Last Updated on 5 years by Charbel Coorey
Australia Ashes squad: 3 unlucky players who missed out
Friday 9pm Sydney time was much awaited. After much deliberations, Australia’s squad – the one to try win an Ashes series in England for the first time since 2001 – was to be announced.
There were surprises which, as always, led to talking points. I believe there are three players who are unlucky to miss out on the Ashes squad, and will cover them below.
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1. Joe Burns
Joe Burns, the incumbent Test opener, is very unlucky to miss out on the squad altogether. This is especially so considering he scored 180 in his last Test (albeit against an attack that is not reflective of what Burns will face in England), along with 133 for Australia A a couple of weeks ago.
He averages 40 in 16 Tests. Sure, his big hundreds against New Zealand (on a good batting strip with a 200+ lead) and an inexperienced Sri Lanka side help, but he has every reason to feel aggrieved at missing out on an Ashes squad spot. Trevor Hohns echoed that thought, and has asked Burns to keep belting the door down/
2. Kurtis Patterson
Another last-Test centurion. Kurtis Patterson made an excellent start to his Test career with runs against Sri Lanka, to go with a First Class batting average of over 40 in 67 matches. This kind of record is rare among Australian batsmen looking to break into the Test side, so leaving Patterson out would have been a tough call.
In the end, Matthew Wade’s form was too difficult to ignore. So too Mitchell Marsh’s potential and what he can do. Marnus Labuschagne too has had an excellent English summer so far, with his bowling the key factor in his selection over Patterson.
3. Alex Carey
Alex Carey is less unlucky than the previous two mentioned. However, he could have made the squad as a reserve wicket-keeper. His batting form has been superb, often getting Australia out of trouble in the recent World Cup. He was also one of the few batsmen to get a start on a very difficult pitch in the tour game.
In the end, the selectors felt white-ball form is not enough to win a spot in a Test squad where places are at a premium. While that is certainly fair enough, Carey will instead play for Sussex in the ongoing Vitality T20 Blast, which puts the onus on management to ensure he focuses enough on his red-ball game this summer if he is the man to replace Tim Paine as the Test keeper-batsman for Australia.
Much rests on the next six months in Alex Carey’s red-ball career.
Is there anyone else you feel was unlucky to miss out?
Thanks for reading!
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