It was a potential win-loss situation for Cricket Australia as the selectors included Usman Khawaja in the national squad for the MCG Test. The potentially bad news coming in from the governing body was that captain Steve Smith will have to be handled very carefully, courtesy – hip and knee pains.
Talking about the good part first, Usman Khawaja makes a return to the international circuit after he recovered from a hamstring injury. His usual position at no.3 has been well suited for him as he contributed with remarkable hundreds at Brisbane and Perth. After his injury causing absence from the team, his replacement Shaun Marsh performed brilliantly with knocks of 49 in Adelaide and the historic 182 in Hobart that was a part of the 449 run record partnership.
The original idea was to drop Marsh when Khawaja returns from his injury, but his recent scores as a replacement have made selectors wonder what to do. Australian captain said, “I’m sure it gives the selectors a few headaches but I think that’s a great thing,” Smith said. “I thought Shaun played beautifully throughout this Test match. Him and [Adam] Voges certainly changed the course of the game. It was 3 for 120 and the game was in the balance. Those guys put on a terrific partnership and set the game up for us.”
Smith has supported the cause of keeping Shaun Marsh in the team, taking into account his recent figures and has preferred to keep the batsman somewhere in the middle order if possible. “I’ve said that for a while now, I think he is best suited at five. He’s played some very good cricket at five. He did last summer as well. I was really impressed with the way he batted last week, he did well in tough conditions and tough circumstances, and again backing it up again this week with a big hundred. He’s batting really well.” He said.
The opening two rounds of Big Bash League opens up for various players like Shaun Marsh, Adam Voges, Peter Nevill, Nathan Lyon, Coulter-Nile and a few others, who could participate in the T20 league, thanks to their performances in the first Test which ended the game in 3 days.
Steve Smith, however, will not be joining them. Knee trouble he has been carrying since the back end of the Ashes tour of England flared up during the Hobart Test, and he also complained of a hip flexor problem to the team physio David Beakley. Smith has been ruled out from wearing the coloured jersey of Sixers as a precaution to nurse an injury, along with Josh Hazlewood, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson (all rested) and David Warner (unsigned) in taking time out from the T20 tournament.
“I’m experiencing a little bit of knee pain that I experienced before the first Test in Brisbane,” Smith said. “I landed on it yesterday and it sort of aggravated it a little bit, as well as a little bit of hip flexor soreness in my right leg as well. So I’m going to sit out the first two Big Bash games, unfortunately. I think it’s just precautionary.”
Speaking of these issues, on how they affect him, Smith said that it is manageable in the longer format of the game, but it could prove to be discomforting in shorter formats. As a result, there is a possibility that he might be sitting out for the first 2 ODIs against India. “I don’t think I’ll be able to go at 100%, which is what you need to do in T20 cricket. I don’t want to do any further damage. I probably can’t run quite 100%, which I think in Test cricket you can hide that a little bit. Hopefully, they improve over the next couple of weeks and I’ll be back to normal.”
In addition to Khawaja, Steve O’Keefe has also been included in the 14-man Test squad for the MCG Test by the selectors.