I thought I was beyond caring about Australian selection issues, but it just keeps getting stranger. The gum-suckers think it's all a conspiracy, with the feted Victorians finding it virtually impossible to get a game, but as soon as the big boy from St Kilda backs someone, he gets the nod. You might think the horses for courses idea might come into it somewhere, but that would imply Beer had bowled more than 108 first-class overs at the WACA.
Phil Hughes added some humour to the other inclusions by promptly getting a duck, while Steve Smith at least backed up his useful bowling by knocking off the crow-eater's meagre target.
I still don't want to bother thinking about whether Hughes/Smith/etc. are actually the right choices, but hte one thing I am sure of is that if the selectors do think the younger guys are better options than the likes of Hodge, White and so on for whatever reason, they need to pick some guys and stick with them (apart from dealing with injuries, of course). It'll be better for the team and those left behind in both the short term and the long term.
4 comments:
Stick with them - as you say, that's an often overlooked factor when things are not going well.
Hodge has retired.
As for spinners, NSW has a guy named Steve O'Keefe who has actually been taking wickets at a reasonably low average and who has more experience in first class cricket than Beer.
He's an all rounder too.
He averages around 50 with the bat and about 26 with the ball.
I'm aware of O'Keefe - my point here was that I've finally had so much of the same debates which have been going on for ages (since before Hodge announced retirement, although you'd be surprised how often he's still brought up), that I don't have the effort to reach a conclusion. Part of the reason for that is because when it comes to the new options, being happy to give them a decent run is probably more important than who you pick in the first place. I'd definitely say it's worth more than the selcectors seem to be crediting it.
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