The allrounder Glenn Maxwell is in line for his Test debut after being named to replace the injured Shane Watson
for the Sydney Test against Sri Lanka starting January 2. Watson has
been ruled out due to the calf injury he suffered while bowling on the
first day at the MCG and the captain Michael Clarke is also in some
doubt due to the hamstring injury he sustained in Hobart. While Clarke
expects he will be fit to play at the SCG, Usman Khawaja will remain on
standby as Australia assess Clarke's recovery.
Maxwell is almost certain to play as the Australians look ahead to the
tour of India, where they will require a second spinner, although Clarke
also raised the possibility of bringing Mitchell Starc back in for
Watson, to bowl alongside Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Jackson
Bird. Whatever happens, Clarke has declared Starc a certain starter, but
a four-man pace attack along with Lyon appears unnecessary in Sydney
conditions.
"Shane is out of the Sydney Test and Glenn Maxwell comes into the squad
as a replacement for Watto [Watson], being the allrounder," Clarke said
after Australia's win in Melbourne.
"The other person on standby is Usman Khawaja for me once again. I have
got a bit of extra time now, winning this game in three days, to give
myself every chance to be right for Sydney and I'm really confident I'll
be fit for Sydney. But Usman is on standby just in case.
"Maxwell comes into the squad as the allrounder, so it is a squad of 13
and then we wait and see what the conditions are like in Sydney. I think
the other allrounder sits beside me right here [Mitchell Johnson] as he
showed with the bat in this game. So we've got options. If you think
the wicket is going to spin you've got the option of Maxy [Maxwell], if
you think there's enough in there to play four fast bowlers and a
spinner, you've got [Johnson]."
The uncertainty over Clarke's fitness and the absence of the
vice-captain, Watson, also means Australia's selectors will need to
decide who would be captain in the event that Clarke is ruled out. The
logical replacement for a one-off Test would be the veteran Michael
Hussey, although David Warner would be another option after the
selectors indicated his leadership potential last summer by briefly
naming him vice-captain of the one-day side.
"I haven't had that conversation with the selectors, not to say they
haven't thought about it, I'm sure they have," Clarke said when asked
about the captaincy if he was to sit out. "But I haven't. I don't know
the answer to that question."
"I don't think [my hamstring has] got worse, that's for sure. The thing
with my injury, it's about how you pull up as well. Yesterday I batted
for a fair bit of time and made a hundred. I really need to assess over
the next 24-48 hours how I pull up, continue with my strength programme,
continue with my maintenance work to make sure I'm 100% right for
Sydney. I think it's more precaution than anything else."
The most likely scenario is that Clarke will play and Maxwell will come
in for Watson, to bat at No.7, with Matthew Wade to move up to No.6.
Clarke confirmed that if he was declared fit he himself would bat at
No.4 in Sydney, with Hussey at No.5. The inclusion of Maxwell would give
Australia two offspinners, but Clarke was confident both Maxwell and
Nathan Lyon could work in the same side.
"They're two very different bowlers," Clarke said. "Glenn brings that
allrounder package. He's scored plenty of runs for Victoria with the
bat, I think he averages over 40 with the bat in first-class cricket,
and he's had success with the ball. He's the full package and he has
that X-factor about him. It's now about assessing conditions and making
sure we pick the best XI."
Maxwell, 24, has played 15 first-class matches and collected 27 wickets
at 33.81, and has scored 924 runs at an average of 42. He made his ODI
and Twenty20 international debuts earlier this year and is viewed as a
player of enormous potential by John Inverarity's selection panel.
The absence of Watson will also raise further questions about his
ability to perform the dual roles of batting in the top four and bowling
in Test cricket, after calf and hamstring injuries ruled him out of the
whole of last summer and the first two Tests against South Africa this
season. Clarke said there were times when he held Watson back from
bowling too much due to his batting commitments, but he said any
decision to give up bowling would have to be made by Watson alone.
"That's really decided by Watto," Clarke said. "He wants to be an
allrounder. If you're an allrounder you've got to be able to bat and
bowl. Unless that changes in his mind, it won't change in mine. We speak
about it often. We're very lucky to have such a good player who can do
both, he could be in the team as a bowler, he could be in the team as a
batter."
Squad: Michael Clarke (capt), David Warner, Ed Cowan, Phillip
Hughes, Michael Hussey, Usman Khawaja, Matthew Wade (wk), Glenn Maxwell,
Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Jackson
Bird
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