Sydney cricket Test: All the latest selection news for the Pink Test
Pat Cummins has confirmed Australia has settled on its XI for the SCG Test - and given his verdict on the bolters hoping for their first international action of the summer.
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Doubt has been cast over Lance ‘The Wild Thing’ Morris’ chances of a SCG debut, but second spinner Ashton Agar appears poised to break through for his first ever Test on home soil.
Australian captain Pat Cummins confirmed the home side has settled on its XI, but said he would not confirm it until the toss on Wednesday against South Africa.
Young firebrand Morris said earlier in the week he felt there was a “likelihood’ he could debut at the SCG.
However, the plan to draft him in as a like-for-like replacement for Mitchell Starc has been tempered by the sight of an SCG pitch which has been described as a throwback to the days of 10-15 years ago.
Cummins did not make any definitive statements about the team, but admitted the SCG was “not the WACA” in a reference to it not being the kind of pace paradise that might make it impossible to leave out the 150km/h, 24-year-old Wild Thing.
He also backed Josh Hazlewood, 31, and Scott Boland, 33, to make the most of any reverse swing that’s on offer, saying extreme speed wasn’t the only attribute in making the ball go the other way.
What is less clear is whether Australia will go with four or five bowlers – and Matt Renshaw, 26, could not be ruled out, despite a five-man bowling attack featuring Cummins, Hazlewood, Boland, Agar and Nathan Lyon would appear the shorter priced option.
The Australian captain also talked up the spin attributes of the pitch and the fact it could be an ideal lead-in to next month’s tour of India – with those factors seemingly pointing to 29-year-old Agar playing his first Test since 2017.
“We’ll see. I don’t think it’s the WACA type pace bowling friendly wicket out there, so we’ll see,” Cummins said.
“Yesterday we had a pretty good look at the wicket, just wanted to have another look today 24 hours on. It hasn’t really changed. They’ve taken a bit more grass of it. Looks a bit more like an SCG wicket of 10-15 years ago I think.
“It’s a huge connection to India. I think with fast bowling, reverse swing is going to come into it, which we can expect in India.
“We’ll probably get more spin overs here. Our batters are obviously going to face more spin here as well. It’s a really good connection. Even personally captaining here might be different to the last few Test matches. It’s good preparation for India.”
A Sheffield Shield match between NSW and WA this summer was over in two and a half days with the ball turning square.
Cummins feels that would be a good indicator of what to expect in the Test and denied a forecast of some rain would impact on a change in selection thinking.
“The pitch is the main one. I think in the last couple of years the weather hasn’t played ball with the forecast,” Cummins said.
“It factors in a little bit. Even day one we’re hoping the rain is going to be late in the evening after we get a full day in.
“Chatting to the groundskeepers this wicket is quite different to past years. The AFL played a bit longer. The World Cup, weather. They just haven’t been able to have the preparation of past years.
“The Shield games are pretty good indicators here.
“Potentially (Agar plays). Obviously we picked him in the squad as a second spinner.”
HOW SCG MYSTERY PITCH WILL AFFECT AUSTRALIA’S FINAL XI
- Ben Horne
A mysterious SCG pitch has left Australia intrigued but excited, as Ashton Agar’s chances of a first ever Test on home soil firmed ever so slightly.
Players weren’t quite sure what to make of the Sydney wicket that greeted them on Monday, still 48 hours out from day one – but dry patches and a less than usual coverage of grass appeared to increase the chances of Australia playing a second spinner at the SCG for the first time since 2017.
Patches of thatchy rye grass muddied the waters on what the pitch might offer, but Sydney local Josh Hazlewood felt there was more in this deck to warrant playing two spinners than anything seen in recent years.
“There probably is. I’m not the best reader of a cricket wicket. It lends itself to that,” Hazlewood said.
“There’s less grass and it’s quite a lot drier. I think footmarks will come in early on in the game.
“I’ve definitely played here with SOK (Steve O’Keefe) and Gazza (Nathan Lyon) before and it’s worked out a number of times.
“There are options which is always good.”
Hazlewood’s description of the pitch was very much a mixed bag, but some of the keener turf experts in the Australian camp liked what they saw.
The suggestion of up and down bounce may give the bowlers plenty to work with as the match wears on.
Australia is seriously thinking about going in a batsman down and moving wicketkeeper Alex Carey to No.6 to pave the way for five bowlers.
The past two SCG Tests would suggest five bowlers is a wise call with no all-rounder Cameron Green in the side, given Australia has failed to take the 20 wickets required in two consecutive draws against India and England.
“I haven’t played a lot of red-ball cricket here lately. It’s obviously patchy – there’s patchy bits of grass, there’s patches of dry typical SCG parts,” Hazlewood said.
“I think it will definitely be two-paced.
“I think it will be up and down as well and will take turn.
“It’s different to everywhere in Australia and I think that’s a good thing.
“It’s probably a good Test to play leading into India. We’ll play around with a few things and see how we go.”
WHY THE PENDULUM IS SWINGING HAZLEWOOD’S WAY
- Ben Horne and Robert Craddock
Josh Hazlewood believes a pecking order still exists in Australia’s fast bowling landscape that he is confident will reward him for a return in Sydney.
Scott Boland has shaken up the pace ranks and cemented himself as a national cult hero, but the big dog with 217 Test wickets is ready to bark again in his own backyard.
Debate was rife leading into the Boxing Day Test about whether Boland should now usurp Hazlewood in a selection shootout given the quality of the Victorian’s imposing record which now stands at 28 wickets at an extraordinary average of 12.21 runs per scalp from his six matches.
Boland’s meteoric rise has come because of Hazlewood’s absence over the past two summers due to side strain injuries, but leading commentators have asked, at what point does the replacement actually become the incumbent?
Hazlewood’s near certain return for the third Test against South Africa won’t necessarily come at Boland’s expense, but Hazlewood was talking with a degree of confidence when he said he felt his body of work over 58 Tests would be rewarded by selectors.
“I still feel like it’s in place (the pecking order) but it’s always good to have pressure. Every time Scotty’s played, he’s done remarkably well,” Hazlewood said.
“The Ashes coming up is probably a big one that he’s (Boland is) looking at and he’s sort of a similar bowler to myself and Pat.
“We potentially could play there all together on a wicket that might seam and swing.
“It’s great to have options
“We’re all a little bit different, I’m probably the tallest bowler and probably get the most bounce, whereas Scotty’s more of a skidder and he’s always at the stumps.
“It’s up to the selectors what’s going to work best on a wicket like this.”
There was a wave of support for Boland to beat Hazlewood for a spot at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where he famously took 6-7 the Boxing Day before.
In the end, the selection shootout was short-circuited by Hazlewood (who felt his body wasn’t quite right) gracefully pulling himself out of the race to save selectors the agonising call.
“I got that sense around the ground (that I might have been an unpopular choice),” Hazlewood admitted about his call at the MCG.
“It would have been nice once (the crowd) thinned out to maybe play. But those first couple of days, it might have been hard work down at bay 13.”
Test legend Glenn McGrath, who is at the SCG in readiness for the annual Pink Test to raise money for breast cancer, backed in the pecking order which looks set to reinstate Hazlewood.
Hazlewood has been compared to McGrath for his laser like consistency and the pair shared a chat at the Prime Minister’s house on New Year’s Day as a comeback beckoned.
McGrath said automatic selection is something that must be earned over a long period of time — and he believes Hazlewood deserves those stripes.
“I am happy for that (If Hazlewood is chosen). His stats and the way he bowls stands for itself. You get to earn that and he has earnt it,” McGrath said.
“He will be keen to come back. It is always healthy to have competitive pressure in the wings. There is Lance Morris there and Scott Boland bowling well. I like that in-house pressure.”
Hazlewood said suffering side strains — albeit in different areas — over the past two summers have caused him immense frustration, particularly when he was also left out of three out of four overseas Test tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka due to selectors only going with two quicks.
“It’s frustrating, definitely. I don’t feel like I’ve been injured (that long),” Hazlewood said.
“It just happens to be at the wrong time of the year after the first Test.
“The Test matches are so close now that you miss a couple in a row. It’s tough but the rest of the 24 months I’ve been fit and firing. It’s frustrating when you think about it like that.”
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