Australia’s summer of cricket is here! Five hot topics to chew on over the barbie

The long wait for the much-anticipated summer of test cricket against India is nearly over.

Article by Clint Testa

To whet the appetites, here are five hot topics to discuss around the barbie this weekend ahead of the First Test kicking off at Perth Stadium on Friday 22 November.

1. How patient will the selectors be with the new opening combination?

With Nathan McSweeney having earned the openers’ nod for the first test, the jury will be casting a keen eye over his performances in the hope that he is the solution to the Australian selectors’ search for David Warner’s replacement. Having never opened in first class cricket before, McSweeney was given that opportunity in the second Australia A match against India A two weeks’ ago.

Whilst he hardly set the world on fire in that audition, the selectors believe that his recent red ball form still warranted him a place in the starting line-up, and will give him first crack at the new Kookaburra this summer. But if he fails to cause too many headaches for the scorers in the opening couple of tests, how long will it be before the death knell starts tolling? If the Australians are winning, one gets the feeling that the selectors will persist with the 25-year-old. If not… We’ll have to wait and see!

2. The King is dead… or long live the King?

In terms of tough going, it doesn’t get much worse for top-flight players than Virat Kohli’s test career across the past five years. Aside from 2023 when he averaged 56 from five tests, he hasn’t managed to average above 26 in a calendar year since 2019, with his only two centuries in that time coming in the aforementioned year. That’s just two centuries in five years for someone who was touted a few years ago as one of the greatest ever produced in the sub-continent.

His recent series against New Zealand was not only disastrous statistically, but the way he was getting himself out was often comical. As they say though: Beware the wounded bull. Kohli is proud, if nothing else, and he’ll be priming himself to rediscover his very finest form just for the Aussies. He knows that
the best way to silence the doubters is to make runs Down Under, and he’ll be working overtime in the nets preparing himself for the expected assault from the three-pronged Australian attack.

3. Can Marnus turn it around?

Speaking of form slumps… Between 2019 and 2022, Marnus Labuschagne averaged over 60 in test cricket, however his last two calendar years have seen his numbers plummet. He averaged 35 in 2023, and has averaged 30 so far this year to see his overall test average drop below 50 for the first time since his debut home series, with his last century coming at Manchester in the 2023 Ashes.

Early on in his career, Marnus was considered the luckiest man in test cricket, having been dropped 16 times in his first three years wearing the baggy green. At the time, this stat led all comers, and could have papered over a few cracks in his technique and temperament that are now coming more to the forefront in the form of his diminished batting average.

4. Can Australia find a way to combat Jasprit?

The spearhead of the Indian attack and possibly their skipper for at least the opening test in Perth loves Aussie conditions, and he’d be licking his lips at the prospect of sending down a brand new rock at an untried opening bat, followed by an out-of-form number three. He averages 21 in test matches Down Under, and although his recent series against the Kiwis wasn’t terribly inspiring, those pitches were nowhere near as helpful to him as what these Australian pitches will be. If he gets his tail up early, he
could wreak havoc on the top order, and put the home team on the back foot from ball one.

5. Is this the preview of the World Test Championship Final grudge match?

Just a few weeks ago the World Test Championship looks to be a two-horse race, with these two teams sitting comfortably out in front. All that has changed with some of the smaller test nations staking their claim for a shot at the kings, and if this series ends up lop-sided in one direction the team on the wrong side of the ledger will be in danger of relinquishing their place in the final next June to Sri Lanka, New Zealand or South Africa.

Each of those teams have winnable series coming up, with South Africa the biggest chance of leap frogging either India or Australia with home tests against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge before those calculations enter into any discussion, but if this series starts leaning too heavily in one direction, the calculators will be coming out.

The five-test Border-Gavaskar series kicks off with the West Test next Friday, which also includes a free three-day festival at Perth Stadium until Sunday – find out more and grab tickets via cricket.com.au.

Image Credit: Supplied, Facebook, Getty, Optus Stadium