It is an oddity, or perhaps part of the lunacy, of contemporary international cricket that South Africa, an ocean away from home, will have more players to choose from for the second Test match in Hobart than will their hosts.
Even without the injured Dale Steyn, the Proteas will be able to select from a squad of 15. After a stirring comeback in Perth, they may yet make more than the one enforced change. Morne Morkel is a logical replacement for the new-ball spearhead but they also have the options of the nagging Kyle Abbott or, on a wicket likely to take spin, the left-arm unorthodox Tabraiz Shamsi. In their batting line-up, they will examine the position of 33-year-old opener Stephen Cook, whose deficiencies were exposed in Perth, and consider a reshuffle by bringing in Rilee Rossouw while possibly promoting one of their middle-order to the top.
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Late wickets leave Australia needing miracle
Australia's chances of survival in the first Test hang by a thread, needing 370 runs to win on the final day, after the Proteas declared at 8/540 and claimed four wickets.
South Africa, away from home, appear to have options aplenty. Australia, on the other hand, have painted themselves into a corner of their own country by selecting a 12-man squad for two Test matches played in contrasting conditions. Although several players have pushed themselves into contention in two rounds of the Sheffield Shield, Australia's selection policy of a two-Test squad has left them with little room to move.
How did it come to this? The curse – or one of the curses – of scheduling, the back-to-back brace of Test matches, did something to press this course upon the Australians. With three days between matches, they have brought in a 'squad' mentality, no doubt with the intended side effect of making the chosen 12 feel that they were not playing for their futures in Perth.
Unfortunately for them, things in Perth have not gone anywhere near to plan. From Friday through Sunday, the Australians were well beaten, physically and mentally. The fast bowling cartel, having been nursed through the pre-season, were mastered all too easily as the pitch flattened out and began to resemble what can be expected at Bellerive. Whether short of a run or suddenly overworked, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Peter Siddle were equipped for a three-day victory parade, not a five-day labour. Siddle was tidy but the drop-off in his pace was alarming. Nathan Lyon repaid his captain's lack of confidence with a lacklustre showing. Mitchell Marsh's bowling did not give Australia the extra penetration or ballast for which he was chosen.
Is Joe Mennie the answer? If Australia stick to their selection policy, Mennie is the only answer. The outstanding bowlers in the round of domestic first-class cricket are South Australia's Chadd Sayers and New South Wales' Stephen O'Keefe: a persistent swing and seam exponent and a left-arm finger spinner, either of whom would be a worthy option for Hobart. Alternatively, Jackson Bird would be playing on his home pitch, but every time he takes five wickets in a Test innings he seems to get dropped.
The imbalance in the Australian team was reflected more in the batting. Shaun Marsh did participate in a big opening stand, by virtue of riding on David Warner's coat-tails, but, with everything in his favour – recent Shield and Test runs, favourable conditions on his home ground – Marsh was unable in either innings to present a convincing case that he is going to be opening the batting in next year's Ashes series.
Much pressure has been placed on the Australian top order by the softness of the middle and the length of the tail. It's often forgotten that even in their pomp, the great Australian teams were frequently saved by the batting of numbers six to nine. Whatever happened to the top order, there was a Steve Waugh, an Ian Healy or Adam Gilchrist, and some handy bowling all-rounders to dig them out of trouble. This team can have no such confidence. When they embarked on a chase for 539 runs to win in Perth, or five sessions to save a draw, the top five knew how much rested on them. That pressure proved too much for Marsh, who nicked off after an uneasy half hour, and Warner, whose concentration lapsed between the wickets and between the ears. Carrying that burden, Steve Smith and Adam Voges were not up to the considerable challenge provided by Kagiso Rabada.
Being the home team, Australia should have the luxury of considering a wide field of talent for Hobart. They could even make the radical decision to choose a specialist batsman at number six, in which case New South Wales'Â Nic Maddinson would seem the logical next man in line. If the all-rounder dogma remains, Glenn Maxwell at number six, as a spin-bowling all-rounder, would surely offer no less than Mitchell Marsh has. But these are hypotheticals, as the squad has been told it will stay intact for the second Test match. Marsh gets the chance to save himself in Perth on Monday, but he is not playing for his future just yet; the selection policy means that, succeed or fail here, he gets yet another go in Hobart.
Bellerive is as different from the WACA as Salamanca Place is from Cottesloe Beach. The variety between the cities should be one of Australia's home advantages. Instead, a restrictive policy and stubborn faith in set plans has turned their backyard into foreign soil.
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