Startling stats suggest Aussie selectors got it very wrong

Justin Langer recently bemoaned the fact there weren’t any batsmen ‘knocking down the door’ for Test selection, but is that actually true?

Ahead of the fourth Test against India, Langer said “most of our batters knocking on the door are averaging in the 30s”, with Marnus Labuschagne picked to bat at No.3 despite a Sheffield Shield average of just 33.

SHOCK NEWS: India rocked by death of coach on eve of fourth Test

SON OF A GUN: Austin Waugh gets special call-up for fourth Test

However some startling stats have come to light, showing there are a number of batsmen averaging a lot higher than Labushagne.

In fact, Aaron Finch and Travis Head don’t even appear to be the best options either.

On Thursday, Twitter user Tom O’Neil compiled a table of the career and recent Shield averages of batsmen around the country.

Joe Burns, Matthew Wade and Glenn Maxwell are all near the top of both lists, averaging in the 40s and 50s.

Head, Labuschagne, Finch and Mitch Marsh are all near the bottom of both lists.

In fact, Labuschagne has the worst first-class record of any rookie Australian Test first drop this century.

Traditionally reserved for the best batsman in each Test team, Labuschagne’s first-class average of 33.17 is the lowest of any player picked for the first time to specifically bat at No.3 this century.

In total 15 players have been selected in the position since 2000, dating back to Langer who eventually lost the spot to Ricky Ponting on the following year’s Ashes series.

And it’s left a number of Aussie greats baffled.

“I have a big issue with the selection policy currently in Australian cricket,” Ed Cowan said on ABC Radio on Thursday.

“It feels as if they are not picking their best available team and it’s hiding behind this excuse that there’s no one knocking down the door.

“There are people knocking down the door, I’d be so annoyed if I was Joe Burns or Matthew Wade hearing that.

“What is does by them (selectors) saying that is it allows selectors to pick who they want.

“That’s not what we want, we want the Australian team to be a meritocracy.”

According to Simon Katich, there’s something very wrong with the system.

“Since 2007, 58 baggy greens have been handed out, and that’s extraordinary numbers, considering in the previous seven years, there was only 15,” Katich told SEN Radio on Friday.

“That in itself is saying that something is not right either with chopping and changes the team or with the system below.

“The system below used to produce guys ready to play Test cricket, and if someone was the wrong selection, then someone else would get an opportunity and then they would grab that opportunity.

“That’s a huge amount of new players for that period of time for it consistently to be the wrong player being selected.”

Katich said Labuschagne wouldn’t have even gone close to Test selection in decades past.

“Young Marnus Labuschagne as an example, averaging 33 coming into this Test, nothing against him, but he would not have even got a look in 20 years ago in playing for Australia. He would have been struggling to keep his Shield spot.

“I’ve said that in previous weeks about Aaron Finch, Travis Head and all these guys, it’s nothing against them, but this is the system that is setting some of these guys up to fail.

“Cricket Australia haven’t done anything about it.

“They can’t do it immediately but at the same time, look at the schedule.

“Has Aaron Finch had the best opportunity to open the batting for Australia in this series? No because he doesn’t do it for Victoria, he doesn’t do it for Surrey, and guess what, he plays one Shield game before a big series against a very good attack.”