Voges appointment highlights Aussie 'vulnerability'

The inexperience of Australia’s Test squad for next month’s tour of Bangladesh was highlighted by the decision to announce seven-match veteran Adam Voges as the team’s stand-in vice-captain.

Voges, who assumes the role as Steve Smith’s deputy in the absence of the injured David Warner, was under pressure for his place throughout most of the recent Ashes series, owing to a string of low scores that he was able to end with consecutive half-centuries in the fourth and fifth Tests.

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Those knocks shored up his position in the side, while coach Darren Lehmann also stated the importance of the 35-year-old’s first-class experience in a squad light on seasoned internationals.

The West Australian, who captains the Warriors as well as Big Bash League champions Perth Scorchers, emerged as the likely candidate for vice-captain when leadership credentials within the group were assessed.

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“It was a very tough decision to make,” said National Selector Rod Marsh. “We’ve got a lot of people that have played very few Test matches.

“The fact that Voges has captained Western Australia, the fact that we’re playing in Bangladesh – it is quite possible to wake up in the morning and not be able to play if you’ve caught something.

“If Steven Smith did get crook, it would have been very tough to have anyone else captain the side but Voges.

“He’s had a lot of experience at captaincy, he’s got a cool head, and I think he’ll be an excellent vice-captain for Steven on his first tour of duty away from home as captain of the Australian Test team.”

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Marsh conceded that Australia, without eight players who were named as part of the Ashes squad, were indeed vulnerable against a Bangladesh side that, although showing signs of improvement, is still finding its way in Test cricket.  

“Are we vulnerable? Yeah, we are if we don’t play well,” he said.

“We’re always vulnerable if we don’t play well. And that’s the thing that we’ve got to come to grips with constantly.

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“If you have a look at our record away from home, it’s not great – it’s not great at all.

“But having said that, Australia has only won three Tests in England over the last 10 years, and two of them were this year, so if you want to grab a positive from a poor result, then that’s about as good as I can do.

“But it is amazing how few Test matches we win away from home, so we’ll take any wins – against Zimbabwe, against Bangladesh, against West Indies, we’ll take them all.

“And that’s what good sides do – they’ve got to win, and win away from home.

“And we’ve got to prove that we’re a good side, again. We were a good side, but are we a good side now? Well, we’ve got to prove that we are, and that means winning.”