and are set to bowl again at Monday’s main session, as they ready to put their hands up for a return from injury.
World class quick Hazlewood would be a walk-up to return to the Australian attack, likely at Boland’s expense, if he tells selectors and medical staff he is fit after suffering a minor side strain during the first Test at the Gabba that ruled him out of Adelaide and Melbourne.
Richardson missed the MCG Test after experiencing soreness in his shin, allowing Boland to create history by skittling England, taking 6-7 in a man-of-the-match performance for the ages.
If Australia decide not to take a risk on Hazlewood, then it would come down to a neck-and-neck showdown between Richardson – who took five wickets in Adelaide in his last start – and Boland, who is perhaps more suited to the normally flatter conditions in Sydney.
However, Sydney curator Adam Lewis is expecting his pitch to do a bit for the seamers early, before also taking spin – opening up the prospect Swepson could still be considered for a long-awaited debut.
Heavy rain forecast for days two and three of the Test, starting on Wednesday, works heavily against Swepson, as does the bounty of fast bowlers lining up to be selected, depending on what conditions present.
Lewis said the best preparation he has been allowed in his time as SCG curator had him confident of replicating conditions that produced a lively Sheffield Shield contest between NSW and Victoria in late November, where former Test quick James Pattinson claimed seven wickets, and legspinner Tanveer Sangha four.
“We’re trying to replicate the same preparation we did for our last Shield match. We were really happy with that preparation,” said Lewis.
“We got the good weather and we got some really good feedback from it. There was a bit in it early on day one and then it was also taking spin early, which was good.”
Lewis is planning to leave the pitch dryer than he normally would to give it the best chance of breaking up as the match goes on, even if there are rain delays.
It’s almost unheard of in Australia that teams get to train on the centre square before the start of a Test match, but Australia and England will get a first-hand showcase of what to expect from the deck at practice on Monday.
“The last couple of years have been terrible (with preparation due to poor weather). We haven’t been able to control that. But I’m really happy with the wicket, really happy with the table. We’re even giving them centre wicket practice for their main training sessions so they can do their training out there,” said Lewis.
“We’ve prepared two outside wickets to give them a bit of a chance to get a feel for the ground.”
If Australia feels it’s going to be an attritional surface, Victorian Boland may survive what would be a brutal axing, after his heroics in Melbourne.
However, if selectors are convinced the wicket might offer a bit for the seamers early, Richardson may come back in over the top of Boland given he was ahead in the pecking order before injury.
Hazlewood would be in without any debate, providing selectors and medical staff are confident he wouldn’t be risking further injury by coming back a month after suffering the strain.
It’s expected Mitchell Starc will play in Sydney, given he’s been the best bowler this series and has had a long rest since the two-and-a-bit day affair in Melbourne.
Covid positive Head’s Ashes replacement
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Usman Khawaja — negative test pending — will return to Test cricket a slightly different man to the one who left it more than two years ago.
There’s no major change to his game other than some hard grafted mental toughness around what balls to play on and around off stump.
But it’s upstairs where the major difference has occurred, as evidenced by his impromptu outfield dance during the Adelaide Test which would not have happened a decade ago.
At age 35 Khawaja has seen the end of the road and is not afraid of what lies around the corner.
He may not drink but he’s had a lemon, lime and bitters at the last chance saloon and is comfortable about the challenge awaiting him in his final tilt at the Test match game which comes 11 years after he walked on to the same ground against the same opponent for his Test debut.
On that occasion he made a promising 37 which had Australia buzzing over his potential and set him off on 44-Test journey featuring eight centuries and a batting average of just over 40.
It’s a solid record but one which still left the vibe there was some unfulfilled potential.
Since playing his last Test against England on the 2019 Ashes tour Khawaja has become a father for the first time to Aisha and has another child on the way.
In the lunch break of the recent Sheffield Shield match between Queensland and Western Australia at the Gabba he spent five minutes playing with his daughter before retreating to the dressing room.
“I don’t stress about things as much as I used to,’’ Khawaja said recently.
“I used to ride the big selections but not so much now.
“It’s not as if I have a poster of Australia up on my wall.
“I enjoy captaining Queensland. If that was all I had I would be very happy.’’
Khawaja brings an intriguing dynamic back to the team and could be a help to skipper Pat Cummins if Cummins is prepared to accept that Khawaja won’t always tell him what he wants to hear for he is not a go-with-the-flow kind of guy.
Candid with his views and happy to share them in most forums, Khawaja was the one player on the last Ashes tour bold enough to tell coach Justin Langer players were “walking on eggshells’’ around him.
But when other players were criticising Langer behind his back in a recent revolt, Khawaja felt sympathy for the coach and said any concerns should have been aired to Langer’s face.
Selection in the Test will take Khawaja one step closer to fulfilling a lifelong dream of playing cricket in Pakistan, his country of birth for Australia tours there in March.
Queensland chairman of selectors Chris Hartley told News Corp recently that the Bulls’ captain “wouldn’t let Australia down”.
“He’s in a place in his cricket now where he’s just playing with a beautiful freedom and enjoyment,” Hartley said.
“He’s always been a class player, his skill level exceptionally high. He’s always been in the top couple of batsmen in Australia for skill level and if he got an opportunity — he can bat anywhere from No. 1-6.”
“He is very relaxed. That’s not to say he’s not hypercompetitive, but he’s realised he’s on top of his game and all he needs to do is go out and play.”
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