At least that’s what veteran paceman Peter Siddle thinks, despite the inexperienced trio of Dan Worrall, Joe Mennie and Chris Tremain all coming in for some incredible punishment in South Africa.
Across the three matches played so far they’ve conceded 353 runs from 46.2 overs and taken just two wickets, meaning their combined bowling average is 176.50. That’s hardly inspiring stuff.
The only harsher punishment they’ve copped while in South Africa has been from the local media, who have described the makeshift Aussie pace attack as “toothless”, “mediocre” and “bereft of ideas”.
However with Mitchell Starc racing the clock to be fit in time for the first Test on November 3, James Pattinson still on the comeback trail, Nathan Coulter-Nile sidelined indefinitely and Siddle himself not confident he’ll be right to play at the WACA Ground, there’s a distinct chance one of the bowlers currently in South Africa could be in line for a Test debut in a few weeks’ time.
“Obviously you’ve got Joshy and Birdy (Josh Hazlewood and Jackson Bird), you’d be guessing (they) would be the two that are there,” Siddle said on The Unplayable Podcast. “After that with a few people still out and still not quite right it’s probably going to be a bit open.
“It probably comes back to … the ‘A’ series (against India A and South Africa A) and the blokes that performed in that. So the three blokes that have been over in South Africa debuting probably along (with) Scotty Boland who is also over there … there’s probably a good four that they (selectors) could look to pick from.
“We’ll see, hopefully Starcy’s fine and hopefully I’m back fit and firing and soon enough I can play a part in that series. There could be a few opportunities.”
Mennie was the leading wicket-taker in last summer’s Sheffield Shield, just ahead of South Australia teammate Worrall, while Tremain was fifth, so in some ways they deserve to be next cabs off the rank for the Test side.
Especially when you consider that, as Siddle said, they were probably the three best-performed bowlers for Australia A during the winter.
However one wonders what sort of impact the shellacking they’ve copped over the past week has had on their psyche, and that of the South African batsmen they’d face if picked for the Test team.
As Siddle points out, there’s still a good chance Starc will be fit for the first Test. If he is it’ll be a massive relief for everyone in Australian cricket given how badly the Aussies have missed the left-armer in South Africa.
“The plan at the moment is to get the brace off on Monday morning, bowl Monday afternoon and go from there,” Starc said.
“There’s a (Sheffield) Shield game starting on the 24th or the 25th (October 25 v Queensland at the Gabba) of this month that I’ll hopefully take part in. I don’t think I’m going to let a cut to the leg stop me playing the first Test.”
Siddle believes he’s unlikely to earn selection for the first Test even though he’s also planning to play in the opening round of the Sheffield Shield.
The 31-year-old hasn’t played competitive cricket since suffering stress fractures during February’s Test series in New Zealand, but wants to make his comeback in the ongoing Matador One-Day Cup.
“I’m feeling good. I’m back bowling off a long run,” Siddle said. “Looking forward to hopefully playing part in the Matador at the back-end (of the tournament), once we get over to Sydney.
“I think the first Test could be a bit of a stretch at this stage, but (I’m) definitely trying to get it right for the first Shield game. Then potentially get a few Shield games under my belt, get a few overs under my belt.
“The second Test is probably more what I’m aiming for, and hopefully I can play a part in the South Africa series.”
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