Back to the future for Hohns

Newly re-installed Australian selector Trevor Hohns has indicated the new panel will embrace some of the practices employed in his previous tenure that helped keep the national team as a dominant global force for more than a decade.

Hohns, who previously served as a selector from 1993 to 2006 and was chair for the final decade of his term, acknowledged that managing the regeneration of Australia’s Test teams and the fitness of their young fast bowlers would be key considerations for the new-look selection committee.

He was last week confirmed as a returning member of the panel that also includes freshly-appointed chair Rod Marsh, new face Mark Waugh and Darren Lehmann whose appointment last winter as Australia coach heralded “a bit of normality in coaching style and selection” according to Hohns.

Hohns, pictured above with Ricky Ponting, is best remembered for the remarkable success Australian teams enjoyed during his term as chairman of selectors, including a record-breaking 16 consecutive Test wins and World Cup triumphs in 1999 and 2003.

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But he also oversaw generational change of the Test and one-day teams that brought to an end the celebrated international careers of veteran servants including the Waugh twins, Steve and Mark, and Ian Healy.

With the average age of the current Australian Test team above 30, and two key members – opener Chris Rogers and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin – closer to 40, Hohns concedes that future planning will likely occupy as much of the new panel’s thinking as a continuation of short-term success.

“Part of our charter (as selectors) is to prepare for the future and bring the younger players through, but they have to deserve to be there as well,” Hohns told Brisbane radio station Radio TAB today.

“There’s quite a few blokes in that (veterans’) age bracket and not just 30 and above, some of them are 34 and 35 and above (including 34-year-old fast bowler Ryan Harris) so there’s no doubt that in the near future there will be some decisions made.

“But we have to have adequate replacements as well.

“You don’t need too many if it’s a staggered exit of some of these ageing players, and let’s not disrespect them because they are still performing well.

“But if there’s a staggered exit you only need two or three at a time.”

That was the case a decade or more ago when vice-captain Healy made way for Adam Gilchrist, Mark Waugh lost his Test place to Lehmann and Steve Waugh was removed from the one-day captaincy to install Ponting.

And while incoming chairman Rod Marsh has already acknowledged there is a dearth of young batsmen pushing their credentials in the Bupa Sheffield Shield competition, Hohns believes there is sufficient talent coming through the ranks to ensure a smooth transition in coming years.

“I feel very confident we have them in the State system,” he said.

“And then under them we’ve got some very, very good players that have recently played in under-19 championships and represented us at World Cups.”

Hohns was also a member of the selection panel in the 1990s when it was deemed mandatory for any injured player to play at least one first-class match before they could be considered for recall to the Test team.

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In light of the recent raft of injuries suffered by Australia’s young fast bowlers such as Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson, Pat Cummins and Jackson Bird, Hohns has hinted that a return to that policy might help to lessen the risk of recurring injuries.

“We’ve seen a lot (of fast bowler injuries) in the last two, three, four years and sometimes I get the feeling that some of them haven’t had the hard grounding of Sheffield Shield cricket under their belt before they get chosen,” Hohns said.

“You need that hard competitive bowling to get your muscles and body used to the everyday grind of Test match cricket.

“I just get the feeling that maybe we need to give them a bit more of a grounding in Shield cricket (before they are considered for selection).”