News that Cam Green is likely to miss the Test series against India solves one problem for Australia but creates a few more.
It opens up the No.4 position and lets Steve Smith slide back down to where he has had most of his success, after mixed results as an opener last summer.
But there are two other problems now and it really does underline the importance of a having a good all-rounder and what they can do for team balance.
Australia now needs to find a new opener to partner Usman Khawaja at the top of the order. And they may need a new seam-bowling all-rounder at some point in the series too.
It’s hard to imagine Mitch Marsh managing the workload for five consecutive Test matches given recent issues with his body, as much as I’d like to see him take the all-rounder role on against a strong India line-up.
The first question is the hardest to answer. I have no clue what the selectors want in an opener. Last summer they opted for the Smith experiment over choosing any of the openers.
Matt Renshaw, Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris have all been tried and discarded. Harris got off to the best start to the Sheffield Shield season this week with his 143 and 52, while Bancroft got a pair and Renshaw (6 and 15) also failed.
Then there’s the wildcard in New South Wales 19-year-old opener Sam Konstas, who became the youngest player since Ricky Ponting to hit centuries in both innings of a shield match.
I’d say Konstas is a dark horse for the Australia A team or even an extended squad for the first Test. If he continues to impress before the first Test he could become a serious option.
For his development though, he would be better off playing some more shield cricket. It might just be too soon for him but with Khawaja not getting any younger, there will be more chances on the horizon.
Bancroft’s pair was untimely but even when he had the runs on the board over the past couple of years they didn’t want him anyway.
The answer to the second problem might be staring selectors in the face – last summer’s shield player of the season in Beau Webster.
Webster enjoyed one of the great all-round shield seasons last summer with 938 runs at 58.6 and 30 wickets at 29.3. They are really impressive numbers and the Tasmanian struck another hundred this week.
He has certainly given himself the best chance leading into the summer. What I like about Webster, 30, is that he is determined to improve. He switched from off-spin bowling to medium pace four years ago and put a lot of time and thought into building up his body to make that switch happen.
He was a bit of a floating batsman but has now locked down a spot as an attacking No.6. It shows he understands his role and what he can bring to a team and that could fit into the Test team’s style of play.
Webster has proved he is very capable, and I can’t see any reason not to pick him if Australia wants someone who can offer seam bowling support to the big three.
I had a chuckle reading some dismissing Webster as a Test prospect because he only bowls in the high 120kmh range. For one, he is an all-rounder not a strike bowler. And Vernon Philander bowled 125-135kmh and had a magnificent career for South Africa.
You don’t know until you try him. You never know what a player is capable of until they are in the middle. To disregard someone because of the speed they bowl despite having had an impressive season previously, makes you question what more you need to do.
The message has to be clear and transparent for shield players so they know what they need to do to give themselves the best chance to play for Australia. If it’s not, it becomes frustrating for players.
The inclusion of Webster alongside Marsh would mean one of the existing batsmen would have to slide up to open, but the Tasmanian would complement Marsh well and protect him from needing to bowl much.
So who else could go to the top? Travis Head’s name has been spoken about. The aggressive Head could play a role similar to retired opener David Warner or like Virender Sehwag used to for India, getting off to lightning-fast starts and forcing the opposition to switch to a one-day field straight away.
It could work well. Khawaja playing his natural game as a bit more of a traditional opener and Head loading up and going on the attack early to disturb a quality India bowling unit.
I do also like Head batting at No.5 and it works well for Australia, so it will come down to what the selectors think will work best for the whole team.
Marsh has opened in white-ball cricket but all I know is opening in Test cricket is not an easy role. And we’ve seen one of Australia’s best batsmen in Smith not get the most out of that position. So it is a big call to make.
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