Shattered Australia faced with important selection decisions

A change of clothing, a change of ball, a change of format, a change of personnel. A change of fortune? Australia would certainly hope so. After the humiliation of the No. 1 Test side in the world being whitewashed by the No. 7, Steven Smith’s men are now searching for a win – any old win – to restore a little bit of self-confidence. There are two pieces of good news for Australia that will encourage them ahead of this five-match ODI series.

One: Rangana Herath is not playing. The man who claimed 28 wickets in the Test series retired from ODIs earlier this year. Two: the Australians might find the pitches for the ODI series a little more to their liking. Of course, it should be noted that there was nothing wrong with the Test pitches. But surfaces designed for 50-over matches and plenty of entertainment – those will suit Australia more.

Just as in the Tests, Australia enter this series as No. 1 in the world – the difference is that their lead is so sufficient that even a total disaster will not see them drop from the top spot. A change of personnel will bring some freshness to the group. From outside the Test squad come James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Adam Zampa, George Bailey, Travis Head and Matthew Wade.

Still, that leaves nine members of the ODI party who must shake off the disappointments of the past month and find fresh spark in the shorter format. Along with Smith, and his deputy David Warner, there is Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Nathan Coulter-Nile and …

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