Ashes questions have to dictate Brisbane and Canberra selections
Just over two hours of play in two days means we can chalk one up for the mizzly Sydney weather; rain that was too heavy to play through but not really heavy enough to actually wet anything, and light that was kind of dim but not really so dark that you’d drive home with the lights on. Did the drawn SCG Test actually save the Australians from humiliating defeat, or did it cost them the opportunity to make the hard, but not-unwarranted call on a couple of batsmen?
The former is definitely true, but I can’t help but fear the latter will be used to take a similar squad into the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, to be played in Brisbane and Canberra in late January-early February.
Are Peter Siddle and Chris Tremain still fourth and fifth-choice in the pace ranks? Will Australia need a second genuine spinner on tour (and who would that be now)? Where does James Pattinson fit in, now that he appears to be fit again? Is Jhye Richardson ready for Test cricket?
And is there merit in sitting Starc and Hazlewood out of one or both of the Sri Lanka Tests? Could the back-up pace berths be decided by a good, old-fashioned bowl-off?
With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on its way back to India, the thumping series loss will be for nothing if the Australian selectors and coaches aren’t prepared to learn from the mistakes made.
And with an Ashes tour looming large, this upcoming Sri Lanka series is the last chance to adjust and experiment.
