Australian selector Mark Waugh hints at new-look squad for New Zealand series
Australian national team selector Mark Waugh has hinted at several changes to the Australian team for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand. Speaking to the official website of Cricket Australia, Waugh revealed that some of the squad members who were supposed to tour Bangladesh could find themselves superseded by the returning big names.
The touring entourage for the Bangladesh series which was cancelled due to security reasons included quite a few youngsters who were included in place of retired cricketers such as Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin and Chris Rogers. But the inevitable return of David Warner, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Johnson would mean that the likes of James Faulkner, Steve O’Keefe and the uncapped Andrew Fekete could find themselves out of the squad.
“The squad from Bangladesh, it's going to look different for New Zealand. There is no doubt about it. Because you didn't have Warner, Hazlewood and Johnson, so there's three players straight away you'd imagine would come back into the reckoning for the first Test. And with different conditions, you're not going to have two spinners at the Gabba in the first Test,” Waugh said.
“There's going to be some guys picked for that tour who are probably going to get shuffled back down the order a little bit, but you can't do anything about it. At least their names are there, they got picked for an Australian tour, they can take comfort from the fact they're definitely in the reckoning. But, the reality is it will be a different 12 for the first Test in Brisbane to what would have been picked in Bangladesh," he added.
When queried about Australia’s rustiness in the red-ball game, Waugh believed that the Matador Cup which kicked off today could enhance their preparations for Test cricket even though it was a 50-overs tournament.
“It's a different format, but you've seen players picked from one-day cricket for Test squads before so it does carry over. It's a different game obviously. You've got to bat for long periods in Test cricket, one-day cricket the most you can bat is 50 overs. But I think just the form, you can see if guys are batting and bowling well,” Waugh asserted.
The former Australian batsman conceded that missing out on the Bangladesh tour was a setback in their preparations for the New Zealand series, but opting to look on the brighter side, he hoped that the break would help the side get a much-needed rest.
"Players are playing a lot of cricket these days, they're used to swapping and changing formats. So whilst it's probably not ideal we didn't play the two Tests in Bangladesh, it gives us a chance for some players to freshen up," Waugh said.
The 3-match Test series between Australia and New Zealand begins on the 5th of November at the Gabba and concludes with a historic day-night encounter in Adelaide.