Australia’s Travis Head walks back to the pavilion after his dismissal during the fourth day of the second cricket Test match between Sri Lanka and Australia at the Galle International Cricket Stadium in Galle on July 11, 2022. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP)
Australia selector under fire over Border-Gavaskar Test picks
Australia selector Tony Dodemaide has moved to defend the Test XI picks that have fans scratching their heads.
Australia’s Travis Head walks back to the pavilion after his dismissal during the fourth day of the second cricket Test match between Sri Lanka and Australia at the Galle International Cricket Stadium in Galle on July 11, 2022. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP)
Australia selector Tony Dodemaide has moved to defend the picks that have fans scratching their heads.
After winning the toss and batting first in the second Test, Australian named a shuffled XI that saw Travis Head recalled and spinner Matthew Kuhnemann making his debut.
Travis Head makes an inauspicious return for Australia
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Head’s immediate contribution to Australia’s effort was an innings of 12 off 30 balls, but the selector insists he was recalled to give the team another spin option.
Matthew Renshaw was left out for the second Test in Delhi wih question marks hanging over his fitness and the decision to take him on tour.
“Renners is really stiff,” Dodemaide said according to ESPN Cricinfo.
“There’s no slight on him. He’s very much a valued player in our team planning moving forward. He was quite stiff, particularly in the first innings [in Nagpur]. So he hasn’t been dropped for those performances.
“The key thing where we see the difference this time around is that Heady does offer quite a valuable option as a fifth bowler and that’s where we felt we were stretched in parts of the game in Nagpur and that fifth bowling option is something that we value, albeit another spinner. But we expect spin to dominate in any case.”
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A slap in the face
The debut of Kuhnemann is a slap in the face of seasoned spinner Ashton Agar with Dodemaide openly critical of his red-ball game.
“His red-ball game is not quite where he wants it to be,” Dodemaide said. “Matt Kuhnemann has come over and impressed. He got a chance in Sri Lanka, albeit in limited-overs form, he’s played well in domestic cricket this season and he’s impressed us in the nets. We just feel his style at the moment is more suited to these conditions.”
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Australia selections questioned
Australia have gambled on a rare balance of spin versus pace for a Baggy Green Test outfit.
Allrounder Cameron Green is another of the walking wounded taken on tour, and it is unclear when he will return to give Australia more balance.
“It’s a bit unusual going the three spin and one quick,” Dodemaide said. “We feel the pitch here, the conditions, we feel that spin will dominate the game once again and from what we understand this pitch has been used three times already this year and there’s already substantial cracking in the areas where most of the game is going to be played. That’s the reason for going for the three spinners. The fifth bowler is important too.
“We don’t have the seam bowling option of Cam on the table quite yet. We’re very confident and hope he’s continuing to progress and we expect him to be available for the third Test in Indore. That’s the context around selection for this one.”
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