Amid a looming bat-off in the race to replace David Warner in the Australian Test team, coach Andrew McDonald has floated a surprising option which could force a top-six shake-up.
The Australian squad for the Pakistan series is set to be announced prior to the Prime Minister’s XI’s outing against the tourists in Canberra beginning on December 6.
Matt Renshaw, Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft, Todd Murphy and Michael Neser are among those set to play in Canberra who will hold aspirations for national representation over the next year.
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After a couple of outstanding innings in recent Sheffield Shield matches for Victoria, Harris on Tuesday failed to further his claims of returning to the Australian Test team.
The 31-year-old, who made a gritty 73 in difficult conditions at the MCG earlier in November against Queensland after scoring 164 against Tasmania, was out for three in Adelaide.
In Queensland, Renshaw was not out on 37 from 97 balls when rain halted play in the clash against a Western Australian-side featuring Bancroft.
But could there be a selection wildcard in the mix for the West Indies series?
Cameron Green was replaced by fellow Western Australian Mitch Marsh midway through the Ashes, but selectors retain significant faith in the 24-year-old.
McDonald said Green, who is playing his first Sheffield Shield match in two years for Western Australia at the Gabba this week, has performed well batting at No.4 for his state.
When discussing Green’s prospects for the future, the Australian coach noted there had been periods where the nation had altered its batting order with success in the past.
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World Cup hero Travis Head, for example, has shown significant intent when opening in the shorter formats, while Mitch Marsh has been versatile enough to move around in the order.
“What does Cam Green’s future look like in the Test team? Is it a matter of waiting for Mitch to finish or could there be another spot that opens up over time?” McDonald said on SEN.
“He has batted at six for most of his Test cricket, but he has been a fantastic No.4 for WA and averages close to 50 in Shield cricket.
“There is always the idea that you can potentially shift the order to make room to put your best six batters, or what you see as best six batters, in a certain order, and we have seen that in Australian cricket before.
“David Boon went from three to opening. Justin Langer went from three to opening. Shane Watson went from six to opening. So there has been the ability to reshuffle and for that to be successful. But we will leave that to the first Test match in Perth.”
– with Max Laughton
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