Cricket Australia (CA), on Sunday (January 15), named their squad for the forthcoming four-match Test series in India, commencing in February. Glenn Maxwell, the explosive all-rounder, and Ashton Agar, the 23-year-old slow left-arm orthodox bowler, have earned recalls to the 16-man squad. Mitchell Swepson, the 23-year-old legspinner, has received his maiden call-up into the Test squad.
Maxwell last played a Test match for Australia against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2014. The 28-year-old hasn’t been in prime form this season, having notched up just 129 runs at an average of 25.80 in the Sheffield Shield so far. However, his ability to pick up crucial wickets with his off-spin helped him to win a place for the upcoming tour of India.
“We know Glenn plays very well against spin and has a lot of experience playing in India. We think his ability with the bat, coupled with his handy off-spin will complement the bowling unit if required,” Australia’s Interim National Selector Trevor Hohns said.
Agar, the tall left-arm spinner, has forced his way back into the Test set-up on the back of snaring 16 scalps at an average of 27.81 for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield. The 23-year-old hasn’t played for his country since partaking in the Lord’s Test against England in 2013.
Swepson, the legspinner, was a surprise inclusion in the 16-man squad. The 23-year-old has taken just 10 wickets at a modest average of 43 in the Sheffield Shield so far. Swepson, though, has put up impressive performances in the ongoing Big Bash League by bagging nine scalps at 20.11 for Brisbane Heat. Adam Zampa, the 24-year-old legspinner, also was in contention for the third spinner’s slot, but lost out to Swepson.
“Mitchell is an exciting young leg-spinner that has come through the pathway system. We feel he has a lot of potential and want to see him take his opportunity in conditions that should suit him should he get a chance,” Hohns said.
“Ashton is a good left-arm orthodox spinner who can be very exciting with the bat and also fields extremely well. He provides us with a great all-round package,” he added.
Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will lead the pace attack, with Jackson Bird selected as the third seamer. Nathan Lyon, the off-spinner, and Steve O’Keefe, the slow left-arm orthodox bowler, in all likelihood will lead the spin attack.
Lyon didn’t have a good time in Sri Lanka where he couldn’t make his presence felt on turning tracks and finished up with 16 wickets at 31.93. He also struggled to make an impact during the Australian summer. However, the off-spinner adds valuable experience to the side, having already toured India for a Test series in 2013.
O’Keefe, the left-arm spinner, has played just four Tests for Australia. The 32-year-old, though, has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit, evidenced by the 222 scalps he has taken at 23.68.
“Nathan Lyon and Stephen O’Keefe one would expect would be our two frontline spinners. The other two are there for backup, or if we need a third spinner, if the conditions suit that type of bowling … Yes, there are two left-arm spinners there, but they’re both different types. We’ve got Stephen O’Keefe, who is a lot shorter, and we’ve got a tall left-arm spinner who gets good bounce,” Hohns stated.
Steve Smith, the Australian captain, David Warner and Usman Khawaja will be expected to shore up the batting line-up. Meanwhile, Matt Renshaw, the promising 20-year-old Queensland opener, has been rewarded for his consistent performances in the three-match Test series against Pakistan with a place in the side. Shaun Marsh is the other opener picked for the tour. Peter Handscomb, the middle-order batsman, who averaged an astounding 114.66 against Pakistan, also has been retained.
Matthew Wade beat stiff competition from Peter Nevill to don the wicketkeeping gloves. Mitchell Marsh is the lone seam-bowling all-rounder picked for the series.
“We know India is an incredibly tough place to tour and have success in, with most International teams struggling to adapt to the conditions, but we have chosen a squad which we believe will work really hard in its endeavours to perform well and give a good account of itself in the sub-continent. We expect all of the young players chosen to benefit immensely from the experience,” Hohns noted.
Some of the players selected for the Test series will depart on January 29 for Dubai to practice. The remainder of the squad will join the set-up after the Chappell-Hadlee Series to be held in New Zealand.
The first Test of the four-match rubber will begin on February 23 in Pune. The second Test of the series will take place at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore, commencing on March 4. The third and the fourth Test of the rubber will be held in Ranchi and Dharamsala, respectively.
Australian Test squad: David Warner, Matt Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (c), Peter Handscomb, Steve O’Keefe, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Jackson Bird, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Swepson, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Marsh, Matt Wade, Mitchell Starc
, on Sunday (January 15), named their squad for the forthcoming four-match Test series in India, commencing in February. Glenn Maxwell, the explosive all-rounder, and Ashton Agar, the 23-year-old slow left-arm orthodox bowler, have earned recalls to the 16-man squad. Mitchell Swepson, the 23-year-old legspinner, has received his maiden call-up into the Test squad.){kind=link}