6 of the most innovative tactics used in cricket in 2016

#4 All Change for Australia

The three debutants for Australia

Australia’s embarrassing defeats in the first two Tests against South Africa meant heads would roll before the 3rd Test at Adelaide. The Selection Chairman Rod Marsh resigned after hitting his nadir by leaving out fast bowler Jackson Bird from the squad for not scoring enough runs. Trevor Hohns, already a selector, took his place as Chairman.

All the players were made to play Sheffield Shield matches between the 2nd and 3rd Tests, and these matches took on a huge relevance, as at least 7 places in the national team were possibly up for grabs. The Shield matches were watched with huge interest, with some of the leading contenders scoring runs and taking wickets.

The selectors finally decided that there would be six new faces in the squad. Six! The last time Australia made these many changes between 2 Tests was all the way back in 1984. And that was actually between 2 consecutive Test series against the West Indies (not Tests in the same series), so the current change was even more radical!

Batsmen Joe Burns, Callum Ferguson (after his debut Test), Adam Voges (who had concussion, but was expected to be dropped anyway), wicketkeeper Peter Nevill and fast bowler Joe Mennie were discarded, and 4 uncapped players, Peter Handscomb, Matt Renshaw, Nic Maddinson and Chadd Sayers, were selected alongside wicketkeeper Matthew Wade and fast bowler Jackson Bird (there was an extra player added).

It might even have been 7 changes, with the struggling Nathan Lyon only getting selected because his likely replacement Stephen O’Keefe got injured at the last moment.

Sayers has been around the squad for a while, and despite all his wickets in the Sheffield Shield, is curiously seen as an ‘Adelaide Oval specialist’. His wait for a debut continued, but the 3 young batsmen did get their ‘Baggy Greens’. Renshaw, 20, early into his career, is already seen as a run-accumulator. Maddinson, a questionable selection ahead of Kurtis Patterson, was presumably picked to provide some big hitting at Number 6.

Handscomb, the Sheffield Shield top-scorer, had been banging on the national selection door for some time, and got a double century in the Shield match before the Test to ensure selection. Wade, never seen as a great keeper, was selected apparently because of his sledging skills.

Did the changes work? Well, Australia coasted to victory in the 3rd Test, with Handscomb getting an impressive 50 and Renshaw occupying the crease for a long time. Renshaw made his first Test 50 against Pakistan at the Gabba in the next series, and Handsomb scored a maiden Test hundred in the same match. Wade and Maddinson haven’t exactly impressed, while the consistent Bird took wickets like he has always done when given a chance. So all in all, most of the selection changes seem to have paid off.