Ashton Agar seems destined to be marked a white-ball bowler only after returning home from an abortive Test stint that saw him overtaken by Todd Murphy and then Matt Kuhnemann.
Australia’s selectors insist it was them rather than Agar who ruled the left-arm spinner out of playing in Nagpur and Delhi, after he struggled technically and tactically to live up to expectations as the leading offsider to Nathan Lyon.
Ashton Agar.Credit:Getty Images
The travails of Agar, who bowled indifferently during his Test recall against South Africa in Sydney, then failed to make a strong enough case for selection in either of the first two India Tests, sum up the muddles the Australians have found themselves in on tour.
In particular, the debut of Kuhnemann in Delhi has been subject to scrutiny after he was behind Agar and Mitchell Swepson when the squad was selected. Former Test captain Adam Gilchrist went so far as to term it an “insult” for Kuhnemann to play ahead of Agar.
“We’ve been very open with Ashton and he’s been very open with us,” selector on duty Tony Dodemaide said in Delhi. “It’s not so much why one person isn’t selected, it’s about what the alternatives are.
“And in the calls we had to make, we felt that there were better alternatives. Todd’s come on tremendously and he’s been a real find for the tour, and those two now [Murphy and Lyon] are firmly established as the best two spinners.
“Then for the three spinners in the second Test, we just felt Matt’s style would be better suited. He took the new ball in both innings as well.“
For Agar, an extremely solid role as a white ball spin bowler for Australia in a World Cup year and also for the Perth Scorchers contrasts with on again/off again red ball appearances and the battles to shape his method into something consistent enough across a five-day match.
It was a tension explained by Sridharan Sriram, one of his mentors, before the series.
“I think the challenge for him always lies in holding his action together through a long period of time,” Sriram said. “It’s very different in white ball cricket when you’ve got to bowl only 10 overs at the most or four overs, he’s good enough to hold his action.
“But in a 20 or 25 overs day, is he able to hold his action for a long period of time. That will be the challenge he will face, to be able to replicate the same ball, ball after ball for 25 overs. He’s someone who can lose his action even in the day between spells.”
A pair of Sheffield Shield games for Western Australia loom as possible change ups for Agar ahead of his return for the white ball leg of the India trip, although the second of those two matches is due to finish on March 17, the same day as the first ODI in Mumbai.
“The most constructive thing we think for him and the team is to get valuable match opportunities in advance of the one-day series,” Dodemaide said. “He could continue to stay here and work on his game, but then would that be the best preparation as one of five spinners, a very deep pack, is it then more logical for him to go have those opportunities there.
“That was explained to Ash and to his credit he’s taken up the new challenge. but it’s no reflection on the work he’s done or the effort he’s put in here so far.
“He’s worked incredibly hard when he was here, he’s done his absolute best to support the team, we don’t doubt the bowling work he’s done here, he’s tried his backside off.”
Dodemaide confirmed the departures of Agar, Josh Hazlewood and David Warner from the Test squad, and said that both Cameron Green, who bowled on Tuesday in Delhi, and Mitchell Starc will both be available for the Indore Test.
Mitchell Swepson is returning for the final two Tests after being home for the birth of his first child, and Lance Morris is staying on as a reserve fast bowler while captain Pat Cummins is at home for family reasons. The ODI squad for three matches next month will be named on Thursday.
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
