For many years, cricket fans outside New South Wales have bemoaned the state making up most of the Test team. Now, a major selection call has highlighted the Blues’ plight.
India will be out to eat into Australia’s first-innings lead on day three as the fourth Test moves closer to being the first drawn match of the series.
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill reached 0-36 at stumps after Australia was dismissed for 480 on the second day.
Facing a massive deficit, India’s best chance of winning the Ahmedabad Test will likely be to bat once and hope to roll Australia cheaply on the fifth day.
But if Australia can make early inroads, the dream of a 2-2 drawn series will be well and truly on.
Follow the third day live with Ben Horne.
NSW TEAM SIDE? TALENT DRAIN THREATENING FUTURE AUSSIE SUCCESS
Behind the NSW-dominated Australian team, there is a very big NSW problem, with the production line that has serviced the game for so many decades failing to produce the next generation of international players.
Patterson is the NSW captain, but that hasn’t saved him from being axed for the final Shield game of the year against South Australia, as the once mighty Blues languish in last place without a single win for the season.
NSW sacked coach Phil Jaques earlier in the season, but that hasn’t helped arrest the slide and big decisions are going to need to be made by Blues powerbrokers this off-season.
The last time Australia was preparing for an Ashes tour four years ago, Patterson had made a hundred in his last Test and was bashing down the door to get picked.
But Patterson hasn’t played for Australia since and his fading from selection contention has embodied a wider struggle of NSW Cricket.
Sean Abbott is really the only NSW player of note – outside of Australia’s core of established Test stars – to regularly push for international contention over recent years, and even he has largely been on the fringes of the ODI team.
Of even greater concern than NSW’s poor results on the field, is the apparent issues in identifying and producing players, and decisions over retention and recruitment.
It might seem like a state problem, but it’s actually a major issue for Australian cricket if they can’t rely on their biggest resource to provide competition at the top level.
Western Australia has for the time being at least stolen NSW’s mantle as the No.1 nursery.
Interim NSW coach Greg Shipperd said he had put a premium on runs and form at the selection table for the final match.
“Our batting group have been inconsistent recently in delivering the runs necessary to establish the match positions we were looking for,” Shipperd said.
“We recognise it is a difficult decision to pass on your captain but we are confident Kurtis will regather and draw purpose from this call into the future.
“It was decided to support consistent and inform batters in this season’s last fixture, with the currency being runs.”
CRASH: AUSTRALIA MUST GROOM GREEN AS FUTURE LEADER
Robert Craddock
It’s time for Australia to think of Cameron Green as a future leader rather than the unassuming kid in the corner.
Green should be in leadership groups where he can glean as much as he can from the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner and Usman Khawaja in their final years.
His state, Western Australia, also needs to be vigilant about giving him chances to grow.
If Green’s career continues on the steady upward trajectory it has taken over the past three years there will be a day when he comes firmly into the reckoning as Australian captain simply by the dent of his experience and credentials.
Green’s debut Test century, featuring a tempo-changing assault on India’s wearying attack in the fourth Test, mixed smoking drives with daring pull shots and second day patience when required. It was an innings of rare class and poise.
At first glance, Green may not appear to exude the natural charisma of say, Mark Taylor, but he’s calm and collected, a solid start in a field where settling players down rather than revving them up can be the most decisive skill of all.
Future Test leaders can often be hiding in plain sight and wrapped in deceptive packages.
Steve Waugh was reserved to the point of shyness on occasions when he was coming through the system.
Ricky Ponting was a gifted scallywag. Steve Smith was a quirky, cricket obsessed kid who seemed too mild to be the man in charge.
Yet they all got there.
Even the great Allan Border was happy to be one of the boys and had no great aspirations to be the man at the toss. Nor did Pat Cummins for the first seven or so years of his international career.
Things can change quickly. Sometimes you need to plant a seed.
Australia has never been great a nurturing future leaders. It generally leaves the system to apply its natural abrasive forces and it tends to spit out a couple of decent options.
Green is only 23 but he has been in the first class system since he was 17 and still at school.
WA officials were impressed by his maturity early when they phoned his parents to ask them if he was allowed to have a dressing room beer at age 17. They said they would rather he didn’t so he refused the invitation.
It’s true that some leaders – like Michael Clarke – radiated a “future captain in waiting’’ vibe but these are rare.
Some of Australia’s best captains have been men who never particularly wanted the job.
Green already has one great quality which would serve him well as a leader. There is a certain genuine authenticity about his body language and words which radiate sincerity and that is not a bad start. And that fact that he bats and bowls connects him to both ends of the team.
Queensland players reckon Usman Khawaja was the best captain Australia never had and were surprised he was never even invited into a leadership course a few years ago which featured five players under consideration.
He was an excellent choice sitting under Australia’s nose, proving that sometimes you just can’t see the most obvious options.
Originally published as Australia v India fourth Test: Live stream, scoreboard, updates from Ahmedabad