Khawaja with all but an opportunity

Rod Marsh conceded today that in-form batsman Usman Khawaja meets every imaginable selection criteria for inclusion in Australia’s ODI squad for the upcoming series in New Zealand – if only there was a vacancy that needed to be filled.

Khawaja’s absence from the 14-man squad for the three-match ODI component of next month’s Qantas Tour of NZ excited much debate among commentators and critics alike, even though it’s three years since the 29-year-old played the most recent of his three 50-over internationals.

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By scoring back-back centuries in his return to the Test line-up earlier this summer and similarly prolific efforts for newly crowned KFC Big Bash League champions the Sydney Thunder either side of a hamstring injury, Khawaja is unquestionably enjoying the most outstanding form of his cricket life.

Marsh’s fellow selector Mark Waugh even described the elegant left-hander as the “most in-form player” worldwide.

Yet the four-man selection panel (that also includes coach Darren Lehmann and Trevor Hohns) could not find a place for Khawaja among the five specialist batters – as well as all-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh - from which the top-order will be chosen to try and regain the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.

As Marsh explained when announcing the squad in Adelaide today, that’s because the current ODI squad has done such an outstanding job in defeating one-day heavyweights India 4-1 there was no guarantee that Khawaja would make the final XI even if named in the touring party.

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And with two vital Test matches to follow the ODI matches in NZ – which Australia must win to regain the mantle as world’s top-ranked Test nation – the selectors felt it would instead be preferable for Khawaja to remain in Australia and play a Sheffield Shield match for Queensland prior to the Tests.

Rather than be potentially donning a fluoro vest and running drinks to top-order ODI teammates, all of whom have been in prolific form throughout the five-game VB Series against India in which Australia posted 300-plus totals in all but one match.

Which was when they successfully chased India’s 295 with an over to spare at the MCG.  

“About as close as you could be without being chosen,” Marsh said today when asked how close Khawaja had been to earning a call-up for the ODI matches in Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington starting on February 3.

“He’s in red-hot form and it’s a shame we can’t fit him in.

“It’s the only rationale that I can give - we tried our hardest to work him into the side but we just couldn’t find anyone to drop or leave out of the side because they’re all in fantastic form.

“We would love to have him in the side and to be able to pick 16 or 17 because I think there are 16 or 17 players who deserves to be in our one-day side.

“We’ve got two very important Test matches and there being no guarantee Usman would have played if he was in the (squad) then he’s better off playing a Shield game (against South Australia at Adelaide Oval starting February 3).

“That’s the way we decided.

“It’s really sad but it’s really healthy … it’s probably why we’re winning, we’re leaving out players that deserve to get chosen.”

Watch: Khawaja sparkles with super 70

The selection chairman suggested that if Khawaja needed further proof of how tough it is to secure a berth in a settled Australia XI, he need only place a call to fellow left-hander Shaun Marsh who scored a career-high 182 at Hobart last November only to lose his place for the subsequent Test.

When Khawaja returned from his hamstring strain , to post yet another century.

“I'm playing as well as I have in T20 cricket but at the end of the day a lot goes into selections,” Khawja acknowledged in the wake of the Thunder’s maiden BBL title win last night.

“I'm not really worried, I'm excited.

“We won the championship and there's a lot of cricket to come in the next few months and next year, so I'll keep my head down and stay fit and healthy and hopefully there's more runs to come.”

The selectors considered adding Khawja to the ODI squad and potentially omitting one or other of the Marsh brothers (Shaun or Mitchell) so they could play for Western Australia in the historic Shield match against New South Wales that will be staged at Lincoln, near Christchurch, starting February 3.

Which, in turn, would have enabled the WA-based Test player to acclimatise to NZ pitches and conditions while other members of the Australia squad were doing likewise, albeit against the white ball in the ODI arena.

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But the selectors ultimately decided such a move would alter the integrity of the ODI squad given its performances in the high-scoring series against India.

“There was some thought of that, but we’re desperate to win the one-day series as well,” Rod Marsh said today.

“I know it doesn’t equate to world rankings because we’re a long way ahead in one-day cricket, but winning - as the captain says - is a habit and we’re doing that nicely at the moment and we want to keep that going.

“And we treat every ODI very highly.

“We’re the world champions and we don’t want to decline at all.”

Consequently, the only casualty from the squad that contested the final two VB Series matches against India is Test off-spinner Nathan Lyon who has been replaced by uncapped South Australia leg spinner Adam Zampa.

The other addition to the squad for NZ is front-line seamer Josh Hazlewood who was rested from the final portion of the VB Series after sustaining a heavy workload prior to the new year.

Zampa has been in impressive form for the Melbourne Stars during BBL|05 and while he was not named in the 17-man squad for the three-match KFC T20 International Series against India that begins in Adelaide tomorrow, the selectors are keen to gauge his suitability for the ICC World T20 in India next March.

Watch: Zampa impresses in BBL final

Marsh admitted it was a tough call on Lyon who had waited more than a year to make a return to white-ball cricket for Australia but now seems set to remain a red-ball specialist after returning figures of 1-134 on unhelpful pitches in his two ODI outings at Canberra and Sydney.

“We honestly thought that Canberra and Sydney (pitches) might turn, and neither of them did,” Rod Marsh said today in conceding they might have been better advised to play Lyon in the second and third matches of the VB Series at Brisbane and Melbourne.

“As it turned out, I think we got that wrong because I think, believe it or not, Melbourne and Brisbane turned a lot more than Canberra and Sydney which is amazing.

“The odd one even went through the top in both Brisbane and Melbourne.

“So it was tough call on anyone to bowl finger spin to the likes of (India’s star batsmen Virat) Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, (Ajinkya) Rahane and then the new bloke (Manish) Pandey.”

The other face that might be missing from Australia’s touring party – almost certainly from the ODI component of the tour – is Bupa Support Team men’s coach Darren Lehmann who was hospitalised in Sydney last weekend suffering from deep vein thrombosis.

Marsh, who spoke with Lehmann by telephone this morning, acknowledged it would be the Australia’ coach’s treatment specialists and Cricket Australia’s medical staff who would dictate when he returned to work.

Watch: Uncut Rod Marsh on the ODI squad

But he indicated that Lehmann had made it clear he would not rush back to work while concerns over his health remained, especially as DVT sufferers are advised to avoid air travel.

“I don’t think he’ll necessarily be back until he gets an absolute clearance from the specialists and then our (CA) doctors as well and he’s very happy for that to happen,” Marsh said today.

“He’s not going to rush back.”

“I would think he’d like to be there for the Test series (in New Zealand beginning February 12) but if it’s not 100 per cent right then he won’t be there.

“He said that categorically this morning.”