Tasmanian tweaker Matthew Kuhnemann is in a prime position to add to his three Test showings with Aussie selectors on the brink of naming the left-arm finger spinner in an extended team for Tests in Sri Lanka in late May.
Fair dinkum, according to insiders who have knowledge of the situation, they’re saying that Kuhnemann will be one of the 15 or 16 blokes picked for the squad on Thursday.
Also joining the touring party will be Nathan McSweeney, who played three Tests against India before being swapped out for Sam Konstas.
The inclusion of McSweeney adds an air of mystery before an official announcement.
The other big news is that all-rounder Mitchell Marsh won’t be heading off to Sri Lanka as part of the Test team.
Kuhnemann, who played three Tests against India on Australia’s last tour of the subcontinent in ’23, has every chance to push his way into the starting eleven for the opening Test in Galle on the 29th of January.
The 28-year-old, who has nine Test wickets at 31.11, was called in to join Australia’s team for the fifth Test against India in Sydney, along with Todd Murphy and Peter Handscomb. Off-spinner Murphy will also be picked in the squad for Sri Lanka.
Glenn Maxwell is going to get a more straightforward idea about his Test career prospects on Thursday when the Australian selectors announce an expanded squad.
Marsh, who was dropped for Beau Webster in the fifth Test in Sydney, has lost his spot in a team that at least has three bowlers specialising in spin.
Wes triggersman from Western Australia, Cooper Connolly, is in the running as the selectors decide whether to take one of the country’s top young players on a massive learning trip.
With Webster set to keep his place in the squad after a standout debut in the Sydney Test, former Australian opener Aaron Finch reckons Marsh may have played his last Test.
“There’s not a massive amount of cricket left in this summer to make a strong case for him, with Cameron Green making a return in early March. In my opinion, it’s unlikely he’ll play again this year.”
G’day, Green posted a video to social media on Wednesday showing him jogging around the WACA after recovering from back surgery, which ruled him out for the summer and the upcoming Sri Lanka tour.
Chris Connolly, 21, has only played in four four-day matches for WA and has a batting average of 61.8 from six innings, however, he’s yet to make a score of a hundred runs in any of those innings.
He bowls steady left-arm orthodox spin in one-day cricket, but is yet to take a wicket from 16 overs.
Connolly is tipped as one of the country’s up-and-coming young stars, having skippered Australia at the 2022 under-19 World Cup in the West Indies.
As of Wednesday, Connolly was the Big Bash’s top run-getter for the year, having racked up 272 runs at an average of 54.4.
Left-arm finger spinners typically dominate in Sri Lankan conditions, which is why the Aussie selectors have had a good look at Connolly as a genuine tourer.
You might need a few left-arm orthodox pacers coming on board. You need different options, and he does bat well to spin as well.
“Fair dinkum, I reckon Cooper Connolly might be a bit of an underdog on that trip.”
Nathan Lyon will be Australia’s top choice for the spin position.
He’s been unreal,” Brisbane Heat and Australian international Spencer Johnson said aboot Kuhnemann. “I fair dinkum think he’s earned a spot in the Test team.
In the meantime, the International Cricket Committee has given the SCG pitch a “satisfactory” rating, even though former Australian skipper Michael Clarke reckoned it was the worst pitch he’d seen in Sydney.
Cricket Australia has announced that the International Cricket Council has given the Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Melbourne pitches “very good” ratings.
Despite the fifth Test against India wrapping up in under three days, the SCG pitch was given the second-highest rating of “satisfactory”.
Venues cop demerit points for “unsatisfactory” or “unfit” ratings.
“We don’t go out of our way to set up wickets that give the home team an advantage or suit our situation in a Test series,” said Peter Roach, Cricket Australia’s head of cricket operations and scheduling. “What we’re after is a fair contest between bat and ball, with pitches that’ll give us a decent chance of a result.”
Days after Australian opener Usman Khawaja called the SCG pitch a “stinker”, Clarke did not hold back.
“Fair dinkum, I didn’t think it was a ripper of a cricket wicket.”
“The Aussies have got a free win, fair dinkum, but if we were playing in India and got a match as turny as that, with a game wrapped up in two and a half days, I reckon all the Aussie cricket fans would be having a big whinge.”
“These wickets all summer were really tough for batting and great for fast bowling. Sydney was just plain bloody hard.”
