If you listen to the media then you would likely think that Australian cricket is in turmoil, I don’t think that is the case however. Changes to the national team are needed and the domestic comp does need some tweaking but we still have some good talent waiting in the wings which I think can serve Australia well. Below is the side I would consider picking for the rest of the summer along with the side I think will be picked with some comments around the new appearances.

My team:

Renshaw
Warner
Usman
Smith
Handscomb
Patterson
Neville
O’Keefe
Starc
Hazelwood
Bird/Dougie

Likely Team:

Burns
Warner
Usman
Smith
Patterson
Ferguson
Neville
O’Keefe
Starc
Hazelwood
Mennie


My thoughts:

Renshaw: he may have only 11 FC games to his name but with an Ave of 40+ he looks like he has solid potential. Bloke loves to graft through tough periods which is exactly what the Australian set up needs right now.

Patterson: This kid looks the goods, with an average of over 40 in 50+ FC innings he looks to have a bright future, should be first cab off the rank as a middle order batsman inclusion for this new look Aussie team.

O’Keefe: Harsh to drop the GOAT but as I’m writing this the GOAT is 0/100+ in a domestic game which doesn’t bode well, he has lost his confidence and to be fair SOK is a great replacement as he is probably unlucky to have not played more tests. Carries the bat well and will provide much needed runs down the order.

Bird/Bollinger: Both these bowlers are bowling well at the moment and I would lean towards Doug purely because I think he brings more than just his bowling to the team. He gets the crowd involved and lifts the team with him when he does the simplest things in the field. Will always give you 100% and should be rewarded for his patience in the domestic level. With what seems like a toxic atmosphere in the Australian set up (Largely due to media scrutiny) Dougie’s character may be just what the doctor ordered.

Ferguson/Mennie: Both not up to test cricket in my opinion but selectors wont drop them after giving them just one test. Mennie is 100% safe as he wasn’t sent back to shield to prove himself so its extremely harsh for him to then get dropped from the side.

Handscomb: Hard to ignore his mammoth score in the recent shield fixture but he averages less than 40 at a FC level, if he was keeping regularly and proving himself that way it wouldn’t take long for him to make his way into the Australian set up as the preferred keeper. Happy to try him out but he would be under the most pressure to prove his worth out of the new kids.