by bigfluffylemon » Wed Mar 29, 2017 10:44 pm
Maxwell barely bowled in India, and he's a spinner. He doesn't usually bowl the full complement of 10 in an ODI - I don't think Smith rates him as an allrounder at all.
Given that Aus have been carrying a number 6 for a while now, and Cummins, Pattinson and Starc are all pretty competent with the bat, I'd almost be tempted to play 5 bowlers:
1 Renshaw
2 Warner
3 Usman
4 Smith
5 Handscomb
6 Wade
7 Cummins
8 Pattinson
9 Starc
10 Lyon
11 Hazlewood
Sure it looks as though the tail starts at 6, but given that Cummins, Pattinson and Starc all average 25 (or more for Pattinson) in first class cricket, it's hardly a weak tail, and certainly no weaker than a bottom 6 of M Marsh, Wade, Starc, Bird, Lyon, Hazelwood. And you're going to need a lot fewer runs with a bowling unit featuring those three on Aussie pitches - that's fearsome!