Renshaw is one of the players that could make his Test debut on Thursday
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Australia have made a number of changes to their squad for the third and final Test against South Africa in Adelaide on Thursday, the most notable being the addition of four debutants – Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Nic Maddinson and Chadd Sayers.
Pace bowler Jackson Bird and wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade were also recalled by interim chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns, who replaced Rod Marsh after he resigned following the Baggy Greens’ innings and 80-run loss in the second Test in Hobart.
With the new additions to the Test squad, it meant that opener Joe Burns, batsman Callum Ferguson, who made his debut in the second Test, wicketkeeper-batsman Peter Nevill and pace bowler Joe Mennie, who also made his debut in Hobart, were all cut.
In addition to all these players, batsman Adam Voges also failed to make the cut as he suffered a concussion while representing Western Australia in their Sheffield Shield game against Tasmania.
Australia have never made six changes to their Test squad in more than two decades as the last time this rare feat occurred was back in 1984.
“We were given the charter to revamp the Test match side,” Hohns said. “Sure it may sound harsh but Callum like all of our players except for our bowlers went back to Sheffield Shield cricket, had their opportunity to press their claims for inclusion in this side.
“Some have, some haven’t and I would suggest that Callum is not discarded by any means. Doesn’t mean the end of the road and we would love Callum to continue to score a lot of runs and belt the door down and demand selection again.”
Spinner Nathan Lyon could have also joined the list of players that were axed, but a calf injury to left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe saw him retain his place in the side.
“Stephen was in serious contention there’s no doubt,” Hohns said. “Nathan as we all know, has over 200 Test wickets, he’s our best off-spinner that we’ve had ever, so it might not be that he’s not taking wickets at the moment, but there’s no indication that he’s bowling poorly. I’m sure if he continues to bowl well as we say in cricket, the wheel always turns.”
With a host of new players that are eager to make their mark, Hohns has high expectations of them, especially Maddinson as he has been on the cusp of playing Test cricket for quite a while.
“He could be a very, very important player for us down the track”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
“We see him as a player of enormous potential,” Hohns said of Maddinson. “He is definitely a game breaker and if we can get the best out of him at that level as I think we can, he could be a very, very important player for us down the track.”
As for Renshaw, a 20-year-old opening batsman born in England, and Handscomb, Hohns added: “Form on the first two [Renshaw and Maddinson] were very important, there was always an area at the top of the order that was in contention. And Peter Handscomb getting 200, he’s been there and thereabouts for a good couple of years now. He’s always been spoken about in our selection meetings, hasn’t quite made the cut recently but now his form can’t be ignored.
“Sometimes you do of course go with your gut, as they say. It’s all very well looking at statistics all the time but sometimes, particularly right now, we were asked to go with some players. And we decided to do that of course, because we obviously need to, go with some players that we thought could play for Australia and hold us in good stead for years to come.”
Bird and Sayers have come in to ease the workload off Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, while Wade is being given another run in the longest format of the game despite not having played since March 2013.
“Chadd’s a very good performer, and a very good performer in Adelaide and that’s why he’s been chosen for this Test match,” Hohns said. “He bowls very well here as we all know, it was only two Sheffield Shield games ago he took 11 or 12 wickets here. Hopefully, if he plays, he can continue to perform well.
“[Nevill] very unlucky, there’s no doubt about that, but we consider Matthew Wade’s wicketkeeping has improved to the extent that we’ve gone in that direction. There’s no secret Matthew Wade’s batting is very, very good, in fact he’s scored hundreds in Test cricket.
“He’s obviously seen as a tough competitor and that is what we’re looking for in our players now, and we want them to get out there now and have a fair crack at this and go forward with that. We don’t expect an immediate turnaround, but we’ve got a bit of faith in these guys now.”
Australia Squad: David Warner, Matt Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Peter Handscomb, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Wade (wk), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird, Chadd Sayers.