Australian test squad v Sri Lanka

[Axe Man]

Australia squad for first Test against Sri Lanka: Tim Paine (c/wk), Josh Hazlewood (vc), Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Will Pucovski, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle

Goodbye Marsh x2, Handscomb and Finch.

Good ins although it may be a little early for Pucovski with his mental health issues?

[lemmon]

Australian test squad v Sri Lanka

The selectors have named a 13 man squad:

Tim Paine, Josh Hazlewood, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Will Pucovski, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle

And for the first time in a while, I'm pretty happy.

It's an awesome opportunity to get a great look at a super-talented kid in Will Pucovski. I hope he plays and we get a really good look at him - he could provide Aussie cricket fans that glimmer of hope that we're looking for.

Also a really good time to have Renshaw back. This Sri Lanka attack is poor and he could be an asset in England, let's get him back in the fold and back in form.

Burns simply had to be picked. He's been very good in the Shield for a while, is versatile and experienced. It'd be hard to convince me he's not in the best 6 batsman in the country.

Wade obviously unlucky, but overall, this squad is a big step forward.

I think there's no chance Labuschagne won't play, but my lineup would be:

Harris
Renshaw
Khawaja
Burns
Head
Pucovski
Paine
Cummins
Starc
Lyon
Hazlewood

I think more likely is that Renshaw misses for Labuschagne with Khawaja opening.

You'd have to say that the test careers of S Marsh and Finch are done.

[lemmon]

Re: Australian test squad v Sri Lanka

A little bit more on Pucovski - a very mature young fella:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/18349416/adam-collins-meets-18-year-old-talented-mature-batsman-pucovski

In her excellent book Grit, Angela Duckworth asserts that natural gifts alone can become a distraction, counting for very little in the long run. "As much as talent counts, effort counts twice," she concludes from a comprehensive behavioural study.

Fortunately for Australian cricket, Will Pucovski appears to have arrived on the scene with both, along with a strong dash of self-awareness. All the prerequisites are present for the 18-year-old ton machine to become a very big deal on the senior stage, and soon.

Pucovski spoke to ESPNcricinfo in the week following the most significant fortnight of his sporting life so far. In the national championships he made four centuries on the bounce for Victoria's Under-19s. Upon arriving home, he clocked his maiden first grade century for the Melbourne Cricket Club. Next stop: the SCG for a Big Bash League curtain raiser, where he will lead a "Gilchrist XII" showcasing Generation Next on December 27.

From the relative anonymity of age-group cricket Pucovski now fields questions underpinned by a tone of inevitability that he will go on to earn the highest honours available. National Talent Manager and Australian selector Greg Chappell has hinted as much in his own lavish praise of a player he and his colleagues have had their eye on for a long time.

Pucovski is already media-trained to the back teeth, ready with modest responses about the importance of his team winning when he makes runs, or who he had on the wall as a kid (Ricky Ponting, if you were wondering). Chest out, eyes forward, hands behind his back. He may be new to this but he knows the drill.

Sitting across the table in a more intimate setting, less than a couple of Ponting pull shots from the MCG pitch that he dreams to dominate for state and country, what's most striking is Pucovski's maturity - the kind that most aren't quite so blessed with in a lifetime.

This has been directly aided by having plenty of time to sit and think over the last couple of formative years - the result of what Pucovski describes as a "bit of a head injury", when his skull slammed onto the knee of another player at football training. It was more serious than that; a severe concussion kept him not only out of sport but out of school for six months, restricted to rest on the couch. He was a sick boy.

The symptoms lingered when he went back to cricket that summer. As if foretold, it happened again: struck in the head by a bouncer. Next, he ran into a door at home. At this point Cricket Victoria stepped in and said he should take the rest of the season off.

But it still wasn't over. As recently as a couple of months ago he was hit once more in a freak training accident, a flying ball from an adjoining net collecting his now-battered skull. He only just got back to playing before the aforementioned carnival, where finally he did the smashing again: of the run-scorer's record that had lasted nearly a quarter of a century.

"Mentally I got through it pretty well," Pucovski reflects of the ordeal. Encouragingly from a batting standpoint, he says that the blows haven't affected him to the extent that he is unduly worried about his safety at the crease. Sports psychologists he worked with in this period doubtless have much to be thanked for there.

Of course, he had every right to be angry. Most would. Between times he debuted for Victoria's 2nd XI a week after his 17th birthday, making 45 in a side captained by David Hussey, and also including James Pattinson and Travis Dean.

But when taken to England with the Australian U-19s, severe headaches kept him off the field more than on it. Impatience can breed ill-discipline, but Pucovski was determined not to let an injured head cascade into a loss of nerve.

"I was always looking at it from the perspective that there are people worse off than me," he explains. "I know it could have been a lot worse, and I was always confident that I would get back to full fitness."

It's this clear-headed thinking that defines Pucovski and informs other facets of his life now that the injury is - touch wood - behind him.

For one, he hasn't let his privileged position as someone who can do what he can with the bat diminish his thirst to learn. The son of two senior teachers, he worked hard at school and won a place at Monash University to study Arts. "It is pretty hard to make it as a professional cricketer," he says with more of that self-awareness. "So it's important to have a back-up."

In keeping with the education theme, Pucovski works part-time at a local school mentoring a child with ADHD. "It is pretty rewarding when the kid is improving, and it does give you a bit of a kick because you've contributed in a way to making his life better," he says with a smile.

All this is refreshing in a sporting landscape too often dominated by lads behaving badly. Which isn't to say Pucovski doesn't go out with his mates for a night out just like any other (he does) and that he doesn't like a beer (he does that too). But don't expect to see him on the front page running amok. He's pledged to never smoke and never do drugs. You believe him.

"One thing I have prided myself on is trying to stay level-headed and make sure I am not getting into the wrong things," he goes on. "I don't really see myself going down that path where I would be seen as that guy who does go off the rails."

Pucovski speaks of balance in life, saying time spent away from cricket is just as important to success as hours logged in the nets: that when cricket isn't his whole world, he plays better.

Coupling two outside interests - journalism and soccer - he has taken to sports opinion website the Roar to pen articles about his beloved Manchester United. From the sample on there, this much is for sure: he'll never need a ghostwriter. Passion for the world game started with his father, who came to Australia from Serbia as a boy, with roots in the former Czechoslovakia.

In Chappell's assessment, Pucovski is a classical player, equally free in scoring on both sides of the wicket. "He's got power when he needs it, but he can hit the ball with enough speed to get it through the field, which is something that's made him stand out," the former Australian captain said. "It's a hallmark of his game; he hardly hits the ball in the air."

Assessing his own game, Pucovski freely admits that he doesn't have the inventive streak of Glenn Maxwell, describing himself as a prodder rather than a plunderer. Graham Manou, previously an Australian Test wicketkeeper and now CA's Pathways Manager, is a bit more generous, saying that you can already "see elements" of Ponting in Pucovski's strokeplay.

So what if this happens? If he emerges into a household name in the coming years? "How do I describe it? Surreal," Pucovski replies. He has seen the rapid rise of friend Sam Harper into a senior position for Victoria behind the stumps and understands the opportunity is there for him as well.

Exciting as that narrative is, he is equally mindful of the risks that come with name recognition and fame. Of everyone wanting their pound of flesh. But he doesn't want to let "external things" change who he is: "a good citizen at the same time as trying to make it in cricket". With a disposition like this, it's little wonder he keeps getting made captain of sides.

It's unconventional, but this young man knows that his sobering early injuries are a "significant part" of his story. As a cricketer and as a human being. And maybe the true making of him on both counts.

"I know that there is a lot more important things to ponder rather than worry about little things," he says. "I am looking at it more from an appreciative point of view, where I am just lucky to play a game that I love. If I am good enough, I will make it. If I'm not, I won't."

If only they all arrived like this.

[GVGjr]

Re: Australian test squad v Sri Lanka

Australia squad for first Test against Sri Lanka: Tim Paine (c/wk), Josh Hazlewood (vc), Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Will Pucovski, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle

Goodbye Marsh x2, Handscomb and Finch.

Good ins although it may be a little early for Pucovski with his mental health issues?

I really like the inclusions but somewhat perplexed with Siddle still being in the squad. Handscomb a bit stiff not to be in he squad.

[Axe Man]

Re: Australian test squad v Sri Lanka

I really like the inclusions but somewhat perplexed with Siddle still being in the squad. Handscomb a bit stiff not to be in the squad.

Perhaps the Siddle selection is with the Ashes in mind where his line and length should suit the conditions. I believe he went well in the last county season over there as well.

[GVGjr]

Re: Australian test squad v Sri Lanka

Perhaps the Siddle selection is with the Ashes in mind where his line and length should suit the conditions. I believe he went well in the last county season over there as well.

I would have thought the line and length bowler should be Hazlewood Siddle is a good bowler but I think we have better

[FrediKanoute]

Re: Australian test squad v Sri Lanka

Perhaps the Siddle selection is with the Ashes in mind where his line and length should suit the conditions. I believe he went well in the last county season over there as well.

Handscomb would be a disaster on English pitches. Did nothing in the Summer against the Indians.

[Sedat]

Re: Australian test squad v Sri Lanka

Quite disingenuous by Hohns to suggest Wade is not a batsman only option at the moment. England had no less than 3 keepers in their most recent test team (Bairstow, Buttler, Foakes) with Bairstow and Buttler selected as specialist batsmen in strong form. Sounds an awful lot like Wade.

[Happy Days]

Re: Australian test squad v Sri Lanka

Quite disingenuous by Hohns to suggest Wade is not a batsman only option at the moment. England had no less than 3 keepers in their most recent test team (Bairstow, Buttler, Foakes) with Bairstow and Buttler selected as specialist batsmen in strong form. Sounds an awful lot like Wade.

Especially when he's "played as a keeper batsman" in only one of his last four shield games.

[Topdog]

Re: Australian test squad v Sri Lanka

Just disgraceful comments by Hohns (Maxwell and Wade). If his recent performance wasnt enough to be sacked surely this should be.

[GVGjr]

Re: Australian test squad v Sri Lanka

For what it's worth, both Maxwell and Wade should be in the mix for the Ashes tour as they both offer a bit more than just their batting. Wade of course can be used as 2nd wicket keeper which will be needed, and he would be a good bat pad fieldsman plus a handy bowling option. Maxwell with his bowling and his fielding just adds a bit more as well.

For either player to be selected against Sri Lanka though it would have been at the expense of Pucovski and I can't be overly critical of that selection.

[lemmon]

Re: Australian test squad v Sri Lanka

I'd like to see Wade go to 3 or 4 for Tassie. The only possible criticism of him is that he's been batting too low - it'd be good for him to quash that with a heap of runs at first or second drop.

It was odd that they didn't move him up when it was clear that he was making a dash at test selection. The states need to do more to get these guys noticed and force the selectors' hands.

[Webby]

Re: Australian test squad v Sri Lanka

Quite disingenuous by Hohns to suggest Wade is not a batsman only option at the moment. England had no less than 3 keepers in their most recent test team (Bairstow, Buttler, Foakes) with Bairstow and Buttler selected as specialist batsmen in strong form. Sounds an awful lot like Wade.

Only thing I’d say in defence of Hohns here is that Wade has been batting at number 6 for Tasmania.
Conventionally, Australia’s top five batsmen tend to come from the 24 top four batsmen from each state.

There’s a lot more heat on in the top four than down at the cushier number six slot. Newer ball, newer pitches, fresher bowlers.
If Wade wants to be considered a specialist Test batsman, he needs to prove his mettle and bat in the top four (or at least five) for his Shield side. If that happens, he’s okay to bat at five or six in the next level up.

[GVGjr]

Re: Australian test squad v Sri Lanka

I'd like to see Wade go to 3 or 4 for Tassie. The only possible criticism of him is that he's been batting too low - it'd be good for him to quash that with a heap of runs at first or second drop.

It was odd that they didn't move him up when it was clear that he was making a dash at test selection. The states need to do more to get these guys noticed and force the selectors' hands.

Yep he needs to be in the top 4. I think this is what is placing a couple of other players ahead of him.

[Sedat]

Re: Australian test squad v Sri Lanka

For what it's worth, both Maxwell and Wade should be in the mix for the Ashes tour as they both offer a bit more than just their batting. Wade of course can be used as 2nd wicket keeper which will be needed, and he would be a good bat pad fieldsman plus a handy bowling option. Maxwell with his bowling and his fielding just adds a bit more as well.

For either player to be selected against Sri Lanka though it would have been at the expense of Pucovski and I can't be overly critical of that selection.

Not necessarily. Renshaw is a selection based on nothing but a hunch (his form with tbe bat has been putrid in all forms) and IMO Head is very lucky to remain in the squad (imagine the uproar if Maxwell was playing test cricket and managed to dismiss himself irresponsibly with monotonous regularity the way Head has). Marnus is also a puzzling selection based on potential and very little else.

There were 3 questionable batting spots for the Sri Lankan series and Maxwell/Wade could easily have taken 2 of them without impacting at all on Pucoscki's selection.