Australia’s historic series victory over India has left selectors facing a “conundrum” ahead of the World Cup, according to former captain Mark Taylor.
Usman Khawaja became the first Australian ever to make three consecutive scores over 90 in ODI cricket, making him a virtual lock for selection for the World Cup.
It creates something of a logjam for positions in the batting lineup, with Khawaja competing with David Warner, Aaron Finch and Steve Smith for a top three batting spot.
According to Taylor, Khawaja could slot in at number three behind Warner and Finch, although it raises the potential issue of Smith being too low at four. Seven of Smith’s eight ODI hundreds have come from number three in the order.
“That’s a nice little conundrum for the selectors,” Taylor told Wide World of Sports.
“At the start of the week I didn’t have Khawaja in the starting eleven for the World Cup. Finch is definitely going to play in my opinion, and the bottom line is Warner is still going to come back into the side and open the batting.
“But that doesn’t mean Khawaja can’t bat at three or four, although you’ve got to fit Steve Smith and potentially Peter Handscomb in as well, so it’s difficult to fit everyone in.
“Shaun Marsh is the loser out of this series, he’s gone from being one of our best one-day batsman over the last year, to possibly not being in the starting eleven, unless he gets a chance and does well against Pakistan.”
Taylor admits Khawaja’s relatively orthodox technique means he is best suited to a spot in the top three, rather than the middle order, especially in batsman-friendly conditions.
While Khawaja’s impressive run of form has seen his stocks rise, Handscomb might still find himself carrying the drinks when the World Cup starts, despite finishing as Australia’s second highest runscorer against India.
If Finch, Warner, Khawaja, Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis are all selected, Handscomb may find himself in a battle with Alex Carey for the wicketkeeping spot, a position that should go to the South Australian, according to Taylor.
“I don’t think Handscomb should be at number seven,” Taylor said.
“Carey in that spot is better, he’s obviously a better keeper, and don’t sell his batting short. I think a full-time keeper is a far better option anyway, if you start hedging your bets on a part-time keeper you might drop someone like Virat Kohli on 20, and he makes 120 and wins the game.
“In a way skills like wicketkeeping become devalued in the shorter form of the game, because we don’t often talk about it, but taking a good catch or a good stumping can save you a lot of runs, and they’re the types of things that can win you a game.”
With India losing three consecutive ODIs at home for the first time in a decade, and England recently held to a 2-2 draw by the West Indies, the sides that had been regarded as the tournament favourites are suddenly looking a little shaky.
“I think there’s some sides coming good at the right time, and Australia is one of those. But also the two favourites are starting to falter at the wrong time,” Taylor said.
“There’s no doubt England have been the best side over the last couple of years, but the worry was around whether or not they could maintain it through to the World Cup. They’ll still be one of the sides to beat, but I
reckon there’s five or six sides, including Australia, who can win the World Cup.”
