‘Is it fair?’ Great’s verdict on Aus selection squeeze, Khawaja future as mass changes loom

On a day where champion fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the Ashes due to Achilles soreness, Aussie great Brett Lee said a silver lining to his misfortune has been the depth of bowling options on offer across the country.

With Australian captain Pat Cummins set to return in Adelaide, and Nathan Lyon a certainty to bounce back into the team for the third Test, national selectors have a tricky task ahead.

Lee is full of praise for both Michael Neser and Brendan Doggett, saying both have performed admirably when called on as reserves for Australia’s premier attack in eight wicket wins in Perth and Brisbane to start the summer.

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With Jhye Richardson, who is on the comeback trail, and Fergus O’Neill also producing strong form in an Australia A triumph over the English Lions, the Aussies have plenty of options to consider.

Nothing demonstrated this better than in Brisbane when, given the match conditions, Australia had the luxury of leaving out its champion off-spinner Lyon.

“That’s healthy for any cricket side. What you don’t want is 10 guys or 11 guys and that’s it, that’s all we’ve got. And if someone goes down, we’re in trouble,” Lee told foxsports.com.au.

“The great and the healthiest thing for Australian cricket right now is that they’ve got almost a second XI or an Australia A side that could come in and play some outstanding cricket too.

“The guys who have had their opportunity, the Doggetts and the Nesers, have stood up. They’ve taken their opportunity and taken it with both hands, which is brilliant.”

Lee is certain that Australia will make two changes in Adelaide, with Cummins and Lyon coming back in, and said he would select Usman Khawaja if he is fit.

Australian coach Andrew McDonald reiterated on Tuesday that the national team still valued spin and that the two matches Lyon has missed recently were due to the conditions only.

“I’ll make this a headline. We still do value spin,” he said.

“The surfaces pushed us in different directions. That’s the first game Nathan’s missed in Australia for a long time (dating back to 2012). Has his impact been as great as in previous seasons with the surfaces we are playing on? Potentially not.

“The pink ball game created different challenges.We put value on different areas of the game and under lights, to have the ability to have four quicks who will navigate through that night session and be able to keep coming and maintain the pressure there, we felt like that was going to break the game open for us.

“The guys executed beautifully in that moment and that’s what we built the team around. We got the opportunity and we were able to take that. But I think Nathan’s going to have an incredibly huge impact in the past three Test matches.

“If you look at what he did at the MCG last year, when the surface became benign … he was able to navigate through that and hold an end, and that is the rhythm we want. We want the spinner down one end and rotating through the three quicks. That is when we feel like we’re at our best.”

There was a suggestion that Scott Boland, who has taken seven wickets for the series at 32 and bounced back brilliantly from a disappointing opening day in Perth, could be rested in Adelaide, but McDonald dismissed that given the break between the 2nd and 3rd Tests.

As a result, either Doggett (seven wickets at 30) or Neser, who took six wickets in Brisbane including five in the second innings, could well miss the squad, let alone the Adelaide Test.

“Unfortunately with Nathan Lyon raring to go in Adelaide and obviously Pat Cummings being fully fit, those two bowlers will stand aside because they were in there to cover those two,” Lee said.

“Is it fair on Doggett and Neser? Well, unfortunately, that’s part and parcel of the game of cricket.

“Doggett probably didn’t get the wickets I thought that he probably could have got, because I was really impressed with him. There was a spell there … on day three where he bowled in conjunction with Neser and Neser picked up the two caught and bowleds, but Doggett was applying the pressure from the other end, so he’s done what’s been asked from him. He’s had really, really good Test matches with his opportunity.

“Neser bowled the house down. But they are the second cab off the rank, with all due respect, because you have got Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, who are world class.”

Lee is adamant that Khawaja has earned the right to return if he is fully fit, which would most likely see Travis Head slide back down the order and Josh Inglis miss out in Adelaide.

McDonald flagged the prospect of Khawaja batting in the middle order, as occurred in Perth when he was not allowed to open due to the time he spent off the field, but Lee suspects the usual order will return at Adelaide Oval.

“If Usman’s fit and they back him in, and they want him to play, he’ll go and open again, because I think he’s earned that right,” he said.

“If they go down the road that he’s passed it and he’s not in our forefront team, well then they’ll have to look at what they do with Head. Do they push him to the middle order and then go with someone else up the top? I don’t think they will.

“I think that if Khawaja is 100 per cent fit, they will give him that opportunity, because he’s earned that right, in my opinion, because of the way he’s played the last four years.”