Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Not for the first time, Australia’s selectors have had the last laugh.
Because as much as the 214-run victory over South Africa was one of Australia’s best in years, it would also be one of the most satisfying for George Bailey and co.
It was only a week ago selectors were being accused of disrespecting the Sheffield Shield by picking Nic Maddinson in Durban.
Six days on, Maddinson looks likely to keep his spot and the selectors can feel vindicated.
Since Bailey was appointed chief selector in 2021, Tony Dodemaide soon joining him and Andrew McDonald ascending to coach shortly after, there have been a few head scratchers.
But more often than not in the Pat Cummins captaincy era, it has worked out.
Before this week, the heaviest criticism came when selectors went without a spinner in Sydney last summer, with Beau Webster also called in for Mitch Marsh.
Australia won that Test with ease, as Webster scored 71no and took three wickets.
Nathan Lyon made no secret of his frustration when left out of the Gabba last December, before Michael Neser claimed 5-42 in his spot in the second innings.
Then there was Lyon’s first omission in 12 years in Jamaica last year, with Scott Boland making use of the call up with a hat-trick.
The golden touch hasn’t always worked.
That was the case with Matt Renshaw’s surprise selection over Travis Head in India in 2023, while Nathan McSweeney faced a tough initiation as opener in 2024-25.
But the positives tend to outweigh the negatives, including when Head was moved to open later on in that India series.
The call up of teenager Sam Konstas as opener on Boxing Day in 2024 was another gamble.
And while his first life as a Test player was hardly a raging success, the way he put India on the back foot on that first morning in Melbourne helped turn the series.
After all that, no decision has been more controversial than Maddinson’s recall from the Test wilderness to open in Durban, 18 months after his last first-class game.
And his 33-ball first-innings duck only prompted louder criticism.
But in totality, it’s again a success.
Maddinson’s second-innings 48 helped set the tone, while Renshaw produced one of the greatest Test innings in memory on being moved to No.5.
Beyond the eventual transition of this Test team, the biggest challenge for selectors remains finding a long-term opener.
That has not been made easy by batting averages being down across the Sheffield Shield, with opening the innings the toughest place to bat.
“You’re always taking into account the numbers they produce, the way that they play and the style of cricketer,” McDonald said.
“We look at the opposition attack as well and try to match all that up.
“With Nic Maddinson, we feel as though the process to get that decision was really consistent with the way we’ve applied it throughout the whole world.
“Time will tell if we got it right. Hindsight’s always a great indicator.”
