Australia have given themselves the luxury of some more time as they weigh up the inclusions of Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green for the Delhi Test starting on Friday (February 17). The two players, both recovering from their respective finger injuries, were notable absentees in Australia’s defeat at Nagpur and with the visitors seeking a quick course correction, could find themselves thrust into action.
For the record, both Green and Starc had lengthy practice sessions at the Arun Jaitley Stadium two days out from the Test match but experienced varying degrees of discomfort. Mitchell Starc, who flew in directly to Delhi, admitted to reporters that he’d hoped to have been a little further along on the road to recovery. Green, on the other hand, bowled at full tilt but experienced some discomfort while facing fast throwdowns for the first time.
“I don’t have much for you there. Starcy and Green had good sessions yesterday and we will assess them later today. We don’t have a line through them yet, we’ll see,” captain Pat Cummins said in his pre-match press conference.
The 23-year-old Green, in particular, is a central peg on whom Australia’s team balance delicately hinges. As a fast-bowling all-rounder who can bat in the top-six, he can allow Cummins to play an extra spinner, someone the side clearly missed in the defeat at the VCA Stadium last week. It is why his is a selection that team would be willing to gamble on even if he’s not a 100% fit. Cummins though remained non-committal.
“Having a right hander helps and him providing our fifth bowling option also helps,” the Australian captain said. “He’s a big player, it certainly helps the team function well from batting and bowling. You have got to be able to perform as well [and] he’s still coming back from that injury, he’s only had a couple of sessions where he’s catching with a hard ball. He had a really good session yesterday. We will see how he pulls up.”
Starc, if passed fit, is likely to come in for the industrious, if not always incisive, Scott Boland with the left-armer capable of providing enough rough marks for off-spinners Todd Murphy and Nathan Lyon to work with. However, Cummins reckoned there was a conversation to be had in terms of how many bowlers they’d want to go with, while suggesting that should Green be passed fit, the team could just as well play an extra spinner in place of Starc.
“I think there’s a conversation [to be had]. We’ll work that out by the end of today, I hope,” Cummins said. “He’s [Starc] one of the world’s premier bowlers in these types of conditions. We’ll see. As I said, the wicket looks like it might turn a little bit. I thought last week with two pacers that attack functioned quite well but I think whether it’s Starcy, another spinner, Scotty, variety in the attack does help.
“I think ideally your allrounder needs to be good enough to bat in the top six. So that’s a luxury we’ve had with Cam Green. In the past, I think my first probably 20 Test matches, we went in with four bowlers. And it’s draining but you can make it work. Again spin bowlers could probably bowl 25 overs in a day rather than 20. So yeah, ideally you’ve got batters that can chip in or a full on all-rounder like a Cam Green but if not, I think you can get away with four bowlers.”
Should Australia turn towards playing that third spinner, they’ll have to toss up between Ashton Agar and Matthew Kuhnemann. While the former was part of the original squad that arrived in Bengaluru, Kuhnemann was flown in after the Nagpur defeat. Cummins clarified there existed no pecking order. “We’re open to both options,” he said. “We’re really confident both will do a fantastic job out there. They both had long sessions the last couple of days and looked awesome. If we wanted a third spinner variety we’d be comfortable with either of those two.”
Meanwhile, Cummins threw his weight behind David Warner to find a way out of his ‘India rut’ but didn’t confirm that the left-hander would start the second Test. Warner averages a measly 22.16 from nine Tests in India, a wretched run that extended in Nagpur when he was cleaned up in the first innings by Mohammed Shami and then tied down and pinned by R. Ashwin in the second ininngs.
“I’m not a selector. I don’t think they’ve had a meeting but I’m sure Davey will be there,” Cummins said. “You saw [last] year at the Boxing Day Test when he puts pressure back on the opposition, he’s pretty hard to bowl to. You don’t get as many good balls, so he knows that. I’m sure that’d be part of his plan. He has been batting really well here. Even in the lead-up, I thought he was fantastic. I know there’s a lot of talk about spin bowling through the middle but with that new ball it’s sometimes the hardest time to bat as well.”
Travis Head is another player in the reckoning to reclaim his spot in the Australian middle order. The No.4 ranked Test batter was left out of the series opener but could offer counter-attacking skills through the middle-order as well as provide a fifth-bowling option if Green isn’t passed fit to play. Cummins revealed that Head had taken the omission in his stride and was pressing to get back.
“Trav has been awesome,” Cummins said. “[He’s] been working really hard out the back on his game. He’s been fantastic around the squad like he always is. There’s always plenty of fun wherever Heady is. He’s absolutely part of the conversations for this Test, just like the first Test so he couldn’t be doing any more. He’s been fantastic.”
