Five new players.

No Maxwell?

New players: 


Dogget

Head

Neser

Finch

Labuschagne



Siddle is returning too after a spell away.

Funny that players like Finch and Head only have averages in the 30s, whilst Maxwell averages over 40 in First Class cricket. 

Yet Langer claims this they are more consistent. He claims  they reach 30 more often then Maxwell. 

I've never seen Dogget bowl, but he is supposed to be pretty quick.

I thought Jackson Bird was in the mix for selection. What happened? 

Neser bowled some  very good spells at Bellerive last year, either in the Shield or a One Day Game.

Head played the best innings I saw at Bellerive in the whole of last season, scoring a chanceless century until he got out.

 It was under incredible pressure too, but it may have been his only 100 for the season.

Siddle bowled a lot of tight spells at Bellerive last season in a Shield game, but looked too innocuous for a Test recall.

What a mess of a side. With Smith and Warner gone, selecting a player whos actually performed in overseas conditions (Maxwell's 100 in India) is a no brainer. Hes also an actual match winner which we lack. Its an absolute ridiculous decision and he should be a certainty at 5/6.

Both the allrounders theyve selected in Head and Lambuchagne are all not yet up to it. Everyone seems to like Head and he has the potential to be a good player but hes a long way off and his batting numbers are sitll wildly inconsistent. Maxwells first class average is well above both with the bat. 

The other bit of madness is Mitch Marsh most likely getting vice-captain. Guys been in and out of the test team his whole career, makes one hundred and suddenly on the cusp of vice captaincy. He still averages 27 with the bat in tests and 42 with the ball. Give him a few years to actually become a good cricketer. His first class stats are both in the 30s. His numbers are still bits of pieces where hes not exactly 7 or 8. Khawaja seems such a blatantly obvious vice captain pick its amazing his name isnt even in the mix. 

 Agree totally!

I saw Maxwell play an excellent Test 100 in the Subcontinent.

Not only that, he is a handy spin bowler and and an outstanding fielder!

This is also a surprise, and maybe a Langer captain' s pick from their home state of WA.

 James Faulkner is making a return to Shield cricket after a few years struggling with a knee injury. He could be the answer as a bowling all rounder.

I can't see us being competitive against Pakistan with this team - particularly playing away from home.

Ill complain too about the bowlers. Sayyers, Bird and Tremain all should be there over Siddle, Doggett and Nesser

Sayers is very slow through the air - about 120kph.

Bird has looked good and taken wickets at Test level. Why he  hasn't been selected is a puzzle?

With Kawaja, his technique against spin on the Subcontinent  has  been an issue in the past . 

He often looks like he has established himself as a batter on Aussie soil, then he has a poor series.

Mitch Marsh and Hazlewood announced as vice captains. Crazy for Marsh hes barely even an automatic selection. Amazes me how Khawaja wasnt even part of the discussion

I'm not as surprised about Hazlewood as he is guaranteed a place in the team.

Kawaja's form in the Subcontinent has not been  as good as at home. Still he is quite experienced at test level over a long period.

I'm not too bothered about Mitch Marsh right now, he seems to be in good form. 49.5 average in his past 11 innings and has looked good in some ODI's. Going alright against Pak A aswell.

So the team will be:

Finch
Khawaja
S.Marsh
M.Marsh
Head
Labuschagne
Paine (C)
Starc
Holland
Siddle
Lyon

What a weak weak side. 

After seeing the series, maybe it wasn't as weak a team as you suggested. Lyon, Finch, Kawaja, Labuschagne, Paine all did quite well. The rest were probably not  up to par. Admittedly, Pakistan were the better side.

What do you think know?

I thought his batting was rubbish.

His bowling was better, particularly in the 2nd Test.

Kawaja performed better than I expected.

Ye i was very wrong, goodbye Marsh