Rookie Sam has become a pawn in the Australian selection debate
From Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon of ABC News Down Under
The boys tackle issues across the Tasman – this week, it’s the controversial Australian selection policy. Geoff Lemon: Adam. A question for you to start. Is Greg Chappell on the wacky baccy? Adam Collins: The Neverending Story, this one.We talked last week about Cameron White versus Trevor Hohns, with the Australian Players Association on the undercard. The heat has been turned up with the No.1 ODI ranking all but gone; Sam Heazlett becoming the symbol of all that’s wrong with selection policy along the way. There are player bonus payments under threat, and it’s complicated by crowded schedules and the need to rest. A mess. GL: I ask about GC because he’s gone hyperbolic in defending the Heazlett pick – of a kid who’s never played List A for his state – by saying selectors would have been derelict in their duty if they hadn’t picked him. While humming “I believe the children are our future.” In which case, the whole team should be teenagers, right? He also said there’s no point having an experienced player sitting on the bench, but the thing about bench players is, they often need to come in and play. Which is exactly what happened. AC: Yeah, you don’t pick players in the hope they won’t participate. And someone more qualified might have been better placed to shape the result. GL: Great piece by Brydon Coverdale on Chris Hartley this week – there are guys like him who perform their whole careers and never get near a national team, then all-but-teenagers are thrown in to the highest level of cricket because of “gut feeling”, or to promote “development”. Is it just me or does that make zero sense? AC: And New Zealand showed up the flawed logic, with Dean Brownlie and Neil Broom influential in two wins as older guys coming back after strong domestic work. We went on this journey at Test level, with significant contributions from Chris Rogers then Adam Voges after bashing the door down, yet the opposite applies for ODIs. Then there’s the point White made about it being picked from the Big Bash more than 50-over domestic games. Those two formats are more specialised by the month, and as you say Geoff, it’s demoralising for those on the circuit year in, year out. GL: Just pick your best players. Development can take care of itself on the next level down. AC: The whole playing in New Zealand every year isn’t working out either, is it? GL: A bad habit of winning the toss at Eden Park, sending them in and conceding 300. And a bad habit of muffing run chases at Hamilton on Waitangi Day. It was Deja Vu Town. Great chase though, I was on NZ radio as Starc and Cummins biffed it around, the game looked like it was in the bag, then Trent Boult produced another special. Six-for. Loves taking bags against Australia. AC: They don’t play another ODI until the Champions Trophy. Notwithstanding the last week, they’ll surely go deep. It’s a good test on a bigger stage for Travis Head. He’s the guy I reckon they’ll build their World Cup defence around. All the gears, all
the shots, and that knack of racing through 75-second overs before batsmen have even looked up. GL: And happier tales on the Australian T20 front, with Ben Dunk into the squad thanks to Chris Lynn’s busted neck. Sad because Lynn is such a talent and we all want to see him play as often as possible. But Dunk was another of those weird non-selections – top scorer in the BBL and then initially left out. AC: Exactly the type of player who would have been gutted at missing that BBL All-Stars XI after topping the pops this season. It’s not the worst idea having a composite side of the BBL. Does it devalue the fabled Australian T20 baseball cap with half the first-choice side in India? I don’t think so. GL: T20 Internationals have always been weird. There hasn’t been the opportunity for a culture to develop. Didn’t Watto get the best-player gong, the Allan Border medal, in a year when we’d played five games? And he won it this year, bless his heart, when I thought he’d retired a year beforehand. So no one minds much, and I reckon BBL All-Stars is the way to go. Recognise those who’ve been best in that format, instead of picking Test guys who don’t have the rhythm of it ingrained. AC: It’d be negligent if we didn’t glance at the next Ashes: with Ali Cook giving away the armband, Joe Root is a lock to be running the show in Australia next summer. I remember Graeme Swann describing him as a changeroom pest, and then Root giggling like a kid about Stuart Broad and the word “length” during the 2015 Ashes. In short: I hope he maintains his style. It could be fun. GL: One thing you can’t deny about Stuart Broad is that he’s very long. Unaptly named, really. The thing is, will darling young Joey be able to stay that way? I remember when a fresh-faced Sniffer Smith lobbed into the Ashes debacle in 2010, and the selectors made some comment that he was there to tell jokes in the dressing room. There’s no flicker of the jovial about him now though. Root bats with freedom, but captaincy is a straitjacket for a lot of players. AC: Hope not. For straighter types though, a polite nod in the direction of Cook. Handy company with Grace and Brearley as dual Ashes winners at home. Maybe now the burden is no more he’ll punk Australia with another 700 runs Down Under like last time he was a member of the ranks? GL: Don’t remind me. If we have to sit through another five days like Brisbane 2010, I’ll call this whole caper off and walk into the sea. Of course I’m mainly worried for how badly the travelling fans will get sunburnt. Three-day losses are much better for you. Let’s stick with those.
It’s a good test on the bigger stage for Travis Head. He’s the guy, I reckon, the Australians will build their World Cup defence around