Jake Weatherald’s ability to marry fast scoring with consistent output is what won him a “knife-edge” selection race to be included as an opening batter in Australia’s extended Ashes squad to face England in Perth this month.
Weatherald, a 31-year-old opener for Tasmania, has been the outstanding aggressive top-order player over the past couple of years. He has put numerous attacks to the sword on sporting Sheffield Shield pitches with a consistency that selection chair George Bailey pointed out on Wednesday.
Jake Weatherald is in the Ashes squad for the first Test in Perth.Credit: Getty Images
“There’s been a good consistency in the way he approaches batting. He’s in a really clear place,” Bailey said. “I don’t see any sort of shift innings to innings in the way he goes about it, so that says to me it’s someone who has a clear understanding of the way they will play and the way they feel like they’ll get the best performances out of themselves.
“By virtue of that, he scores at four runs an over and has some attacking strengths without being cavalier.
“A lot of discussion was centred around the method and the way we’d like that player to play. How they play naturally and then how we feel like that might complement other players that are potentially around them.”
Weatherald’s even approach has contrasted with the growing pains of 20-year-old Sam Konstas, who has been dropped, and Matt Renshaw, who was favoured by many seasoned judges including Steve Waugh.
With Steve Smith confirmed as captain for the first Test of the summer, regular skipper Pat Cummins is gradually building up his loads after back trouble. Bailey said he was bowling back to back stints on Tuesday and Wednesday in another step forward, keeping him on track to be considered for the second Test of the Ashes series, in Brisbane.
Mike Hussey, who played 79 Tests for Australia, said Weatherald’s selection had to be lauded as a reward for outstanding displays in domestic cricket and as a stylistic balance for Usman Khawaja.
“It’s a really good selection because he’s done well for Tassie over the last couple of years,” Hussey told this masthead. “He’s the leading run-scorer in Shield cricket [in that time]. I like to see them rewarding guys who are dominating the level below.
“He’s quite an aggressive sort of opener, he keeps the game moving forward, he’s at an age now where I think he has a good understanding of his own game.
“[Khawaja] had a great partnership with David Warner and those guys knew each other so well. So if Weatherald is the one who opens with Usman, then they’ll have to start building that relationship. But the selectors were probably thinking about having complementary sorts of players.”
Weatherald, who originally played for South Australia, will open in Perth if Cameron Green demonstrates that he can bowl the overs required of an all-rounder. Bailey said on Wednesday that the selectors were confident Green would do so by bowling 15-20 overs in the Shield game starting on Tuesday.
But if Green falls short, Beau Webster is likely to retain his place, with the recalled Marnus Labuschagne to open alongside Khawaja. Weatherald’s state team believe he is a genuine game-changer.
“It’d be great to see him walking out for the first ball of the Ashes and playing a cover drive or a pull shot that goes for four,” Tasmania’s coach Jeff Vaughan said. “I know there’s some excitement around Australian cricket about the way he plays as well; the way he accumulates runs.
“He’s positive and offensive and if there’s a cover drive in the first over or the first ball of the Ashes, or a pull shot, I’ve got no doubt Jake will back himself to play that and hit whoever it might be for four if the ball’s on.
“When he has got in, he’s made big scores. He still misses out like every other player on the planet, but when he does get in he’s one of those guys who makes big scores and gets them at a good rate, so it sets games up or helps the team win games of cricket. We’re rapt for him.”
The Tigers got a strong example of what Weatherald can do to influence the outcome of a game during their Shield clash with Western Australia earlier this season. Starting their second innings one run behind WA in Hobart, the hosts were given an almighty kick along by Weatherald’s 94 from 99 balls in conditions where no other player in the match passed 61.
“That innings is a good example, I think, of what Jake does really well,” Bailey said. “He counter-attacked. It was a wicket that had a little bit in it, others around him were finding it challenging.
“He put pressure back on the bowlers and the way he did that, he drove nicely, he played off the back foot nicely, he was busy. So that’s a good example of what he looks like at his best.”
Brendan Doggett and Sean Abbott are Perth-specific choices as back-up fast bowlers. Bailey indicated that Queensland stalwart Michael Neser remained well in contention to be part of the squad for the Gabba Test, particularly given it will be played with a pink ball.
Bailey said that Labuschagne had done everything the selectors wanted to see to earn a recall.
“What we’ve seen is runs, time at the crease … I think there’s an energy and method that, I think, is really attractive. We don’t need to see any more – he’s in the squad,” Bailey said.
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