Australia name squad for SA tour

MELBOURNE: Spinner Jon Holland and paceman Jhye Richardson are the surprise selections in a 15-man Australia squad named Monday for the tour to South Africa next month.

Victorian left-arm spinner Holland, 30, played two Tests for Australia against Sri Lanka in mid-2016, but was passed over in the recent 4-0 Ashes Test series win over England.

Richardson, 21, is one of five pace bowlers in the Australian touring party for the four-Test series and the No 2 ranked South Africans.Holland was the outstanding spinner in the Sheffield Shield last season and was named man of the match as Victoria claimed their third straight title.

“Jon was the second leading wicket taker in the Sheffield Shield last season and has performed well in the games he has played for Victoria this season,” chief selector Trevor Hohns said. “We envisage the wickets we will see in South Africa will not warrant the need to play two spinners.

“But should Nathan Lyon not be able to play at any stage, we wanted to have the best specialist spinner available to us and based on current red ball form Jon warrants that spot.”Hohns said Richardson warranted his inclusion in the Test squad for the first time.

“Jhye is a talented right-armer who bowls with very good pace through the air,” he said. “He impressed in his first One-Day International and has bowled well in the Sheffield Shield this season. “He is an exciting young prospect who will benefit immensely from his time with this squad.”

Opener Cameron Bancroft held his place in the Australia team despite an indifferent Ashes series against England where he scored 179 runs at 25.57.

Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc.

Meanwhile, Australia’s world champion One-Day team could face a major overhaul after they slumped to a 10th loss in 11 games, according to chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns.

Smith’s side were beaten by 16 runs by England in Sydney on Sunday to give the tourists an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

It is the first home series loss for Australia since 2010 and they have won just 26 of their 50 completed matches since they beat New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground by seven wickets in 2015 to clinch their fifth global title.

“With what’s happened recently we are reviewing how we’re actually playing the game and type of player that’s required in the One-Day format,” Hohns told reporters.

“We haven’t played well in this series, we don’t seem to have been able to put it all together on the one day, there has been something lacking.” Australia’s struggles in the 50-over format has not gone un-noticed in the cricketing world, with the New Zealand Herald newspaper asking if the side were “the worst world champions?”A statistical breakdown of previous world champions’ winning percentages showed that only the 1983 Indian team had a worse success rate between tournaments. India won 44 percent of their games between 1983 and 1987.

Smith’s side has also been far from settled. Four of the 2015 World Cup winners — captain Michael Clarke, wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, pace bowler Mitchell Johnson and all-rounder Shane Watson — have retired from international cricket.

Since that victory, selectors have also given 18 players debuts in One-Day International cricket.In an era when run rates are pushed consistently past six an over, Australia have also only scored more than 300 on 13 occasions in 50 completed matches since the World Cup. They lost three of those games.