WACA to settle spot
Wicket could decide if all- rounder gains call- up
FEW batsmen have ever prayed for a spicy WACA deck, but Peter Handscomb’s fate may rest on a return to the fast bowling paradise of old.
Darren Lehmann said the pitch dished up in Perth would decide whether all- rounder Mitchell Marsh gets a call- up for the third Test, although the dilemma selectors face over Handscomb’s future is far more complicated than a simple call between specialist batsman and all- rounder.
No one has said that Handscomb is the man under the gun, but the fact Shaun Marsh has nailed his opportunity at No. 6 leaves virtually no other option if selectors want the fifth bowling option offered by Marsh.
A u s t r a - lia’s selectors are in strong form this summer, however, Handscomb versus Marsh shapes as the toughest call to date.
Lehmann said it would come down to conditions and whether it was the batting paradise Perth highway that has been rolled out in recent years – where the attack will need all the help they can get – or the Dennis Lillee batter’s graveyard WACA of old – where an all- rounder won’t be so important.
For a batsman as out of form as Handscomb, he would want to be careful what he wishes for, but a lighting- fast, bouncy deck might be his best hope of taking seam- bowling option Marsh out of play.
“The wicket will determine that. We’ll have a look and make sure everyone’s pulled up all right and how the bowlers are and then make a call from there,” said Lehmann.
“We just want to have the ability to get 20 wickets. If the three and Nathan can do that, so be it. If we decide to go with an extra one it would be for that reason. We’ve got all the reports back and JL ( Justin Langer) has been really impressed with ( Marsh).
“He’s surprised by bowling a couple of games ago, he surprised us as well to be perfectly honest.
“His batting has been exceptional all summer and he’s led from the front as captain. He deserves his chance.
“Other people might be unlucky to miss out but Mitchell fills the role we need for this particular Test match.”
Even though Marsh’s potential inclusion is being framed around “horses for courses”, the ramifications run deeper.
Handscomb was backed in 12 months ago as a pillar a new- look Australian team could build itself around, his name even bandied around as a future leader within the national set- up.
Since being handed that assignment, Handscomb has gone to work and built himself a strong Test batting average of 47. The sample size is small and Handscomb is in worryingly poor form, but dropping batsmen who average 47 can be a dangerous practice which has the potential to reverberate around the dressing room.