The absence of further drama in this particular Ashes series is both welcome and disconcerting.

It’s been left so delicately poised that waiting nine days to find out what’s going to happen next feels like a throwback to the time before you could binge-watch TV series. After an episode ends on a tantalising cliffhanger, you’re left making up scenarios of possible resolution or the downfall of a main character, before tuning in for the next installment to find out whether it was all in your head. In a series like this, the break means hyper-focus on every possible selection dilemma or injury updates to fill that void.

Australia are 2-1 up and lost at Headingley by three wickets. There’s no need for panic stations… but Michael Neser has picked the perfect time to reignite debate over whether he should come into their selection discussions as the Old Trafford Test looms ever closer. In his case, there’s much more to the calls for his return than simply action-hungry over-analysis.

Glamorgan were in an irrecoverable position against Leicestershire this week. At 93-7, even with no play possible on day one, hopes of salvaging the match were quickly fading. But in walks Neser at No.7, a spot that could conceivably be deemed one too high for him, but from which he completely changed the complexion of the match. A day later, he was still there, closing in on a double century.

He finished unbeaten on a career-best 176, and considering the six he hit in the final over before Glamorgan declared, it seems slightly harsh of Chris Cooke to have denied him a crack at a double.

That innings wasn’t a one-off, it was his second century in three innings. Against Sussex in his previous Championship appearance, he scored 123 in the second innings, pushing Glamorgan up to 737 after they were bowled out for 123 on day one. In the game before that, he scored 86 in his only innings. Before that, a 90 against Leicestershire again. In seven Championship innings this season, his average is 81.16.

Neser has also taken 20 wickets in nine innings at an average of 26.15. The most memorable of those innings came before the Ashes series even started with a hat-trick against Yorkshire. His victims on that occasion were Dawid Malan, George Hill and Dom Bess while Jonny Bairstow watched from the other end.

It’s not surprising Neser is excelling yet again during an English summer. He finished as a top ten wicket-taker in Division Two last year and impressed in the five matches he played the year before. However, it would be reductionist to liken him to purely an English-type seamer and a specialist in bowler-friendly conditions.

While it’s true the exaggerated movement he extracts is what makes him so successful here, he also finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in the 2022/23 Sheffield Shield season. His 40 wickets there came at 16.67 apiece, and slammed yet another hundred. In short, over the last six months, Neser has been in the form of his life on all fronts.

There is, as ever, the caveat that all of his runs and wickets have come in Division Two of the Championship. But that doesn’t cancel the scale of the form he’s been in. It’s also worth noting that, as much as Division Two is often scoffed at as the basis for Test selection, it was good enough for both Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to get some practice in before the World Test Championship final.

As for what this could mean for Australia, there are several ways in which they could benefit from an in-form, match-ready Neser in their side. Scott Boland looks set to be rested at Old Trafford after a couple of difficult Tests, with the two current options to replace him being Cam Green and Josh Hazlewood.

While Hazlewood has found success in the series so far, the disdain with which England treated him at Lord’s should worry Australia. Before this series, in 15 Test innings in England, Hazlewood’s economy had only exceeded four twice. In this series, England have scored at over four an over against him in each of the four innings he has bowled in.

Neser over Hazlewood would also strengthen Australia’s tail in a series where lower-order runs have played a decisive role in every match. While Green also fills this criterion – he and Marsh would likely come in at six and seven – he isn’t the reliable wicket-taking force Neser has the potential to be. Neser is the specialist who can form part of a mainline attack, Green is the all-rounder who provides balance where it’s needed.

While an attack of Green and Marsh alongside two specialists looks light, Neser and one of Green or Marsh provides more wickets than the other two alone, with the potential for a similar run return on current form.

There’s also the weather to factor in, and the conditions in which the fourth Test could be played. The English summer has turned rainy and humid. It’s not baking hot like it was for the first few days at Edgbaston or the best times to bat at Headingley. Neser, with clouds in the sky and grass on the wicket, could be a more dangerous prospect for vulnerable England batting lineup than any of their other options.

Time is running out for a Neser call-up. In all likelihood, Australia will trust the players they brought in with them to solve their perceived problems. But, in Neser, they couldn’t have a better-suited, Ashes-ready weapon ready to step up.

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