By Kim Hagdorn
Australia's run of shock cricket selections is poised for an even bigger bombshell with rising Western Australian all-rounder Hilton Cartwright on the verge of a call-up for the traditional Boxing Day Test against Pakistan.
Cartwright will be rushed to Melbourne on Wednesday as selectors and captain Steve Smith decide whether to call in reinforcements as critical back-up for frontline strike pace bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Jackson Bird.
Starc, Hazlewood ad Bird sent down a whopping 157 overs between them, including 113 of those in a tense fourth innings when Pakistan piled on a massive 450 and fell agonisingly 40 runs short of what would have been an historic Test victory in Brisbane.
The hard-hitting right-handed batsman and lively fast-medium seamer could be a surprise choice to bat at number six instead of left-hander Nick Maddinson.
Test chance: Hilton Cartwright bowling for Western Australia.Credit: Paul Kane
He has managed just five runs from his three Test innings and scores of 0, 1 and 4 since his shock call-up for the Adelaide day-night Test against South Africa last month.
Cartwright, 24, was pulled out of a Perth Scorchers scratch match in Perth on Tuesday morning as speculation raged that the highly popular and rapidly rising talent could be about to make an astounding Test debut on Australian summer's biggest stage.
Cartwright will now not play in Perth's opening Big Bash commitment against Adelaide at the WACA Ground on Friday night.
He is tipped to stay with the national Test squad in Melbourne until a final starting outfit is released - probably as late as Monday morning ahead of the toss.
Cartwright was initially on the edge of an international debut as a member of a 14-man squad to play New Zealand early this month, but was sent back to play with Western Australia.
The Zimbabwe-born and Perth raised Cartwright appears to have won a call to the brink of a stunning Test debut ahead of his West Aussie teammate and, until recently, regular national team frontline all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.
Marsh, 25, was recalled for Australia's three-match limited-overs series triumph over New Zealand and had been widely considered a front-runner for a Test return if national selectors added vital bowling support with a number six batsman.
Marsh also had to overcome a nagging right shoulder injury and a run of critically untimely failures with the bat at state level, where his power-hitting has deserted the big all-rounder with just 26 Shield runs at an average of 6.5 this summer.
Other all-rounder candidates on the domestic circuit overlooked include Marcus Stoinis from Victoria and part-time New South Wales captain Moises Henriques, who played a Test in the ill-fated whitewash three-match series against Sri Lanka in August.
"The bowlers got through a high workload in Brisbane and although everyone has pulled up okay, on reflection we wanted to give ourselves the option of including an all-rounder in Melbourne to ease that workload somewhat," interim head selector Trevor Hohns said.
"To do that we wanted a batting all-rounder, someone to bowl seam-up and capable of batting in the top six as well, and after considering several names we came to the conclusion that Hilton fits that bill.
"We have seen plenty of him, he has performed well this season and we believe that if called upon he will do an excellent job."
But, Cartwright has hardly been in blistering form with his state's Sheffield Shield team ahead of his shock Test call.
He has scored a consistent 330 runs at an average of 36.6 this summer with scores of 17, 80, 59, 1, 18, 3, 84, 41 and 27.
With his sometime lively seamers Cartwright has managed just four first-class wickets at a hefty average of 74 and strike-rate at 91.
Interim national selector and Australian batting legend Greg Chappell is known to be an unabashed fan of Cartwright with his compact technique and powerful natural hitting potential.
Cartwright has been under Chappell's watchful eye and coaching at the national coaching academy for the past three years.
Cartwright has played only 16 first-class games overall for 890 runs at an average of 44.5 with two centuries.