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Australia reacts to new-look Test squad to face Sri Lanka

Australian cricket has been split on the bold selections made for the Sri Lankan Test series, but a shock snub has fans fired up.

Andrew McMurtry
5 min read
January 10, 2019 - 6:10AM
The selectors have seen the future of Australian cricket in Will Pucovski.
The selectors have seen the future of Australian cricket in Will Pucovski.

The shockwaves have begun as the Australian cricket team has been selected for the two-match series against Sri Lanka.

Fans and pundits weren’t sure whether Australia would go the route of sticking with the team that lost to India or bring in some new blood.

The answer was pretty definitive.

Gone are Shaun and Mitch Marsh, Aaron Finch and Peter Handscomb.

In come Queensland pair Joe Burns and Matthew Renshaw for another chance, alongside 20-year-old Victorian Will Pucovski, who was brought into the team after just eight first-class matches.

Pucovski’s inclusion was telling for the selectors after widespread criticism out of the Test series against India.

But the side marked a shock omission, with Sheffield Shield leading run scorer Matthew Wade missing.

Last week, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting told cricket.com.au Wade was the next in line for a call up.

“For (those next in line for) a Test batting spot, I said Matthew Wade a few weeks ago,” Ponting said. “He’s the form player in the Sheffield Shield, no doubt about that — 571 runs I think he’s made so far.

“We’ve seen already in the Big Bash as well that he’s in really good touch, and he probably deserves a chance over anybody else right now because he’s simply put the numbers on the board.”

Matthew Wade is the Sheffield Shield’s leading run scorer.
Matthew Wade is the Sheffield Shield’s leading run scorer.

Matthew Wade, the former Australian wicketkeeper, has become the Sheffield Shield’s leading run scorer with 571 runs at 63.44, including a century and five 50s as well as sitting seventh overall in the Big Bash with 190 runs to his put his hand up in domestic cricket.

He was also not wicketkeeping this season while Tim Paine has been playing in the Tasmanian side, only taking the gloves in Paine’s absence.

Chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said it was a big reason behind why he wasn’t selected.

“With Wade, it’s fantastic that he’s scoring a lot of runs. It wasn’t long ago he was in our Test squad and he struggled and we obviously dropped him at that stage,” Hohns said.

“He’s playing as a wicketkeeper batsman for Tasmania and it just so happens we have a wicketkeeper batsman in our test side in Tim Paine.

“If Matthew wants to be considered as a straight-out batsman, it’d be nice to see him batting higher up the order for Tasmania and that conversation has been had.”

Wade has been batting at number six for Tasmania.

Yesterday, Victorian all-rounder Dan Christian said Wade deserved his spot.

Hohn’s comments were quickly slammed on social media.

Speaking on SEN, former Australian fast bowler Geoff Lawson said Wade should have played in Sydney.

“Matthew Wade — the most in-form batsman in the country not just in Sheffield Shield — should have played a number of the Test matches this year. He certainly should have played in Sydney,” Lawson told SEN Afternoons.

“He’s in form, averaging in the 60s and someone said to me his runs aren’t as valuable at number six for Tasmania — Tasmania have been 3/30 often and he’s had to come in and make tough runs and then bat with the tail.”

Glenn Maxwell better get used to playing in coloured clothes if Hohn’s comment ring true.
Glenn Maxwell better get used to playing in coloured clothes if Hohn’s comment ring true.

Similarly to Wade, Glenn Maxwell was also snubbed from red-ball cricket with Hohns arguing the country needs him focusing on white-ball cricket and the World Cup.

Maxwell also averages 41.10 in his first-class career and has played seven Tests with a Test century in India.

For Pucovski, the selection caps a rollercoaster season.

With just eight first-class games — albeit with a famous 243 earlier this year — Pucovski took six weeks away from the game to treat mental health issues.

But Pucovski came back and hit another 50 in his second Sheffield Shield match of the season to earn his shock selection.

Former Australian cricket captain Allan Border questioned whether it was too soon for the youngster to join the Test ranks.

“It’s a big call, a strange call,” Border told foxsports.com.au. “I get it, loads of talent, loads of potential but is he ready for it? All eyes are going to be on him.

“I just hope everything surrounding him away from cricket has been worked out because he is going to face incredible media scrutiny from now until the first Test on the 24th.”

If he does, he will join Shane Warne and a host of legends to play Test cricket with under eight games or less to his name.

Pucovski showed plenty of maturity earlier in the year, stepping away from the game for six weeks after his double-century with mental health concerns.

Speaking Fox Sports journalist Tom Morris in an interview for The Follow-On podcast, Pucovski admitted he’d been dealing with problem for longer than he’d let on.

“I’d say close to a year in sort of up and down slopes — there were stages where I felt better, there were stages where I was really struggling,” Pucovski said.

“Cricket had been one of those things where it was a bit of an escape for me. When things outside didn’t feel quite right I’d come to cricket and have that one focus where it felt pretty natural to me.

“But Perth was the first time where it really felt like it was seeping into my cricket as well and that’s when I knew this is something I need to get sorted seriously.”

Will Pucovski is set to join the likes of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath.
Will Pucovski is set to join the likes of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath.

At a press conference in Melbourne, Pucovski said he was in a good space and wasn’t worried about the increased pressure that comes with playing for his country.

“I’m feeling as good, I’m feeling as good I have in a really long time,” he said. “I’ve met some people along the way who have helped me turn it around. There’s probably no better time to get some good news like I have in the last 24 hours.

“I feel like I’m in a really good space.”

As would be expected with a player who is so inexperienced like Pucovski, social media was split on whether it would be a success or a sign of desperation from the selectors.

With excitement and trepidation about the players brought into the squad, there was plenty of experience left out as well.

Similarly to Maxwell, Hohns said the Finch, Handscomb and the Marsh brothers would have a chance to play white-ball cricket.

He also said it wasn’t the end of their careers.

Brothers Shaun and Mitch Marsh with The Ashes urn after Australia defeated England at the SCG winning the series 4-0. Picture. Phil Hillyard
Brothers Shaun and Mitch Marsh with The Ashes urn after Australia defeated England at the SCG winning the series 4-0. Picture. Phil Hillyard

“Ultimately Aaron, Peter, Shaun and Mitch have not produced the performances expected of them with the bat at Test level,” Hohns said.

“They have been given good opportunity, but have not produced the scores we need.

“All four are very good players, and the door is by no means closed for them to return to play Test cricket. They will all feature in the ODI series against India, and each of them forms an integral part of our white-ball strategy.”

It’s a huge change which has again plunged Australian cricket into confusion.

Will this go down as a masterstroke? The Australian public will be waiting for January 24 to find out.

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Originally published as Australia reacts to new-look Test squad to face Sri Lanka

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/cricket/australia-reacts-to-newlook-test-squad-to-face-sri-lanka/news-story/a88afed3e9f91cbd6b10728121878077