Australia squad for first Test against Sri Lanka: Tim Paine (c/wk), Josh Hazlewood (vc), Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Will Pucovski, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle
So ins are Burns, Pucovski and Renshaw. Out goes Mitch and Sean Marsh, Handscomb and Tremain ( who was unlucky IMO)
Hard to know whether the selectors are genuinely changing the direction of the team in this series and particularly have they finally drawn a line through Sean Marsh’s name or if they are just using the series to try out a few candidates for the ashes.
Gutted for MO his two faves make way for Pucovski, Renshaw and Burns…but no harm in having a look at what else is in the batting coffers…sadly the Marsh boys have had their chances and failed to grasp them…would of thought Jye Richardson or Tremain would of been a better choice as back up to the big 3, then old man Siddle…but hey it’s a start…disappointing tho to see no Richardson in the CA side…
Harris Renshaw Burns, Uzzie, Head, Pucovski Paine Cummins Starc Hazlewood Lyon…not an Ashes winning formula…but add Smith and Warner and hopefully the team can be competitive…
Obviously they have something against Bancroft --He is a better player than Burns, Renshaw and Head – I will repeat what I said the other day, Head has been unable to make a century in FC cricket this season.
Bancroft just hasnt played enough cricket to justify selection at this stage AR. I think his card will be marked depending on how he bats in the 2nd half of the Sheffield Shield season. A couple of tons and I reckon he will be picked for the ashes tour. Renshaw has made very few runs for Queensland this year but he does have some reasonable past performances as a solid opener in tests. Head has gritted it out a few times in the India series but he does frustrate me with his capacity to get to 30 and then invent new ways of getting out. Burns has a solid shield season behind him and deserves his chance. The big question is whether this might be the end for Shaun Marsh. Not according to Hohns
CA 11. 3/27 at drinks…be interesting to see what happens in neither Burns or Renshaw score any runs…also if Labuschagne fails twice too…christ I hope Pucovski scores some runs …if not…not to sure what the selectors logic or game plan will be…
Sobering performance and an indication that Sri Lanka may not be the easy beats that we may have assumed they will be. The reality is that New Zealand are a much better test and ODI team than we are at the moment and we certainly won’t be flogging SL like they did. Ironically the only player who has scored a 50 today is one who has not been picked for the test team ( Patterson)
Mikeh let’s just wait till SL bat mate…if the likes of Boult and Southee can roll them over I have hopes Starc ,Hazlewood and Cummins can too…plus there are no Pujaras or Kohlis in the SL team…true Aust don’t have a Williamson…but if Latham and Nicholls can score hundreds one can only hope Uzzie or even Harris can replicate that feat…
I see Lyon has been flicked for Zampa in Friday’s final one dayer against India. Stanlake comes in for Behrendorff who has a sore back apparently and Siddle keeps his spot. Lyon would be on shaky ground for the World Cup squad you’d think.
Well the law of averages says that one of the Australian batsmen will get a hundred this series - note I said law of averages and not current batting averages or current form.
Mike it is absolutely mind boggling how Kurtis Patterson (who scored a brilliant century on his first class debut vs WA at the SCG as an 18YO when NSW were in all sorts of trouble when he came to the wicket) has not played Test Cricket whilst his contemporaries in Maddinson, Laburshagne, Burns, Handscomb, Harris, Head, Doolan, Bailey, M.Marsh, Henriques, Maxwell, Cartwright, Finch etc have all been chosen ahead of him in those 7 or 8 years since!
Mike it is absolutely mind boggling how Kurtis Patterson (who scored a brilliant century on his first class debut vs WA at the SCG as an 18YO when NSW were in all sorts of trouble when he came to the wicket) has not played Test Cricket whilst his contemporaries in Maddinson, Laburshagne, Burns, Handscomb, Harris, Head, Doolan, Bailey, M.Marsh, Henriques, Maxwell, Cartwright, Finch etc have all been chosen ahead of him in those 7 or 8 years since!
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Patterson has a Shield average of 41, as does Maxwell who also has over 60 Shield wickets. He certainly does deserve a go along with some of those mentioned above in particular Hilton Carthorse. Might as well throw Bancroft into that list then as his Shield average is below 40 (which means Patterson should have got a go before him too) and test average of barely 30.
Considering Doran played well in the latter half of the shield season last year v the Dukes ball, doing well in this game…another strong finish v the Dukes ball again in Feb/March could see him as a roughie for Ashes squad perhaps…good comeback by the CA pair…think Patterson has been close a few times BH…but lost out to some of those guys above…gonna be embarrassing if none of Burns, Renshaw or Labuschagne make any runs in the 2nd dig and one if them will play instead of Patterson, because the squad was picked before this game…sounds like Pucovski is a monty for 6 no matter his score…
Yep you can add Bancroft, S.Marsh, Khawaja, Renshaw, Ferguson are a few others chosen ahead of Patterson Freeze hence the etc I left after naming more than a dozen on the end of my last past…otherwise I would still be typing all the names that have got a go before Kurtis despite his good record!
Surely Patterson needs to be added to this squad…runs are currency so JL says…well Patterson has certainly raided the SL bank tonight…unlike the rest…wonder what the selectors will do?
I’ve heard that he is also a pretty good bloke so that is another box ticked as far as JL is concerned, agree Freeze no harm in adding him to the squad and has certainly done his Ashes chances no harm either.
I wondered why they picked the test squad before having a look at this game. The CA XI game finishes on Saturday and the test doesnt start till Thursday so surely they would have enough time to pick and assemble a squad between games. Has sort of blown up a bit in the selectors faces a bit in that the two non test players were the ones with the centuries. Hopefully the other guys will do something in the 2nd dig.
Anyway this pink ball test is in Brisbane so hopefully they will have some contingency plans in place this time to avoid a repeat of that farcical end to the BBL game there tonight.
The selectors are going to look pretty silly if the 3 they have added to the squad have twin failures in this game whilst others impress.
Then again looking silly for these blokes is a bit like water off a ducks back.
The selectors will look even sillier if they pick Siddle over Richardson now Hazelwood has been ruled out with injury…but wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Siddle plays…perfect opportunity to blood a young fella like Richardson…esp with the Ashes in mind…
With Renshaw failing…and Burns less so, think Burns gets the gig there, if Uzzie doesn’t open…if Pucovski makes a few then Uzzie will open I guess with Labuschagne, Marsh, Head and Pucovski batting 3-6…