Adelaide: Former Australia fast-bowler Jason Gillespie thinks the selectors have been very clear in their thinking about the batting order for the upcoming Test series against the West Indies, adding that it’s all about having the best six batters from the country in their team.
For the two-game series against the West Indies starting on January 17 at the Adelaide Oval, Australia will have Steve Smith as the new Test opener after David Warner’s retirement from the format, with Cameron Green to bat at number four.
“I think the thinking of the selectors is pretty clear. They want the best six batters in the country. They feel that they’re the best six batters in the country, they’ve just got to find a way to fit them in.”
“Steve Smith seems to be up for the challenge and wants to have a crack at it. I really like seeing Cameron Green in that team. I think he’s a fantastic cricketer and deserves an opportunity in the Test side for sure,” said Gillespie on ABC Radio’s Summer Grandstand show.
Smith was made the Test opener ahead of specialist options like Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Matthew Renshaw, who’s in the team for the upcoming West Indies series as a reserve batter.
With the Australia Test team playing at full strength, Gillespie, the current head coach of South Australia and Adelaide Strikers in the BBL, believes there are limited opportunities for players in Sheffield Shield to break through to the national set-up and that communication will be important between the selectors and players.
“As long as the communication’s really clear because we fear that selectors — and I don’t know what the conversations have been from the selectors to players in the Sheffield Shield around the country — a lot of the communication has been ‘score runs or take wickets and selection will look after itself’, but there are times when you know you can score runs or take wickets, but there’s got to be a spot available.”
“With our bowling attack in particular, you could be a Sheffield Shield bowler punching out 50 wickets a season but I’m not sure how you’re getting into that bowling attack with Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood.”
“It’s a tricky one because we’ve seen Scotty Boland churning our lots of wickets, Michael Neser over the years, and they’ve had very few opportunities — not because they’re not good enough — but because there just isn’t a spot available. The Australian side is so settled, it’s very difficult to force their way in … all you can do is keep banging the door down,” he concluded.
–IANS