Marsh explains 'difficult' World T20 decisions

Rather like last night’s umpiring kerfuffle in Hamilton, while the process employed to finalise Australia’s 15-man squad for the World T20 tournament might have left some scratching their heads, broader consensus suggests that ultimately the desired outcome was achieved.

Selection chair Rod Marsh today refuted suggestions there were contentious decisions needed to settle on a line-up that is vastly different to the one employed in the recent KFC T20 INTL series against India, but conceded there had been some difficult calls.

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Marsh claimed the inability of some players to seize their opportunities during the recent 3-0 loss to India, coupled with the growing list of injuries to key players, meant the picture the selectors held of their best T20 XI has been constantly evolving over recent weeks.

He also indicated there were contingency plans in place should any of the players currently recovering from injuries, including dumped captain Aaron Finch and allrounder James Faulkner, fail to make muster. 

WATCH: Tight call on Zampa and Boyce: Marsh

Among the tough calls was the selectors’ belief that Matthew Wade’s wicketkeeping – while tidy during recent ODI and T20 International campaigns – lacked the purity provided by Test gloveman Peter Nevill, especially on the low, worn pitches of India where ‘keeping plaudits are hardest earned.

And while Wade is undoubtedly a cleaner and more innovative striker of the ball than Nevill, Marsh and his fellow selectors (Mark Waugh, Trevor Hohns and coach Darren Lehmann) believe sufficient depth exists in Australia’s T20 batting to justify the luxury of a specialist behind the stumps.

"I think we needed the best wicketkeeper for India," said Marsh, himself a former Test gloveman, in quashing speculation the decision to axe Wade on the eve of the World T20 signalled a change of thinking in relation to Australia’s ‘keeping options in limited-overs cricket.

"With our depth in our batting, particularly the fact we’ve got three all-rounders in the squad (Mitchell Marsh, Shane Watson and Faulkner) and if per chance we were to play those three all-rounders, then it gives us very big depth in batting.

"Which, when you think about it in T20 cricket, if your top five or six (batters) don’t get (runs) then you’re not going to win the game anyway usually.

"It’s different from 50-over cricket in that regard.

"There's absolutely no reason why he (Wade) shouldn't be playing one-day cricket.

"His keeping was pretty good during this series (in New Zealand) but he needs to get runs.

"He had a couple of really good opportunities, last night (in Hamilton) and the game in Wellington (last Saturday) but he batted nicely in Auckland (in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy Series opener last week).

"But there's no reason why he can't remain our 50-over keeper."

Steve Smith, who has been endorsed as Australia’s captain in all three forms of the international game for the foreseeable future now that he has formally replaced Finch as T20 skipper, echoed Marsh’s view that – by dint of incumbency – Wade remains the nation’s ODI ‘keeper.

But in addition to underscoring Nevill’s standing as the most technically adept wicketkeeper in the country at present, Smith said the Test gloveman – who has yet to play a limited-overs international in the 50 or 20-over formats – might be a valuable addition in India because of his less-than-expansive batting.

"He's certainly got the skills," Smith said when asked if Nevill might become the first-choice ‘keeper in all three formats in the future.

"He gets off strike really well, and that will be crucial for us in the T20 World Cup.

"We've got a lot of power (hitters) so having someone there that can get off strike and get the powerful guys on strike will be very important for us." 

WATCH: Smith 'surprised' by T20 captaincy 

Queensland leg-spinner Cameron Boyce is another deemed unlucky to have been overlooked for the T20 tournament that begins in India next month, having bowled well enough in two of the KFC T20 Internationals against India last month to be favoured for the wrist-spinners’ berth in the squad.

But so impressed were the selectors with the performance and poise shown by Adam Zampa in his international debut against New Zealand at Wellington on Saturday, they made the instinctive call to include the 23-year-old South Australian who is also yet to play a T20 International.

Perhaps they were swayed by the assessment of the various brains trust in the world’s biggest T20 franchise competition, the Indian Premier League, at whose player auction last Saturday Zampa was secured for $A63,000 while Boyce went unsigned.

"Cameron Boyce was unlucky, he was very close and it was a very tight call between those two," Marsh said today.

"But we couldn’t take both of them. We were never going to take two leg-spinners.

"(Zampa) bowled well, he’s shown good temperament throughout the Big Bash, and he’s bowled very well to good players.

"And he’s been pretty consistent in that format." 

WATCH: Two wickets on debut for Zampa

The same criterion cannot be applied to another couple of outsiders brought into the squad for very specific reasons – Western Australians Nathan Coulter-Nile and Ashton Agar.

The loss (through injury) of strike bowlers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins coupled with the perceived unsuitability of Test quick James Pattinson and veteran Shaun Tait for the T20 tournament meant Coulter-Nile was one of the few available bowlers capable of reaching 140km/h or above.

Even though the 28-year-old has not bowled at top-level since dislocating his shoulder last December, Marsh claimed the 28-year-old had returned to bowling and was expecting to club cricket in Perth and an upcoming Sheffield Shield game to prove he is fully fit.

Agar, increasingly viewed as an allrounder in the wake of his memorable 98 on debut during the 2013 Ashes Test series, had a similarly limited involvement with the ball during BBL|05 delivering just nine overs in eight matches for the Perth Scorchers but regularly batting in the top six.

Marsh confirmed that the 22-year-old was the final name added to the squad as the selectors debated the identity of a back-up spinner behind Zampa and finger-spinning allrounder Glenn Maxwell, based on the belief he might be a handy addition as tournament pitches suffer wear and tear.

Even though incumbent Test spinner Nathan Lyon was again overlooked for a limited-overs squad, Marsh also refuted suggestions that Lyon was effectively now seen as solely a red-ball option because of the all-round value that other spinners such as Agar provide.

"We thought that Ashton was the best package as the (third) spin bowler," Marsh said.

"I know he didn’t bowl a lot during the Big Bash but we’ve been tracking his progress and we had him since 2013 as you all know, and he’s coming along nicely and he’ll continue to develop.

"Maybe at the end of the (WT20) tournament - if we get that far and the pitches are turning - it’ll prove to be a wise decision.

"But maybe he won’t play. I don’t know." 

WATCH: Amazing Agar's free-swinging antics

Marsh conceded that Finch, who is one of three players (alongside Faulkner and Coulter-Nile battling injuries) was "naturally disappointed" when he was told on Saturday that the captaincy would be taken from him and bestowed on Smith.

And while claiming that Finch understood the reasons behind the decision to install a uniform skipper across all international formats, Marsh added there was no certainty the Victorian opener would retain his place in the T20 starting XI even if he does fully recover from his hamstring strain in time.

"We’ve got a lot of options there," Marsh said about the composition of the batting order that will be made with an eye to local conditions in India and with consultation between WT20 selector-on-duty Mark Waugh, Lehmann and Smith.

"You can open with Finch and (David) Warner, you could open with (Shane) Watson and Finch and you could open with Warner and (Usman) Khawaja.

"They’re all over the place those options and I think that flexibility is good.

"And the other thing is you never know when someone is going to wake up with a crook tummy. So you’ve got to have those options and that’s why you have a 15-man squad." 

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Smith, who began his rapid rise to the national captaincy when he took over the leadership of the Sydney Sixers in an earlier iteration of BBL when in his early 20s, reaffirmed that he had remained a strong supporter of Finch as Australia’s T20 skipper and had not actively sought the role.

"It wasn’t until a couple of days ago that Rodney (Marsh) came up to me after they had a little meeting," Smith said today in relation to the change of leadership just weeks before Australia begins their quest for a trophy that has thus far eluded them in men’s cricket.

"I've played with Aaron a lot. He's captained me inT20s in Pune in the IPL before and did a good job.

"He's still a leader amongst the group, there's no doubt about that but I'm really looking forward to taking over this side.

"It (T20 cricket) is a fast-paced game, you have to think on your feet, you have to be ahead of the game and it's a big challenge."

Australia’s preparations for the World T20 tournament begin next month with a three-match T20 International Series against the Proteas in South Africa.