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Former Test captain Mark Taylor has urged Australia’s selectors to rotate the country’s big three fast bowlers during the next series against Bangladesh as part of a plan to ease the team through its inevitable transition.
As Australian cricket basks in the glow of an emphatic Ashes victory, Taylor is wary of the damaging effect that the multiple and simultaneous departures of fast-bowling greats could have on the Test side.
Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, along with Nathan Lyon, have been the cornerstones of Australia’s success.Credit: AP
Taylor felt the wrath of the West Indies empire while their pace kings reigned supreme in the late 1980s and early ’90s, and then ruled the world after they were dethroned in 1995. He fears a similar uprising against Australia later this decade when Mitchell Starc (35), Josh Hazlewood (35) and Pat Cummins (32) reach the end.
“Rotation” was once a dirty word in Australian cricket as it meant the best XI at the time was not picked to manage players’ workloads, but it may help selectors plan for the future. Taylor was a board member at the time Cricket Australia used rotation.
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Australia’s deep pace stocks were pivotal in a series where Cummins played just one Test and Hazlewood did not feature at all, but Ashes heroes Scott Boland and Michael Neser, 36 and 35 respectively, are also in the twilight of their careers.
Brendan Doggett, who played the first two Tests, is 31, while Jhye Richardson, at 29, is the youngest of the five frontline quicks who lined up against England. Sean Abbott, picked in the initial Test squad only to be withdrawn because of injury, is 33.
“When you’ve got your best five about the same age, and it’s not 25 but 35 or over, that’s a worry,” Taylor said.
“Twenty months from now is the start of the 2027-28 summer. By that stage, we could have a very different looking team.”
Starc said this week that age is no barrier to the same group reloading for the Ashes defence in 18 months, but selectors will be planning for all scenarios.
“When you’ve got your best five about the same age, and it’s not 25 but 35 or over, that’s a worry.”
Taylor wants to see Richardson – whom he likens to former Test seamer Ryan Harris for his ability to bowl outswing at decent pace – given a run against Bangladesh in the Top End series in August, even if Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood are all available.
Not in the 12 who featured in the Sydney Test, Richardson is seventh in the pecking order of Australian quicks but when fit four years ago was picked ahead of Neser and Boland.
“I’d like to see him definitely in the squad, and if there’s a hole I’d 100 per cent play him,” said Taylor, who holds the selection philosophy of picking the best-available team but with an eye to the future.
“I don’t know who will be available at that time. If they’re all fit and ready to go it’ll be hard [to leave anyone out].
Mark Taylor wants to see Jhye Richardson picked for the series against Bangladesh.Credit: Getty Images
“You can bet Josh will want to play because he’s missed the whole summer here. Scotty’s done well again and probably will feel he’s missed out enough. Pat will want to play, although he’s one who’s missed a lot of this summer. You want to keep him right for the Australian summer and India.
“First Test, I’d pick my best team, then look to rotate a bowler and get one into Jhye for sure.”
National coach and selector Andrew McDonald has said the importance the squad placed in qualifying for the World Test Championship final made it harder to experiment in supposed dead rubbers, but he has also said there are “priority series” which take precedence over others.
After four years out with a raft of injuries, Richardson made his return to the baggy green in the Boxing Day Test, taking two wickets – sufficient to be a trivia answer by topping Australia’s bowling averages – but did not retain his place in Sydney.
At his best, Richardson is a handful for international batters with his combination of skiddy bounce and outswing delivered at over 140 km/h.
“I think Jhye Richardson is a bit of a key for us,” Taylor said. “Every time we’ve seen him play, he does look good.”
Australia’s powerful attack has been the cornerstone of their success since McDonald took over as coach in 2022. They hold all available bilateral Test trophies, the 2023 World Cup and also claimed the 2021-23 WTC.
Taylor fears Australia is facing a similar predicament to the once mighty West Indies, whose powers waned when instead of having four great quicks they were left with two then none after 2001 when Courtney Walsh retired.
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“They certainly ran out of bowlers,” Taylor said. “At the same time, their batting fell away. Apart from Brian Lara, they didn’t produce a quality batsman for a while, and are still looking. It can be a bit of both but bowlers win you Test matches.
“I always thought this with the West Indies, not that they had a bad batting line-up, they always had a belief, I felt, if they got knocked over or a lowish score they could knock you over as well.
“That’s the advantage of a good bowling side. In a way, subconsciously, it affects your batting. If you’ve got a good bowling side you can be a little bit more relaxed with the bat mentally because you’ve got an attack to dig you out of holes if need be.”
Selectors have come under fire at various stages this summer, despite overseeing one of the most successful periods in Australian cricket.
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Test great Steve Waugh in early November accused selection chair George Bailey of not being able to make tough calls.
This week former Test seamer and current Cricket NSW director Stuart Clark, in a conversation on the ABC about the non-selection of spinner Todd Murphy at the SCG, said Bailey did not have the “gravitas” to direct Cummins, Steve Smith and McDonald.
Australia won the fifth Test by five wickets with all-rounder Beau Webster making an unbeaten 71 and taking three wickets with his part-time off-spin.
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