Australian T20 team to face India
First let’s take a look at the Australian squad for Twenty20 International matches against the touring Team India.
George Bailey (capt), David Warner (vice-capt), Travis Birt, Dan Christian, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Brad Hogg, David Hussey, Brett Lee, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Clint McKay, Matthew Wade (wk)
Most of this team picks itself. Warner is in amazing form, Birt was the best batsman in the Big Bash League, Doherty is the best partnership bowler in Australia, James Faulkner is in fantastic form, David Hussey is one of the greatest batsmen ever to play T20 cricket, Mitchell Marsh is in fantastic form and is a genius in this format, Clint McKay is bowling amazingly well, Aaron Finch just keeps on piling on runsl and Matthew Wade is easily the best keeper in the country and is in fantastic form with the bat.
But a number of the players raise a few eyebrows, so I am going to focus on those.
George Bailey averaged just 18 runs with the bat during the Big Bash League and, barring the last 2 games, was considered to be woefully out of form. He doesn’t have a great career to fall back on either – at his best he was a fringe Australian player but he is yet to make his debut. Some say that he should have by now but right now he is out of form. So why is he captain? Yet, of the squad, he is the best captain. David Hussey is probably next best, while Doherty did a great job for Hobart Hurricanes as their captain, but Bailey is a better captain. Bailey is basically playing as a professional captain. But why not retain White if you are going to do that? Bailey is in better form than White but White at his best is a lot better than Bailey at his best. This is a curious decision.
Dan Christian is an interesting choice. He did score 163 runs in his 6 games this season at an average of just under 30, while striking at a healthy 139 and also took 6 wickets at 33 with an economy of a decent 7.21. That isn’t too bad. If he were already in the team, it’d be enough to keep him there. But his game is better suited to test cricket, not to T20s. But, like Shane Watson before him, because Christian is an all-rounder he is expected to do well in the shorter formats. Christian was desperately unlucky not to make his test debut this season and will be using this T20 tournament to stake his claims for a test berth. Perhaps the selectors are nervous about whether Christian can cope with the big time. Now with an IPL season behind him, Christian is better suited now to be ready for the international arena. Not the strangest choice but Steve Smith was in better form. Unless they want Christian’s gentle medium pace, to replace Watson’s bowling?
Brad Hogg must raise more than a few eyebrows. It is great that he did so well in his first competitive tournament for 4 years, since he retired, but he only came out of retirement for the Big Bash League, not to play T20 cricket! He is about to have his 41st birthday too! And if he is being considered, why not Shane Warne, who has been great in T20s for the past 3 or 4 years? Surely Warne is a better option than Hogg? And if we are considering old players, why not Brad Hodge, the batsman, who has done so phenomenally well for 3 or 4 years, especially in T20s. Nonetheless, Hogg did finish 3rd on the wicket taking tally in the BBL and with an amazing economy of just 5.40. But India made fun of him every time he played against them in his playing days. I would have much preferred to have seen Nathan Lyon playing, as Lyon was in form and, unlike Hogg, hasn’t retired.
Brett Lee is an odd choice. He has never been well suited to the T20 format, took just 6 wickets in 8 matches at a rather ordinary average of 32, though his economy of 6.64 was pretty good. The only plus for Lee is that Indians hate ultra fast and Lee is ultra fast. Also, of course, Indians love Brett Lee, so that might affect them, playing against a player that they idolise. It is a bit of a hunch and the figures suggest that this is a bad choice but you never know.
Shaun Marsh is a bit of an odd choice, given his appalling test form this season, averaging just 3 in test cricket in the current 4 test series. But he has scored 117 runs, getting out just once, off a mere 70 balls, at an amazing strike rate of 167. Of course, he only batted twice, getting 99 not out and then 18 and out. Great figures, but that seems like aeons ago, since he has been so horrid in tests since. Can he rediscover the form from that one T20 innings that led to him being recalled to the test team? Or has his test form shown that he is generally out of form?
Those are 5 odd choices. The others are obviously good choices. But even these 5 odd choices are not necessarily bad choices. I can see a way that picking Bailey could be good. He is a very good captain, after all, and many feel he should have played T20 cricket years ago. Perhaps he will make up for all those times that he wasn’t picked and make us proud. You never know.
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