Hazlewood-Boland battle looms as Bailey backs Warner

Australia's selection chair George Bailey concedes there is now little separating Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland in the battle for a first-choice seamer's role in the starting Test XI, but notes it's a quandary he's happy to confront.

As Pat Cummins' team enjoys a brace of unscheduled free days following their historic two-day triumph in the opening NRMA Insurance Test against South Africa, the national selection panel turns their attention to the Boxing Day fixture starting at the MCG next Monday.

And while Bailey believes the nature of the Gabba pitch in the bowler-dominated series opener helps mitigate concerns about the output of veteran opener David Warner, he admits a close call looms for the third fast bowler's berth behind Cummins and Mitchell Starc.

Boland further enhanced his reputation as a strike bowler of rare potency with a further four wickets for a miserly 42 runs at the Gabba, taking his tally to 25 from five Tests to date at the almost unprecedented average of 10.33 apiece.

Only legendary Australia bowler Charles 'Terror' Turner (8.55) and England's George Lohmann (10.22) – both of whom played in the Test game's formative years of the late 19th Century – have reached 25 wickets at a lower average.

But Hazlewood remains among the top 20 on the ICC's Test bowler rankings (Boland was 45th prior to last weekend's match), and is rated "close to 90 per cent" fit by Bailey after missing the past two matches against West Indies in Adelaide and South Africa at the Gabba with a side strain.

Hazlewood was not part of the 14-member squad named by selectors for the opening Test against the Proteas.

When Boland was added to Australia's Test squad during last summer's Ashes campaign, Bailey claimed the whole-hearted Victorian's selection was made with an eye to the annual Boxing Day fixture given the right-armer's familiarity with MCG conditions.

But when asked if that specific expertise meant Boland had now edged ahead of Hazlewood for the second NRMA Insurance Test given its location, the selection chair admitted Boland's record ensured he would be considered a first-choice pick for any venue.

"He was on the radar for the MCG last year because of exactly what we’ve seen him do – he bashes a length, and his ability to take multiple wickets in the same over speaks to how consistent he is and the questions he asks of the batter right from ball one," Bailey said today.

"He’s going fantastically (but) Josh is recovering really well.

"He had another really good hit out (on Sunday) and is close to 90 per cent I reckon.

"He’ll keep building and clearly we’ve got a decision to make, but it’s a good problem to have."

Bailey also pointed out there was no compulsion to rush back Hazlewood from his second side strain in as many summers given the volume of Test cricket that lies ahead for Australia, who consolidated their place at the top of the ICC World Championship rankings with yesterday's six-wicket win.

Should the men's team reach the final of the biennial Test Championship competition to be held at The Oval in London next June, they will have played 12 Tests (at home, in India and the UK where the Ashes immediately follow the WTC final) in less than eight months.

As a result, the three-man selection panel – Bailey, men's team coach Andrew McDonald and Tony Dodemaide – are pushing the importance of a match-ready squad of fast bowlers that can be quickly re-shaped depending on individuals' fitness or variations in pitch conditions.

Bailey said that in addition to Queensland seamer Michael Neser who substituted for Cummins (quad strain) in the recent Adelaide Test, spring-heeled Western Australia speedster Jhye Richardson is also back in selection calculations having recovered from injury.

"So much has been spoken about with the cricket that is coming up, and we are going to need more than three bowlers," Bailey said.

"We’re going to need a squad mentality that is really adaptable, and a squad that is adaptable in different conditions.

"We saw Michael Neser step in last week and perform (and) the other one I’ll throw up into that mix – and great to see him back (in the BBL over the weekend) – is Jhye Richardson.

"So there’s some great depth in the fast bowling at the moment, which is exciting."

Another WA fast bowler, Lance Morris, is also in the mix having been included in the squad for the Gabba Test and, while the only auxiliary batter in the 14-man group for that series opener was specialist opener Marcus Harris, Bailey does not see any immediate change looming there.

Warner will become the 14th men's player to appear in 100 Tests when the Boxing Dax fixture begins next week and, despite a lean run of recent form, Bailey is backing the 36-year-old to rise to the significant occasion.

It's almost three years since Warner posted a Test hundred (against New Zealand at the SCG in the 2020 new year match), and after posting consecutive scores in the 90s to start last summer's Ashes campaign he has reached 50 just twice in 21 subsequent innings.

That run includes nine single-figure returns, including a first-ball duck in the first innings of last weekend's Gabba Test followed by three (from 11 balls faced) in the second innings.

Bailey said he was unsure how much to read into Warner's minimal output at the Gabba given the difficulties all batter's faced on the heavily grassed surface where 34 wickets fell in less than 150 overs, which made it tough to gauge whether any player was in or out of form.

"I still think David is preparing as well as he can and he’s looking fantastic in the nets," Bailey said.

"I personally think there’s runs around the corner for him.

"He's moving well, he's catching well.

"When people start to 'go' (towards the end of their careers), for want of a better way to put it, the catching goes, the movement goes but he’s still an outstanding fielder, and still fit as a fiddle.

"No doubt David would be the first to say he’d like a few more runs and to be contributing a bit more knowing the importance of that role at the top of the order.

"But (we have) full confidence that will come."

Bailey also said when the time did arrive to consider alternative Test opening options, with Warner himself having conceded he is in the twilight of his playing days, it will be almost unthinkable to find a substitute who replicates the dynamic left-hander's approach.

"The way Davey plays, I don’t think that’s going to be replaced," Bailey said.

"The way he’s taken the game on, moved the game forward, and the record he has, that’s a challenge that every team faces when you remove someone who in many respects has changed the way the game is played a little bit.

"I don’t think we’ll be looking to replace David Warner, but I think we’ve got some strong candidates waiting in the wings to bat at the top of the order for Australia."

Men's NRMA Insurance Test Series v South Africa

First Test: Australia won by six wickets

Dec 26-30: Second Test, MCG, 10.30am AEDT

Jan 4-8: Third Test, SCG, 10.30am AEDT

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Lance Morris, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner

South Africa squad: Dean Elgar (c), Temba Bavuma, Gerald Coetzee, Theunis de Bruyn, Sarel Eree, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Heinrich Klaasen, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad Williams, Khaya Zondo

Buy #AUSvSA Test tickets here