I have already written once before about my views on the Australia A squad presently touring Africa and it would be fair to say that that blog lead to a number of responses most of which were focus on my thoughts about the bowling attack OR about the fact that people do not consider the Australia A team to be an Australian “Second XI” but rather a development squad.

I remain unconvinced by arguments that the Australia A team is merely a development squad or, more to the point, that there is a difference between it being a “second XI” or a “development squad”. The fact is that by its very nature a “development squad” should represent a squad of the next in line for Australian selection. If that is what this squad is meant to represent then I fear that the development phase that cricket in this country is going through has a very long way to go.

The reasons for this fear can be easily found by looking squarely at the captain for this tour: Aaron Finch. I am sure he is a lovely bloke but is he really a future captain of Australia? For that matter: is he really a future opening batsman or top order batsman for Australia? Before you answer that question consider these facts:

1. Last first class season he played in four Sheffield Shield games for Victoria and opened in none of them.
2. He has played in 32 first class games and has an average of 30.52 from those games.
3. In 56 first class innings he has 2 hundreds.
4. Some will suggest that his first class record is supplemented well by his ODI record and on that basis he ought be selected in all forms. Seven ODIs for Australia so far for Finch with a batter average of 15 would suggest otherwise.

Based on those numbers can anyone convince me he is in the frame right now to be the next top order batsman in a baggy green? Does the absurdity of that suggestion give a true indicia that this team presently getting belted in Africa is NOT a development squad for the test team but rather the first class games on this tour are merely a side show along the path to the 50 over games to come?

Consider the current top order for this FIRST CLASS fixture against South Africa A: Finch, Marsh S, Doolan, Maddinson and Maxwell. I have already commented on the inclusion of Finch. Of that top order:

• Shaun Marsh has had his turn playing for Australia and is injury prone to say the least. He did not open the batting for Australia nor does he regularly for Western Australia yet he finds himself at the top of the order for Australia A: a position that he has batted for Australia in one day cricket and his position in the Western Australia order in the Ryobi Cup.
• Alex Doolan is a player of the future but how long is that future given that he is already a rising 28 year old? If we have learned nothing else from the late inclusion of Mike Hussey to the test team we know that players who start that late have a very limited time at the top.
• Nic Maddinson is also a player of the future and at 21 has time to develop. Equally he is another player who is averaging below 40 in first class cricket which must improve.
• Glenn Maxwell has been slotted in at number 5 in the batting order after a season of first class cricket in Australia where he played 3 games for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield and averaged 22.50 in his 4 innings. In those games he batted at number 5 once and at number 7 the remainder and when selected for Australia A he batted at number 8. Compellingly he was slotted in at number 8 for Australia when he debuted in the test team in India.

Based on the foregoing, it seems to me that only 2 of the top 5 batsmen in the Australia A team presently playing in Africa are in the frame to be the next players to step into the test team in the top 5 of the batting order. They are Doolan and Maddinson. Maxwell is an lower order batsman at the top level yet bizarrely he is in the top order for Australia A. Shaun Marsh has had his time in the test team but is obviously still in the frame for the ODI team: why else would he be opening here?

People wonder where the “pipeline” of batsmen coming through for the Australian team is: it seems to me that the bulk of them are having the winter off in their homes in Australia or are playing county cricket. They have not been rewarded with selection to the Australian A team.

I can only conclude given the foregoing that this squad in Africa is not designed to represent a group of players who are all striving for test match selection rather it is a squad that is more focused on preparing players for one day and T20 cricket. Why else would they be captained by a specialist one day and T20 cricketer who gets very limited playing time for his first class team? Why else would a batsman who bats at 7 and 8 in test arena but higher in ODI / T20 cricket be batting at number 5 in this team?

If I am wrong and this team represents the players the Inverarity and his merry band of selectors really think are the next in line for the test team then heaven help Australian fans who are just starting to get used to the reality of the current state of cricket in this country because we are going to have a long wait to return to where we once were!

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