Ian Chappell selects the WC squad Australia must take to England
Australia’s selectors must make some tough calls ahead of the World Cup, and Ian Chappell wants a new captain and change at the top of the order.
Cricket
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The transformation has been dramatic; Australia has quickly ascended from a struggling ODI side to a team with an embarrassment of riches.
After completing a thrilling resurgence in defeating India from an 0 - 2 deficit, Australia now enjoys the prospect of adding a number of star players to their World Cup squad. The addition of not only Steve Smith and David Warner returning from suspension but also injured fast bowling stalwarts Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood means that some successful players from the current squad are going to miss out.
In facing tough decisions the selectors are going to have to consider not only the right combination but also the obvious harmony within the team which has underpinned the recent transformation. This is no easy task for the selectors and included in the process is the brief reintegration of Smith and Warner before the team commences a five-game series with Pakistan in the UAE.
The foremost dilemma for the selectors follows the rejuvenation of Usman Khawaja as an ODI opener. If the selectors decide Warner’s presence is a must (and they should) then one of Khawaja and skipper Aaron Finch becomes surplus to Australia’s needs. On current form Khawaja is far more consistent and fluent than a still struggling Finch.
However Finch’s influence as skipper was critical to Australia’s revival and the eventual victory over India in a hard fought series. The selectors have to decide what is most important - team harmony or improving the skill level?
Leadership aside, the question the selectors need to answer; “Is Khawaja a better batsman than Finch?”
On current form the answer is an emphatic “Yes.”
That prompts a follow-up question; “Is Warner a better player than Finch?”
He certainly was before his ban and since then Finch’s batting has gone backwards. It would be a brave selector who sacrificed the ‘fear factor’ Warner brings to the top of the order, purely to maintain team solidarity.
If they decide Warner replaces Finch the next question is; “Who captains the side?”
There aren’t many suitable options in the team but there could be a left-field solution to the problem surrounding Finch’s omission. With Alex Carey no longer considered an option to open the innings, his run-making input is diminished and consequently Tim Paine could be resurrected as ODI captain.
This is realistically the only option if Finch is to be omitted. Paine is a well-respected captain and player in the Test side and he did a good job in difficult circumstances. Importantly, his elevation to the leadership role would do nothing to harm the spirit that has buoyed this One Day outfit.
The next selection is not so difficult; Smith comes in at number three and the productive Peter Handscomb moves to number four. With that pair in the middle-order, Australia’s frailty against good spin bowling is somewhat diminished.
That leaves Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis to fill the next two places and they can take care of any need to accelerate the run-rate.
That means Shaun Marsh and Ashton Turner miss out but they would retain a place in the squad as reserve batsmen.
Paine would follow at seven. The only drawback to including Paine would be his lack of white-ball cricket but he has been playing in the Shield competition so it shouldn’t take much to get back into 50-over mode. A couple of practice matches before the World Cup should be enough to reacquaint himself with ODI captaincy.
Starc and Hazlewood are automatic selections in the squad if they are fit but young Jhye Richardson has shown enough that he might keep the latter out of the starting eleven.
And on the subject of resurgence, leg-spinner Adam Zampa has been a big part of Australia’s improved form, taking wickets where previously he was mainly economical. Since many of the world’s batsmen struggle to read wrist-spin he should be the first choice spinner.
The final choice then comes down to whether the selectors want Nathan Lyon as an extra spinner or a paceman, one of Jason Behrendorff or Nathan Coulter-Nile.
That is a strong squad even with the controversial demotion of the captain and one that would comfortably sit alongside England and India as joint favourites to win the World Cup.
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