Lehmann keeping Test options open

Questions over the balance of Australia's XI for the second Test against Bangladesh remain unanswered after coach Darren Lehmann threw the door wide open to all 14 members of the squad following their Dhaka disappointment.

Should the pitch at Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium resemble the volatile Mirpur track Bangladesh skillfully exploited in their historic win this week, Australia could well field three specialist spinners and only one fast bowler for the first time in nearly 40 years.

While it can be safely assumed a handful of senior players remain assured of selection, Lehmann says no one and nothing has been ruled in or out.

The tourists must make at least one change to the XI that went down by 20 runs to hand Bangladesh their first-ever Test victory over Australia, with Josh Hazlewood flying home after suffering a side injury on day three.

Selectors sprung a surprise when they opted to replace Hazlewood with left-arm spinner Stephen O'Keefe rather than another fast bowler, meaning incumbent quick Pat Cummins and back-up Jackson Bird are now the only available seamers in the squad.

Axing wicketkeeper Matthew Wade after dual failures with the bat and conceding 30 byes – albeit on one of the more unpredictable surfaces Australia has played on in recent memory – to free up a spot for another bowler also remains in play, according to Lehmann.

"Once we get there we will take a look at the wicket and the conditions and whether we change that or go with one quick or two quicks or three spinners (will be discussed)," the 27-Test former batsman told reporters on Friday ahead of the team's departure for Chittagong.

"It really comes down to what we want to set our side up like for the second Test, and the wicket."

Pressed on whether Wade – the only specialist wicketkeeper in the squad – could lose his spot, Lehmann said: "It is not ruled out with any of the XI really. Of the 14 here, anyone could play."

The admission opens the door for batsman Peter Handscomb, a self-described part-time gloveman who has kept for Australia in one-day cricket and domestically in all three formats, to fill in behind the stumps.

On Australia's pre-tour camp in Darwin, captain Steve Smith said the right-hander would "probably not" be handed the gloves in Bangladesh, while Handscomb himself has strongly emphasised it isn't a role he wants permanently.

There are a number of other looming possibilities for the second Test XI.

Replacing Hazlewood with Bird would be a natural fit for Australia's usual mix of two quicks and two spinners for subcontinental Tests, but Lehmann pointed to the short shrift the victorious Bangladesh side gave their two specialist seamers – Mustafizur Rahman and Shafiul Islam – in the first Test.

"The way the wicket was, how many overs did the quicks bowl for them (in the second innings)?" asked Lehmann, with the answer being left-armer Mustafizur’s one wicketless over that cost eight runs.

"You are not going to have too many overs bowled by the quicks as the game goes on.

"We expect the same sort of pitch. And that's fine, it is what you expect here."

Batting allrounder Hilton Cartwright and wrist-spinner Mitchell Swepson are the other two non-playing squad members from the first Test and both find themselves in the mix for the second.

Where the uncapped Swepson sits in the pecking order is unclear after O'Keefe's addition to the squad; the 23-year-old leggie would provide a point of difference in a three-pronged spin attack along with right-arm off-spinner Nathan Lyon and left-arm tweaker Ashton Agar.

And while Lehmann said both O’Keefe and Swepson are in the mix to replace Hazlewood, the former’s international experience would appear to have him ahead of the Queenslander should selectors opt for a solitary quick in Cummins.

It’s a blend Australia haven’t gone with since 1978 in the Caribbean, when batting allrounder Trevor Laughlin took the new ball with tearaway Jeff Thomson as spin pair Bruce Yardley and Jim Higgs bowled more than 90 overs between them in the drawn final Test in Jamaica.

While Smith would not likely rely on Cartwright, whose useful medium pace has netted him 18 first-class wickets at 44.16, to match Laughlin’s first-innings five-wicket haul in that Test, his all-round package places him as a worthy back-up for Cummins in Chittagong.

No.3 Usman Khawaja, who failed in both innings with scores of 1 and 1 after being recalled at the expense of Shaun Marsh, looms as the most likely player to make way if selectors go down the route of three spinners, though Lehmann noted he wasn't the only batsman who'd fallen short of expectations in Dhaka.

"(The first Test was) disappointing for him (Khawaja) and obviously a few other players were disappointing in the Test match," the 47-year-old said.

"If we had contributions from everyone we probably would have won the game.

"He is doing everything to change his game from here to home. We know he's a very good player at home on those sort of (Australian) wickets.

"So we'll just have to wait and see."

Australia in Bangladesh 2017

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Steve O'Keefe, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade.

Bangladesh squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (c), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed, Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam, Mominul Haque.

27-31 August First Test, Dhaka, Bangladesh won by 20 runs

4-8 September Second Test, Chittagong