Australia v South Africa Test squad: Batting in focus as Wade, Marcus under pressure

Marcus Harris has surely joined Joe Burns in Test exile, but where can Justin Langer turn to fix a misfiring top six, asks BEN HORNE.

Australian batsman Matthew Wade is in the firing line after his latest Test failure. Picture: AFP

Even if Australia wins the Border Gavaskar Trophy today, selectors have some deep thinking to do about their top order for South Africa.

Matthew Wade has exposed himself for scrutiny with a patchy series, not what Australia needed after already dropping Travis Head.

Joe Burns has played his last Test for the foreseeable future, and Marcus Harris could be in a similar boat after getting out between 20 and 50 for the sixth time in a career where he is averaging 23.77 as a Test opener.

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Australian batsman Matthew Wade is in the firing line after his latest Test failure. Picture: AFP

Former Test greats Shane Warne and Allan Border are big fans of Tasmanian middle-order batsman Ben McDermott, who made an impressive hundred for Australia A against the Indians on the eve of this series.

Unheralded West Australian opener Sam Whiteman made two centuries to start the Sheffield Shield summer and could present as an option to back-up David Warner and Will Pucovski – presuming both are fit to tour South Africa.

But selectors have big decisions to make on Wade and Head in particular for a South African series which could have a massive bearing on whether Australia qualifies for the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in June.

Travis Head has fallen out of favour with the Australian selectors. Picture: Getty

Wade was unlucky to be dismissed on Monday, strangled down the leg side, but as Damien Fleming pointed out on SEN, the plucky left-hander hasn’t been cashing in on a series of starts.

And when that happens, inevitably, the cricketing Gods are going to give you that dose of bad luck, which really only accentuates the pain of not making the most of those opportunities.

However, Wade should be cut some slack for his unselfish willingness to bat out of position at the top of the order for the first two Tests, where he didn’t let anyone down with a serviceable job.

It shows Wade’s versatility for an overseas tour, where he can be pitched in at the top, the middle, or as a back-up wicketkeeper.

Marcus Harris... under pressure. Picture: Getty

Ben McDermott is winning over fans. Picture: Getty

Head won’t get any first-class cricket before the first Test against the Proteas, but he is more of an investment in the future than what Wade is.

McDermott has plenty of fans, but his first-class average is 34 with only two centuries – and at this point he would be another development player to throw into the mix with Cameron Green and Pucovski.

Whiteman has an average of 35 but is much improved in recent seasons.

The bottom line is Australia’s top six is not as close to being the finished article as selectors might have hoped at the start of the summer.

It’s still a work in progress, and the main reason why this series has become such hard work for Australia.

With a better platform set in Melbourne and had a 400 plus total been put on the board batting first in Brisbane, the batters wouldn’t have put so much pressure on their bowlers and would have created a more challenging mental dynamic for the Indians.

Australia need an opening partnership out of Warner and Pucovski that’s not injury-hampered and can settle in for a series to build a combination.

While finding a No.5 to turn starts into big scores is also much needed. Wade showed he was capable of this during the 2019 Ashes, but at 33 years of age, he is now under pressure.

The question is, is there a better alternative?