Ian Chappell: Sri Lanka series should help decide Australia’s batting top six ahead of Ashes campaign
The time was right for drastic action, and in picking youngster Will Pucovski, Australian Test selectors have returned to a traditional approach, writes Ian Chappell.
Cricket
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Just like the Australian bowlers who found Cheteshwar Pujara an unsolvable riddle, by the end of the Test series the selectors were no closer to deciphering the identity of the top six batsmen in the country.
They’d been duped by Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja, the experienced pair who were supposed to provide the backbone in the line-up.
Peter Handscomb, with his multiple variations of a misguided technique, had failed to convince anyone of his permanency at the crease. And the ongoing experiment with Mitch Marsh the batting allrounder had failed for one simple reason - lack of runs.
The only shining light was tyro opener Marcus Harris who, despite the lack of a really big score, had displayed a good temperament and a solid technique.
The time was right for drastic changes and it came in the selection for the two Tests against a struggling Sri Lanka. An argument could be mounted that the deposed players would have succeeded in the less pressurised atmosphere of a Sri Lankan series but that would only have led to greater disappointment in the upcoming Ashes series.
The time was right for a change of direction and the biggest detour was the choice of 20-year-old batting hope Will Pucovski. Australia, a cricket nation once renowned for gambling on young batting talent, had returned to its roots.
Pucovski has joined the ranks of such illustrious players as Sir Donald Bradman, Neil Harvey, Doug Walters and Ricky Ponting who were all chosen for Australia before their 21st birthday. If Pucovski comes close to emulating any one of those batting geniuses at the commencement of their career, he’ll provide a lot of relief for the selectors and some much needed runs for captain Tim Paine.
Pucovski was chosen on potential and two big scores in the Sheffield Shield. There’s no doubting his talent, the only concern is his health, as he’s incurred a number of concussions which will be noted by opponents eager to gain the upper-hand.
Joining Pucovski in the revamped squad are Matt Renshaw and Joe Burns, two players with a history of some success in Test cricket.
Renshaw was unlucky to lose his spot in the side originally, having suffered a string of failures at first-class level rather than in the Test arena. Burns is an adaptable batsman, playing both as an opener and in the middle-order. Although he has a string of single figure scores Burns does have three Test centuries to his name as well as recent first-class form.
In the middle of a muddled season, with Test matches often obscured by the Big Bash tournament, these are reasonable selections. The selectors will then face the difficult task of putting together the jig-saw puzzle that is the Ashes squad from the scattered pieces of a dis-jointed summer.
Having failed to reach an innings total of three hundred in losing to New Zealand, Sri Lanka is unlikely to embarrass the embattled Australian attack. There’s nothing like a bag of wickets to boost the confidence of a bowler and the big three — Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins — should have smiles on their faces after a bout with the Sri Lankan batsmen.
The Sri Lankan pace attack won’t scale the heights of the excellent trio from India and that should also ensure a confidence boost for a batting line-up starved of big scores. Victory should be a formality against Sri Lanka and hence a clearer picture for the top six batsmen to feature in the Ashes series.
This is a wonderful opportunity for the chosen players to put forward their credentials ahead of the selectors considering an Ashes squad with Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft all being available. Smith and Warner are certainties barring any decision by Cricket Australia to preclude them for reasons other than cricket.
On this subject I can’t see why Warner should be judged more harshly than Smith.
After all it may have been Warner’s idea — although I’m not convinced others weren’t involved — but Smith was captain and “I don’t want to know” is not a defence.
Having suffered through the toughest season for choosing a Test team, the selectors will be hoping the picture of the top six is much clearer come the end of the summer. If it’s not then it won’t matter who they choose for England.
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