Victorian spinner Jon Holland selected in Australia’s Test squad for South Africa
AUSTRALIA will pick two spinners for its tour of South Africa with Australian selectors to reward Victorian tweaker Jon Holland for his outstanding Sheffield Shield form.
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ALL those Sheffield Shield wickets have finally counted for Victorian spinner Jon Holland who has been included in the Test squad to tour South Africa.
Holland has been overlooked since his only two Tests in Sri Lanka in 2016 despite being the leading domestic spinner for the past two seasons.
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His early summer output this year was derailed by a knee injury but he took 10 wickets in two matches before the Big Bash break as an indicator of his ability.
Holland is expected to be named this afternoon in the squad which will play four Tests against South Africa, starting in Durban on March 1.
Holland had an outstanding Shield season last summer, taking 50 wickets at an average of 20, and included a career-best 7-82 in the first innings of Victoria’s third straight final victory in Alice Springs in March.
He also went through the Australian top-order during a warm-up game before the tour of Bangladesh last August, taking three wickets in five balls.
But selectors chose Ashton Agar for that tour ahead of Holland, and also rewarded Agar with a national contract last April.
Insiders believe selectors didn’t think Holland was fit enough, and was a lacklustre fielder.
His elevation back in to the national ranks, as a bolter, comes after a summer in which selectors were no afraid to go left-field with selections, choosing Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine and then Mitch Marsh for the Ashes, which Australia won 4-0.
Originally published as Victorian spinner Jon Holland selected in Australia’s Test squad for South Africa