Australian first Test squad: Joe Burns, Cameron Bancroft win call-ups as Harris, Khawaja snubbed
UPDATED: Australian selectors confirm a shake up the Test squad for the summer opener, discarding some noteable Ashes failures ahead of the home series against Pakistan. FULL SQUAD HERE.
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Update: The Australian Test squad was always going to be about underperforming players getting lucky, and the luckiest of all is Cameron Bancroft.
No tears can be shed for Usman Khawaja or Marcus Harris copping the selectors’ axe, but there was still shock that Bancroft, averaging 11.40 this Sheffield Shield season, has been picked as cricket’s first ever fresh reserve.
Never before have concussion substitutes been authorised for a home summer, and it would seem Bancroft’s ‘utility value’ as a player capable of batting in the top order or the middle has taken a unique precedence over other selection criteria.
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After he was described as a “spare” batsman on Thursday, it would appear Bancroft’s best chance of playing against Pakistanin Brisbane next week would be as a concussion sub should a batsman be hit in the head like Steve Smith was during the Ashes when he was replaced mid game by Marnus Labuschagne.
It seems almost certain Joe Burns will open with David Warner and Travis Head will fill the void in the middle-order.
However, National Selector Trevor Hohns declared on Thursday that concussion alert wasn’t the main reason why Bancroft had beenincluded in a 14-man squad – adding a level of intrigue into the series.
“That was a thought when we chose this squad and the enlarged squad,” said Hohns.
“But the main thought was to continue to develop that squad mentality that we started in England.
“We thought we needed a spare batsman in the squad, No.1. Secondly we know he can cover the top of the order as well as the middle of the order.
“He’s the ideal person to have in our squad.”
In the past, selecting a spare batsman for a two Test series on home soil might have reeked of indecision and instability.
But even with the understandable desire to now have a replacement on hand in case of concussion, many were still asking on Thursday, how is Bancroft the 14th man?
He wasn’t in the original Australia A selection trial shootout until Nic Maddinson ruled himself out for mental reasons.
Then even once he was given a wildcard entry, and made 49 against Pakistan when every other Test hopeful fell over, Bancroft still may not have been in the frame for Brisbane until Will Pucovski asked not to be considered.
Bancroft himself dismissed his own chances on Tuesday night despite his gutsy first innings in Perth.
Hohns declared on Thursday that Bancroft had made “noticeable” improvement in his game since being dropped two Tests into theAshes, but he could only have been referencing his domestic one-day form (scores of 78, 76 and 72 this summer), because in red ball cricket, the WA opener has not set the world on fire.
Fox Cricket expert and former selector Mark Waugh told The Daily Telegraph for his summer preview – well before the Australia A match after which decisions were made – that the improvement wasn’t clear to him when surmising Bancroft appeared a long way from Test cricket.
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“I think Bancroft’s technique has got to a stage where I just don’t think he can succeed at the top level against good bowling,” Waugh said.
“With his technique, too many things have got out of control there. He had that year off and his technique to me looks a bit worse than when he left the game before his ban.
“His footwork and his body shape and angles and bat swing plane just don’t look quite right to me.”
AUSTRALIA’S 14-MAN SQUAD FOR FIRST TEST
David Warner, Joe Burns, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Cameron Bancroft, Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Tim Paine (capt), Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson, Michael Neser.
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Pakistan squad: Azhar Ali (c), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan Snr, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah.
Originally published as Australian first Test squad: Joe Burns, Cameron Bancroft win call-ups as Harris, Khawaja snubbed