Australia tour of Bangladesh, Aug 22-Sept 8

[yuppie]

Well done Bangladesh.

Who needs 2 divisions?

Australia for when they play overseas...

[bigfluffylemon]

Perhaps this is more of an indication of how reliable Smith and Warner are (especially at home) than how reliant Australia are on them, but you have to go back to 2015 (1st test vs West Indies) to find a match that Australia won or drew in which both Smith and Warner failed (by which I mean, both failed to reach 50 in either innings). And you have to go back to 2013 before that to find another one.

In other words, if you get Warner and Smith cheaply twice, Australia will almost certainly lose. But it doesn't happen very often.

[andy]

100 for Warner in Asia, finally showing he can play spin...gurantee Shanks wont turn up now...

[yuppie]

O'Keefe selection looks a little bit strange.

Obviously his antics off the pitch has meant he has been banned by NSW, so why is he suddenly getting selected for Australia? And if he replaces Hazelwood, will Australia really go into a test with 3 front line spinners? Would he replace Agar and Australia go in with Bird? Cartwright to come in for Maxwell and offer some gentle medium pacers?

Personally i thought Agar did ok, nothing special, but he was fine. Maxwell got a wicket, though his batting is still suspect. He is not the biggest problem in that Australian batting line up, though he is still a major problem.

And Wade has not really done anything with the bat since his came back into the team. The odd fighting innings in India but other than that, his place in the team must be in question.

[andy]

If O'keefe plays he will be part of a 3 man spin attack, which i don't see happening...on the other hand, seems pointless flying out a replacment for one test if he isn't gonna play...I think Bird will play, but if O'Keefe does play then surely Cartwright comes in for Maxwell..too big a risk to play Cummins as the lone seamer.....About Wade, surely he has to be axed and for good this time...Nevil did nothing wrong and is much better than Wade..

[yuppie]

Wade was bought in to make some more runs, at the expense of of poorer keeping. And if he was making runs then fair enough.

But simple wade is not making runs, well more than Khawaja but hes not making enough.

Any one hear how Tim Paynes getting on?

[andy]

Im a huge fan of Tim Paine but those finger injiuries seemed to have cost him dearly....IMO Nevil should come back and/or Paine, one of those two guys

[yuppie]

I agree, if Wade is not making runs, then he can not justify his place in the team. Even though his keeping has improved, its not to the standard of Neville or Paine. So why is he in the team if he is only making the same amount of runs as them?

[andy]

Wade is dreadful, always has been! His batting is below par, his keeping is dire, i dont know why the selectors like him so much...Nevil is a class gloveman and can hold his own with the bat, i havent seen much of Paine recently, but he has always looked very good with bat and gloves whenever ive seen him..

[meninblue]

Aussies have the option of Peter as part time wicket-keeper. However, it is not a wise move to give him the gloves. The probability of him dropping a specialist batsman's catch or missing stumping will be more costly than the number of runs he might score on the wickets on offer in Bangladesh. Moreover i am not sure how much the part time wicket keeper from Australia would have kept on wickets which offer lot of turn. It would be too much of risk to give gloves to Peter.

[alfie]

Not an easy selection for Australia .

They have to win ; so getting a suitable attack is vital - and O'Keefe is surely not being flown in to carry drinks.

Wade is barely adequate but unless they want a part time keeper in a key match they don't have much (immediate) choice.

Warner. Renshaw. Smith(biting the bullet) Handscomb. Maxwell. Cartwright. Wade. Agar. Cummins. O'Keefe. Lyon.

Possibly Bird for Cartwright but that leaves the batting dreadfully thin. I wouldn't even consider Khawaja.

Not the ideal XI , for me. But then it is not the squad I'd have selected

[andy]

Going by cricinfo and comments made by Smith, i really wouldn't be suprised if OZ gave Handscombe the gloves, just for this one test and then went back to Nevil etc for ashes

[Arthur Crabtree]

Handscom has a pretty poor reputation as a keeper.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Cicinfo has BD unchanged, and...

1 David Warner, 2 Matt Renshaw, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Peter Handscomb, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Hilton Cartwright, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Ashton Agar, 9 Steve O'Keefe, 10 Pat Cummins, 11 Nathan Lyon

[andy]

He's gonna keep for Victoria in 50 over comp this year...wouldn't suprise me it's only one test after all....not that im saying its a good idea