http://www.cricket.com.au/news/australia-test-squad-first-test-west-indies-hobart-nathan-coulter-nile/2015-12-01




Andrew Ramsey
@ARamseyCricket
WA quick called in, Victorian right-armer on standby for first Test against West Indies
Uncapped fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile has been called into Australia's Test squad as a replacement for Mitchell Starc in the opening match of the Commonwealth Bank Test Series against the West Indies. The national selectors have also placed Victoria's Scott Boland on standby should any of the incumbent quicks succumb to the recent run of injuries that have tested the depth of fast bowling stocks around the nation.
WATCH: Scott Boland rips through WA in Perth Coulter-Nile, who has himself battled a run of serious hamstring injuries in recent years, was part of Australia's ODI squad in the series that followed this year's Ashes Tests in the UK but has not played a first-class match for Western Australia since last summer. The 28-year-old was due to return to Sheffield Shield ranks in the Alcohol. Think Again Warriors match against Victoria that started last Friday but was ruled out when he was suspended for disputing an umpire's decision during a preceding Toyota Futures League fixture. Coulter-Nile’s pace – fitting the criterion of coach Darren Lehmann and others in the Australia set-up that Test bowlers be able to regularly operate around 140km/h – has earned Coulter-Nile the call-up despite his lack of recent red-ball form. "With the exception of a forced change through the injury to Mitchell Starc we have decided to keep an unchanged squad following a successful series win against a strong New Zealand side," selection panel chair Rod Marsh said in announcing the 12-man squad today. "In an ideal world we would have liked Nathan Coulter-Nile to have played some more Sheffield Shield cricket but he has been a proven performer for Australia in short-format cricket and has very good pace. "We think he is ready to compete at Test level if required." It is unlikely Coulter-Nile will come in the Australia XI for the first Commonwealth Bank Test against the West Indies starting in Hobart next week given that Victoria paceman James Pattinson has also been retained in the 12-man squad and is expected to replace Starc. Starc suffered a stress fracture to his right foot during the recent day-night Test against the Black Caps in Adelaide and will be sidelined until at least the new year. Ryan Harris exclusive: Silver lining to Starc's injury But with Josh Hazlewood carrying a heavy workload from earlier in the current summer and Peter Siddle suffering from back soreness which troubled him during the recent Adelaide Test against NZ (but did not prevent him from bowling), Boland has been named as a potential replacement. The 26-year-old has played 26 matches for Victoria since making his Sheffield Shield debut in 2011 and starred in the Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers thumping win over WA in Perth last weekend, taking 7-31 in the second innings. Scott Boland took seven wickets in Victoria's win over WA // Getty Cricket Australia has confirmed he will be available to play for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield match against South Australia starting on Sunday – five days before the Hobart Test – unless doubt remains over the fast bowlers in the Test squad "Hopefully all the bowlers from the Adelaide Test recover well over the next few days but we are mindful our fast bowlers have had a heavy workload over this series," Marsh said in relation to Boland’s stand-by status. "Scott presents as a good option if the situation with any of our fast-bowlers change. "He’s bowling very well at the moment and is not far off selection. "His seven-wicket haul against Western Australia showed just what he can do at an elite level." AUSTRALIA'S TEST SQUAD
Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Peter Nevill, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Adam Voges
The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Cricket Australia.

About the Writer

Andrew Ramsey






Edited by Decentric: 1/12/2015 11:16:16 AM

Haven't seen Coulter- Nile play Shield in Hobart for years.:-k

I cannot remember Boland playing at Bellerive either.:-k

Just cannot work out why Bird is not going to play? He already has Test experience too.

Is this Rod Marsh's bias for West Aussies as head selector? A real talking point is Shaun Marsh's constant selection after so many failures.

No probs with West Aussies Mitch Johnson, Mitch Marsh and Voges winning their places on merit, but not Shaun. West Aussie Bancroft is also a talent too and is young.

Edited by Decentric: 1/12/2015 11:24:04 AM

It was a good game, but definitely not a great game. It only went 3 days and was marred by the Lyon decision and the difference in conditions between day time and night time.

Hate the day/night cricket. Too much difference between day and night and the ball is too hard for the players to pick up at times. The pitch was deliberately left long to protect the ball as was the grass in the outfield.

It was good to see bowlers having a good pitch to bowl unlike the two terrible pitches in the first two test matches.

What do people think about the criteria that bowlers must bowl at 140 km/h plus to be considered to play test for Australia?
Glen McGath would not get a game using that criteria seeing he bowled at 130-135 most of the time.

The Marsh brothers are nowhere near good enough for test cricket. How many chances they need?

Keen to see how the Windies go down in Hobart.

-PB

It seems bizarre.

No matter how fast our bowlers bowled in England, albeit on different pitches, the slower Broad and Anderson bowled better, apart from the slower Siddle when he was finally selected.

Mitch's bowling is good for an all rounder. The experts castigate his batting technique though.

The word I've heard from former Shield players is that Shaun Marsh is a very talented batter who has underachieved.
The guys pick up less technical flaws in him, other than that he is too square on, than many of our other batters.

The guy they rave about is Kane Williamson.=d>

It's absolute horseshit, I personally think Bird is the best bowler in the country right now, needed to be in this side. :x

Bird is a gun. If everyone was fit this would be my 1st 11

Warner
Burns
Smith (C)
Voges
Lynn
Stonis
Wade (WK)
Starc
Pattinson
Lyon
Bird

Add in young guys like Handscomb,Maxwell,Bancroft,Maddinson,Head,Henriques,Hazlewood,Sandu,Boland,Behrendorff,Stanlake alot of talent coming through.

It is a great event.

I'm only five minutes walk from the venue. 10 minutes stagger home.:lol:

The head bar attendant has now bought 3 beers of sufficient quality too. :d




Edited by Decentric: 1/12/2015 05:46:00 PM

A lot of decent swing bowlers bowl 130-140.

-PB

Australia v West Indies: Nathan Coulter-Nile added to Test squad
Date
December 1, 2015
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In the squad: Fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile has been selected for the Australian Test team.
In the squad: Fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile has been selected for the Australian Test team. Photo: Getty Images
Adelaide: Australia selectors are prioritising pace over performance with a Test call-up for Nathan Coulter-Nile that ensures the paceman will miss the entire first half of the Sheffield Shield season.

The tall right-armer's ability to rattle opposition batsmen with pace was the key to his elevation to Australia's squad for next week's Hobart Test in spite of not having played a shield match this season. Selectors believe Coulter-Nile is needed in the aftermath of losing their two fastest bowlers: Mitch Johnson to retirement and Mitch Starc to injury.

"Once Mitchell Starc went down, I think everyone's mind went straight to Nathan Coulter-Nile," chief selector Rod Marsh said on Tuesday about their "gut feeling" selection of the West Australian for the start of the series against the West Indies.

"I guess we're at a situation now where because of the two Mitchells, one retiring and one being injured, that we do need a bit of pace up front. That doesn't guarantee him a game of course in Hobart but he's in the 12."

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Coulter-Nile's only matches at domestic level this season have been three one-dayers during the Matador Cup, due to injuries suffered before that tournament and then during it. A Futures League match last week that was supposed to prepare him for a return to the shield ended as the reason he could not do so, because he was suspended one match for dissent to an umpire.

In the absence of any recent shield matches, the selectors have instead relied on the 28-year-old's solid form for Australia at one-day level, rather than the impressive shield form of other pacemen such as Jackson Bird.

"We've had our eye on him for a long time and we've been very pleased with the way he's gone when he has played. But, as you all know, he's also been a fast bowler who hasn't been injury free," Marsh said of the tall right-armer.

"He comes back well. Fresh. He came back very well, fresh in the Australia A series in India earlier this year, so we're not too concerned about that.

"In an ideal world, yes, it would have been good if he had been playing shield cricket the whole season and taken 40 wickets. In an ideal world. But we don't get too many of them, so we'll go with our gut feeling on Coulter-Nile. We like him as a bowler."

Marsh staunchly defended their decision not to choose Bird, the Tasmania atop the shield wicket tally with 18 at an average of 24.77.

"We don't think anyone is unlucky in this selection. We think we've picked the best squad we possibly can, as we always try and do," he said.

While Coulter-Nile has been added to the squad, it is expected that James Pattinson, who was 12th man in Adelaide and has played in three shield matches this season, will replace Starc in the XI.

"It will be nice to see 'Patto' back to where he was," Marsh said. "He's a boy that once he steps over that boundary rope you'd rather him on your side than theirs. He's a beauty."

Coulter-Nile's elevation to the squad will prevent him playing in WA's home match against Tasmania starting on Sunday. His next opportunity to play in the shield, which is about to be halted for the Big Bash League, will come in early February.

Coulter-Nile has experienced many injury problems throughout his shield career, in which he has taken 111 wickets at an average of 27.86 in 30 matches. His ability to play the last five matches of last season for the Warriors, culminating in an appearance in the shield final, was seen as a key milestone by his coach Justin Langer.

"I've spoken to [coach] Darren Lehmann and Rod Marsh about it; I think the penny has dropped for him. He's got himself super fit ... to get through five back-to-back shield games is a great credit to him," Langer said after last summer's shield final.

Victoria fast-bowler Scott Boland has also been announced as a standby player in case any of the other three pacemen in the squad - Josh Hazlewood, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson - are unit to play in Hobart.

Boland, 26, has emerged over the past two years as a key bowler for Victoria, especially when Pattinson and Siddle are unavailable. In the shield match in Perth that Coulter-Nile missed due to suspension, he bowled the Bushrangers to victory in the second innings with a career-best 7-31.

Unless there are specific injury concerns among any of Australia's bowlers, Boland will not join the squad in Hobart, and will instead stay in Melbourne to play the shield match against South Australia due to finish the day before the Test. Should there be any injury concerns Boland would be flown to Hobart and his place in the team taken by another fast bowler, even if the match has already started.

Team management have been worried about Hazlewood's workload since the first Test against New Zealand. Siddle also endured back spasms during the Adelaide Test, caused by a jolt he suffered on the opening day of the match, but captain Steve Smith expressed confidence the 10-day break between matches would be ample time for him to recover.

Marsh confirmed Hazlewood was likely to need a rest at some stage during the three-Test Frank Worrell Trophy series.

"It would be very difficult for Josh to get through six Test matches in a summer and then go to New Zealand and play two more - and you've got to understand we've also got a one-day series," he said.

"We'll just see how he's tracking. If he's strong and he's fit [he will play] - and it helps if you don't have to play five-day Test matches too, it really does. I think the last couple of days of a Test match can be quite difficult for a fast bowler if you're bowling 60-plus overs in a Test."

The replacement of Starc with Coulter-Nile and the addition of Boland as a standby player are the only changes to Australia's Test squad for the match at Blundstone Arena.



AUSTRALIA (from): Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Peter Nevill, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Adam Voges. Standby player: Scott Boland.



Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/australia-v-west-indies-nathan-coulternile-added-to-test-squad-20151130-glc2iy.html#ixzz3tCvcZZ00
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Australia needs a fast bowler capable of bowling a lot of overs.

Keep Pattinson for short spells.

How deep are Australia's pace reserves?BRYDON COVERDALE 58 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter With Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson retired and Mitchell Starc out injured, Australia's fast-bowling depth is set to be seriously tested over the next few months 2K shares
58
Play01:50
Coverdale: Selectors like Coulter-Nile's pace
A year ago, you might have worried about the depth of Australia's batting talent. Or of their spin-bowling options. But pace? That has been the least of their concerns. Still is, according to the national selector Rod Marsh, who announced Australia's latest Test squad on Tuesday. Marsh said that Australia's "depth chart" - those were his words - showed "20 fast bowlers that we rate a chance of playing" internationals in one of the three formats.

We might soon find out whether Australia's pace-bowling depth is really as impressive as those numbers suggest, or whether it more resembles Paul Keating's withering description of Peter Costello: all tip and no iceberg. Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris have retired. Mitchell Starc is injured, as are a number of replacement candidates. Josh Hazlewood's workload worries the team management, and Peter Siddle's back is troubling him.

So, how far down into Australia's domestic scene does the quality of fast bowling really penetrate? It is a question worth considering, given that the selectors have chosen in the squad for the first Test against West Indies a man who has not played a single Sheffield Shield game this summer due to injury and suspension. Nathan Coulter-Nile has no recent red-ball form, yet he was the man all the selectors thought of when Starc was ruled out.

As well as James Pattinson retaining his place in the squad, the other man to receive a call was Victoria fast bowler Scott Boland, who has been placed on standby in case either Siddle or Hazlewood struggles to recover after Adelaide. Marsh noted that it was unlikely Hazlewood would be able to sustain himself through six Tests this summer, with a New Zealand tour to follow, so Coulter-Nile and Boland both have realistic chances of playing Test cricket soon.

"We don't think anyone is unlucky with this selection," Marsh said. Translation: despite the "depth chart", no other fast bowlers were close. These selectors want speed; Marsh said that a properly quick bowler was needed in the absence of Johnson and Starc. Jackson Bird and Chadd Sayers suffer from the perception that they are not quick enough, even though Bird was Man of the Match in his second Test, three years ago.


Jackson Bird is the highest wicket-taker in the Sheffield Shield this season and has an enviable first-class record in Hobart, but his lack of pace has counted against him under the current selection regime   © Getty Images
Bird is also the leading wicket taker this Shield season with 18 at 24.77, and he knows the Bellerive Oval surface intimately: he has taken 71 first-class wickets there at 19.81. That he was not picked for Hobart against West Indies suggests he is unlikely to add to his three Test caps, at least in the near future. Then again, Bird hasn't bashed the door down; his five-wicket haul in the most recent Shield round was his first in 18 months.

So, who else is there? The Western Australia left-armer Jason Behrendorff would have come under serious consideration had he been fit, but he is struggling with a back injury. Pat Cummins also faces a long lay-off due to stress fractures of the back. James Faulkner has a toe injury that is also causing him knee problems.

Andrew Fekete was part of Australia's squad for the cancelled Test tour of Bangladesh, but has since been dropped by Tasmania and has 12 wickets at 40.83 this Shield season. Ben Hilfenhaus' pace is down and Tasmania have sent him back to Futures League and grade cricket. Gurinder Sandhu, who made his ODI debut earlier this year, has little recent red-ball form to recommend him.

In fact, let's run through the list of highest Sheffield Shield wicket takers over the past two years, excluding spinners. Top of the heap is James Hopes, the 37-year-old Queensland medium-pacer whose canniness has earned him 72 wickets at 19.51 in that time. Next is Fekete. Then Michael Hogan, who plays for Western Australia as an overseas player because he has used his British passport to play county cricket as a local.

Next is Doug Bollinger, with 50 wickets at 22.52. He is 34 and his last Test was five years ago. Would he be up to a recall? Then comes Behrendorff and the South Australian Joe Mennie, who has 47 wickets at 34.17, and is second to Bird this season. Then it's Boland, Sean Abbott, Bird, Sayers and Tasmania's Sam Rainbird, who has 40 wickets at 29.15. Two other names of note are Joel Paris, another WA left-armer who swings the ball, and Billy Stanlake, the tall Queenslander. Marsh made mention of both as men for the future, if not the present.

"Joel Paris is an interesting one, he's played his first ever four-day game against Victoria this week and from all reports bowled quite nicely," he said. "He's one that we'll be keeping our eye on for sure, because he's very tall and he swings the ball and he had a brilliant junior career. Billy Stanlake is another one, from Brisbane. We've got two youngsters who I think, going forward, will be very good fast bowlers for Australia."

In the end, the selectors went for Coulter-Nile due to a "gut feeling" among the panel. "We like him as a bowler," Marsh said. Some fans have had a gutful of such selection hunches, but do any of those other names jump out as demanding selection? In whatever direction the selectors went, a leap of faith was required. What is certain is that Australia's fast-bowling depth is about to be seriously tested.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @brydoncoverdale

I just don't get the logic in not picking Bird. Not everyone needs to bowl 150KM. :x

You have a bowler who is the leading wicket-taker in the shield this season.

Has 71 first-class wickets at 19.81at Bellerive Oval.

and he's performed very well for Australia in his limited chances so far.

Why wouldn't you select him. :?

Coulter Nile in, wtf?

-PB

I think Marsh senior might be going senile too. ](*,)

They talk about criteria for selection, then do the opposite.](*,)

In Faulkner's only Test he took 6 wickets in England and Lehmann said he wasn't good enough and needed to go back to the Shield to improve. Then he hardly played for two seasons because of limited over commitments.

Shaun Marsh at 32 years of age has a First Class batting average of only 39-40. Yet he is still selected.](*,)

I see a lot of cricket played at Bellerive. Pattinson has been very effective here in Shields and Tests.=d>

Bird would be good too. He has played three tests and been player of the match for one. He already has much needed Test experience. Coulter Nile and the Boland have none.

To discuss players bowling well by performing in limited overs is ridiculous from Lehmann and Marsh. Limited overs is about bowling dot balls, to defensive fields. The long form of cricket is a scenario where one has attacking fielders in catching positions close to the bat. Thankfully, the Socceroo football selector , Ange, still has his marbles.:)

Another guys I like the look of, who is bowling with good rhythm, is South Aussie Chad Sayers. He bowls well at Bellerive too.

With this obsession with 140k plus bowling, many of these bowlers bowl balls that batters don't hit through inaccuracy. Even Johnson and Starc bowl a lot of rubbish in between good balls, although both deserve selection.




Edited by Decentric: 4/12/2015 08:22:06 AM

](*,)

We should be thankful Marshy and Boof don't select the Socceroos.:lol:

Another effective spinner at Bellerive has been the refugee, Ahmed, the wristy from Victoria.

Top quality spinners usually get good turn from Bellerive late on the 4th and 5th days. Warne, McGill, Tim May, Saqlain Mushtaq and Ahmed ( the Pakistan guy whose googly turned more than his leg break) have done well at Bellerive in Tests.

Warne said he liked bowling at Bellerive apart from the cool sea breeze taking him a while to warm up.

Bellerive tends to get a cool south-easterly sea breeze.

According to visitors Bellerive is a brilliant ground to watch cricket.

would love to see starc bird pattinson and mitch marsh attack
best pace attack in the world

even with the bat we have some sound options
i am looking forward to nevilles development as wk batsmen and i think smith warner bird look promising
lynne vogues and khawaja all have potential tho vogues is at the end of his career

Amla what a player.

Terrific.

So is AB De Villiers.

There was a lot of discussion amongst Alan Border, Mark Waugh, Brad Haddin and Brendan Julian about the fast bowling selection. Most of them have ties to Cricket Australia so were pretty circumspect about it.

Mark Waugh condemned the selections of Coulter-Nile and Boland. He claimed 'gut feelings' completely broke their own selection criteria of playing Shield Cricket and taking wickets.

Apparently, Doug Bollinger, although playing as a 34 year old has been bowling very fast and well. Geoff Lawson has pushed Bollinger's selection as well as Jackson Bird's.

Lawson contends they are meeting all the selection criteria - taking wickets , apart from Bird being a bowler who bowls under 140. As a left armer, Waugh argued that Bollinger would be a logical replacement for Starc and Johns on even though 34. He also has Test experience.

To be honest, I hate when test cricket because this type of block fest.

-PB

Tweet

Don't get me started on This Game. Some Horrible batting.

"Sheffield shield fans going ahead with their threatened boycott of this game"

Top kek.

Hopefully The Tail can push the lead to around 200 and give the Bowlers a good chance tomorrow.

ATM the Bellerive oval is looking like it will be a green top.

I saw a lot of the last series in the West Indies. I think they can do a lot of damage to our unsettled batting order.

If Lyon's dismissal had occurred in the Adelaide Test the scenario could easily have been 1-1.

Our media gets overly cocky about opposition teams downplaying their ability relative to ours.