End the revolving door farce, let’s pick and stick
LAST time the Ashes were fought for in Australia, in 2013, the home team was victorious. Easily too.
It was a 5-0 whitewash during which the Aussie XI did not change from the first match to the last. Ah, the good old days. It is the sort of scenario of which this crop of national selectors, headed up by Trevor “Cracker” Hohns, could only dream.
The reality is Australia has been unable to lock on to anything that resembles a consistently successful side in its past 15 Tests, and has slumped to fifth on the ICC rankings as a result.
A week out from the start of the Ashes series, we do not know who should open, keep, or bat at No.6. The call to arms from selectors and captain Steve Smith to “go forth and get runs” in three straight Sheffield Shield matches to lock down those spots was heeded by no one other than red hot West Australian Bancroft. Everyone else did the opposite, creating a week of Ashes Idol auditions.
Tasmanian skipper George Bailey, who dubbed himself the “whitewash wizard” after his role in the romp to victory four summers ago, made a hundred himself at the MCG on Monday and said his “phone was on”.
Bailey was joking, but so dire was the pre-match situation, not for Tassie but for Australia, he brought in keeper Tim Paine, as a batsman, because if “he or Matty Wade got a hundred, they could get the call-up”.
What a shocking picture that paints of the current state of our national cricketing affairs. Of course, the selectors could very well have had their side locked and loaded before all the last-ditch efforts to get in this week. You would hope they had a clear picture at least.
The chopping and changing through the past 15 Tests suggests they are not quite sure about their judgment. They called the turnstile a “horses for courses” policy as the Test team travelled the subcontinent. But that lack of continuity has led to calls for a return to the “pick and stick” success of previous times. It was, however, when the team was winning.
In the past 15 Tests, in which only three players — skipper Steve Smith, opener Dave Warner and spinner Nathan Lyon — played in every one, the Aussies won six, lost eight, and drew one. At the other end of the scale there were seven players brought in for two Tests or fewer. Four players had a single go at it.
The time has come this week for Peter Nevill, who could get another look in after being dropped 10 Tests ago. But he is the only one set for another chance, after Bancroft provided the only other name for Hohns and company to even consider.
Most of the incumbents will have first crack at staking a claim for a long-term spot, and to win back the Ashes. But their presence does not scare a few old English types who do not rate them too highly. Ian Botham called the Aussie batting line-up “one of the poorest I’ve seen” while former off-spinner and longtime antagonist Graeme Swann said it was “one of the weakest” to turn out for Australia in decades.