I have been a staunch advocate for the Cricket Australia National Selection Panel to not make changes for the sake of making changes to the Australia test match lineup and I remain so. There could be nothing worse for building consistency in a team than consistently changing said team as is clearly evidenced by the current predicament the Australian team finds itself in.

Nonetheless, after much reflection I can only conclude that there is no better opportunity to blood a player with a view to the future than in this fixture. The series is gone and this is a dead rubber so all eyes must be focused on winning back the Ashes in Australia, a series that commences only 3 months almost to the day from the end of this test match.

To that end I believe that James Faulkner MUST be awarded his first baggy green in this game for the, hopefully, betterment of Australian cricket and the strengthening of both our batting and bowling lineups.

With Pattinson injured, Starc proven erratic and Bird innocuous under pressure the time is right to grant a debut for the young left arm swing bowling allrounder from the apple isle to see what he is made of. He possesses an excellent first class record albeit on a helpful home grand and has been shown in the past to have the fire in the belly that at times has been lacking, either actually or perceived, in Australian teams of late.

That change aside I see limited benefit in making any other changes. If Usman Khawaja is to be Australia’s long term number 3 then he must be supported by the NSP and selected. Nathan Lyon has done enough in the eyes of everyone but for John Inverarity to secure his spot. Talk of Ashton Agar being selected to bat at number 6 is surely hyperbole from a desperate press core. Finally, say what you like Brad Haddin: he is still the far superior gloveman to Matthew Wade and given that the wicket keeping is still the primary focus of his role he must be selected as well.

This final test is both the dead rubber and the opportunity I mention in the title to this post. One wonders whether the NSP has the courage to take the opportunity or whether it will revert to type and make knee jerk changes that see the same faces leaving or returning depending on whose turn it is. Only time will tell.