Australia announced an 18-member squad for their first tour to Pakistan in almost a quarter of a century, a visit that will officially mark the beginning of the post-Justin Langer era. Here are five takeaways from the squad announcement.
Full-strength squad for historic trip
In the weeks leading up to the squad announcement, there were concerns that certain players were apprehensive about travelling to Pakistan, owing to safety fears. Last week, skipper Pat Cummins said that he was expecting a near full-strength squad, with ACA chief adding that a couple of players might opt out of the tour.
However, the final squad looks to be a full-strength unit, consisting of all players of the Ashes-winning contingent with the addition of Ashton Agar. It’s a big vote of confidence for hosts Pakistan, who’ve slowly started to welcome Test-playing nations for full tours, assuaging any fears regarding safety especially after New Zealand and England’s much-debated pull-outs from their respective tours last year.
Will Australia need three spinners?
For their first overseas Test tour in three years, Australia have gone with a three-man spin attack, recalling Ashton Agar, who hasn’t played a Test since 2017. He joins Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Swepson, the latter still uncapped in the format.
It remains to be seen what spin combination will be brought into action in Pakistan, given that it might not be as spin-friendly as some of the other host countries in Asia. Last month, Bazid Khan told cricket.com.au that seamers are likely to dominate the series, given the kind of surfaces on offer.
“Pakistan is totally different to India,” he was quoted as saying. “The ball is not going to spin straight away and mostly the wickets have been taken by the faster men rather than the spinners”. In such a scenario, Swepson could continue to remain an uncapped understudy to Lyon.
Long-term plans for rested Richardson
Jhye Richardson’s absence from the tour is hardly a surprise, given that it was already decided to rest him as part of his workload management. One of Australia’s most promising young quicks, the missed tour acts as another reminder of how slowly his Test career has progressed so far. Since his debut in 2019, the 25-year-old has played three Tests, with injury layoffs extending his time away from the format.
While he’s set to be part of the home T20Is against Sri Lanka, the management is adopting a careful approach when it comes to his overall workload. The next step in his Test career could be the tour to Sri Lanka later in the year, with Richardson himself admitting that the plan is to set things in the right place to play “for the next 10 years”.
Marcus Harris is still around
Despite being dropped towards the end of the Ashes following an indifferent run of form, Harris has managed to retain his spot in the squad, possibly as backup opening option. Usman Khawaja’s twin hundreds in his comeback Test paved the way for a chance to replace Harris at the top for the final Ashes Test, and the left-hander is likely to continue opening alongside David Warner in Pakistan.
However, Cummins admitted that having Warner and Khawaja, both 35, can’t be a long-term strategy, which could open the doors for Harris as a first-choice again. Six years their junior, Harris’ career has been hit and miss so far, but he earned plaudits for his 76 in the Melbourne Ashes Test.
It’s debatable whether Harris’s spot could have been gone to one of the in-form openers in the queue – possibly Matt Renshaw or Sam Whiteman – with Will Pucovski, too, expected to return sometime in the future.
No place for subcontinent specialist Maxwell
Glenn Maxwell hasn’t appeared in the Test whites since 2017, but it could partly be because Australia haven’t really travelled in the last three years, their last trip to Asia dating back to 2018. Maxwell wasn’t picked for that particular UAE tour, but has, in the past, been used exclusively as a subcontinent specialist in Tests, having played all his seven Tests in Asia. In December, he had revealed he was still in talks with selectors and was eyeing a return via one of the subcontinent tours.
Even if so, it would have been a left-field choice: since being dropped from the Test squad, Maxwell has played only 16 first-class games, and hasn’t hit three figures since his mammoth 278 in a Shield game in 2017.
