Back to the selection drawing board

The 15-man squad chosen for Australia’s postponed Test tour of Bangladesh will have no advantages when the National Selection Panel convenes to pick a squad to face New Zealand in next month’s three-Test series.

That’s the situation according to selection chairman Rod Marsh, who said it was “open season” as he, coach Darren Lehmann and fellow selectors Mark Waugh and Trevor Hohns looked to name a squad to suit home conditions against a strong Black Caps side.  

“It will be (a case of) whoever is in form will be picked, as per usual," Marsh told Fairfax. "It's business as usual.

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“It's open season again. (The Bangladesh squad) was the best team we could pick at that particular time.

“Given that we had to rest Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood, they weren't available for selection.”

The availability of Johnson and Hazlewood is likely to spell at least a temporary end to the Test hopes of Tasmania pair Andrew Fekete and James Faulkner, the former a shock selection for the tour and the latter a late call-up for injured quick Pat Cummins.

The make-up of Australia’s top six remains very much an unknown, with the Matador One-Day Cup, beginning tomorrow in Sydney with three matches, presenting an opportunity for players to press their claims for selection with bulk runs in the tournament.

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"You feel for blokes who would have gone on that tour and maybe even played in a Test," Marsh said. "We'll never know who was going to play in those two Test matches.

“No-one will never know, except perhaps me and Darren.

"Although, we didn't really know, either, because we didn't see the conditions.

“It's just a terrible shame that we couldn't go, but you can't go against what the government says. They make the rules.

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"I feel very sorry for the players from both sides because I'm sure it would have been a very good contest.

"I can see each and every one of (the players selected for Bangladesh) striving to put their name further forward to be chosen.

"And there are spots available because of the retirements. That's a matter of fact ... we will be choosing some different players, obviously. It's a healthy environment. It always is when there are spots up for grabs."

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