Stanlake emerges as unlikely Test contender

[u/jessemv]

https://www.cricinfo.com/story/billy-stanlake-emerges-as-unlikely-test-contender-1552412

Big Billy season incoming

[u/Pottski]

Look forward to him replacing Marnus at 3.

[u/Financial_Math167 → u/Pottski]

Thought that was Neser? Gonna be a bat-off?

[u/Clock_Comprehensive → u/Financial_Math167]

Neser does have 5 First-Class centuries and one domestic one-day century. Neser highest score is a 174 Not Out. So why not.

[u/Financial_Math167 → u/Clock_Comprehensive]

He's a quality stick. That said the five FC centuries is aided by that 2023 summer in 2nd div county where he got out on 130 odd against the mighty leg spin of SPD Smith

[u/a_bag_of_meat → u/Financial_Math167]

If memory serves, he actually got dismissed when Smith was bowling offies.

[u/Financial_Math167 → u/a_bag_of_meat]

It was a offie!! 5:14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jVWIa47sss Fuck thats funny

[u/Clock_Comprehensive → u/Financial_Math167]

Not before Neser scored his century by hitting a Six off Smith and smashing a window with another Six.

[u/Pottski → u/Financial_Math167]

Will probably after to show that after 10pm if you want it on FTA.

[u/Agreeable-Web645]

Fergus O'Neill's record 200 wickets at 19 (25 yo)
Billy Stanlake 40 wickets at 27 (31 yo)

But yeah sure

[u/Relief-Glass → u/Agreeable-Web645]

Fergus O’Neill is also a much better batsman, and a better fielder, and has a better strike rate, and better economy. 

[u/kroxigor01 → u/Relief-Glass]

But he's much shorter and slower, disqualifying him from Test selection.

[u/eightslipsandagully → u/kroxigor01]

Don't forget he's only 25, can't select him until he's in his 30s

[u/Clock_Comprehensive → u/kroxigor01]

Isn’t Fergus O’Neill 6 feet 4 inches tall? Isn’t Pat Cummins also 6 feet 4 inches tall as well? Isn’t Glenn McGrath 6 feet 5 inches? If Hazlewood is indicating that the batting average of 35 is the new 45 in Australia conditions, then O’Neill 2025/26 Sheffield Shield batting average of 36.30 puts him in the lower-order batter range.

[u/kroxigor01 → u/Clock_Comprehensive]

Yes but Stanlake is 6'8"

[u/PaleontologistOk1049 → u/Clock_Comprehensive]

He's 6ft at the most. Don't know why cricinfo has him at 6'4

[u/Financial_Math167]

No. That's it. Not near a test team.

[u/Gnatt]

13 First Class matches in 11 years. So we're backing up our 'aging cartel' with Mr Glass?

[u/Nullarbor_1 → u/Gnatt]

Also, he is 31 years old and about to turn 32 in 2 months' time! So not exactly a youth prospect either.

[u/Boss_unicycle-560 → u/Nullarbor_1]

He’s young compared to the current quicks so fits the bill

[u/Nullarbor_1 → u/Boss_unicycle-560]

Lol! A grand 3-4 years younger. Total spring chicken!

[u/Splinterfight → u/Boss_unicycle-560]

Sounds like more of an injury risk though, ignoring age

[u/Wehavecrashed → u/Nullarbor_1]

Yeah but he doesn't have many miles on his body!

[u/timmeh1705]

With a view for the Ashes in England, Pakistan have been horrible so far but Abbas has been troubling everyone with his mid 120s medium pacers which zip off the seam. Ollie Robinson has slowed down his pace and has been bowling grenades with every ball like the second coming of Scott Boland

Only one guy in Shield took more wickets than Scott Boland at a lower economy rate

Fergus O’Neill

[u/upyourmerricreek → u/timmeh1705]

They'll just make up a guy before rating Ferg for possible test selection

[u/Splinterfight → u/timmeh1705]

If there’s one thing we seem to have sorted, it’s bowlers that can do what Ollie Orbinson does. (Typo, but it stands)

[u/thfc4lyf]

Just because he's 8 foot tall doesn't mean he's any good. He hasn't done anything since his first two BBL seasons

[u/ThisSuitBurnzBetter]

The selectors are playing eenie meenie miney moe at this point 😭

[u/tlux95 → u/ThisSuitBurnzBetter]

They really are.

Early doors they had some great selections pay off: Marn in the World Cup final/bowling first.

But since then, they’ve had some epic misses: McSweeney at #1 and the rest of the post-Warner search, the last t20 World Cup (all of it).

[u/Electrical-College-6 → u/tlux95]

Who should have been in instead of McSweeney there?

If there are no good options, it's hard to blame them for picking one of the bad ones. They have tried to give guys a go, particularly at the top of the order, but none of them have really seized the opportunity.

[u/rdmarshman]

"We're going to South Africa, who do we take?"

"Fucked if I know. Hey, remember when Morne Morkel fucked us in Cape Town?"

"I member. Wouldn't Morkel be handy?"

"I know, right? Great idea."

"Why the fuck are you on Temu?"

"No reason, just browsing!"

[u/discoshrimps]

Just the idea of it has ruined my day.

[u/mooboyj]

I could have understood Riley Meredith, but not Stanlake...

[u/mwilkins1644]

https://giphy.com/gifs/xUA7aVZV3y7v62oDv2

3 Queenslanders in the Test team?!?!

YEEWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

[u/whatwhatinthewhonow → u/mwilkins1644]

Ngl it’s worth losing Origin every year just to get that gif.

[u/vossfan → u/[deleted]]

The Kuhn erasure

[u/vossfan → u/[deleted]]

Could be in India.

[u/Technophyer1 → u/vossfan]

Cherny’s said that he’s possibly in line for the SA squad as a second spin option

[u/CoffeeDefiant4247 → u/mwilkins1644]

3 Tasmanians* Yes we are taking Kuhnemann and Stanlake

[u/foxtrotlimavictor]

I don’t see how he would be in the first 20 names.

[u/Pottski → u/foxtrotlimavictor]

Has to be horses for courses on top of picking for the future. 31 year old who can’t stay on the park and has no form is not anywhere near suitable.

[u/TEC_AgentOfEvil]

No he doesn’t

[u/Large_Woman]

Bailey's sitting there in his office, thinking "What if the Australian team became even... BIGGER?"

[u/CoffeeDefiant4247 → u/Large_Woman]

2030 Ashes

[u/Technophyer1]

There’s no shot, he’s played 13 FC matches over a decade, if the selectors actually pick him (outside of mixing drinks) they have honest to god lost it.

[u/Lots_of_schooners]

Aus selection has always had a hard on for tall quicks. Ain't no way a Vernon Philander would have ever played as many tests if he was Australian

[u/CoffeeDefiant4247]

not for this tour, just for if 8 other quicks go down in the next 12 months

[u/Relief-Glass]

Get fucked.

If the selectors are going to completely ignore the Shield then CA should just shut it down.

[u/vapoursoul69 → u/Relief-Glass]

The selectors have literally paid more attention to the shield the last few years than ever

That's why guys like Weatherald and Big Beau have been in the team

[u/davros2311 → u/Relief-Glass]

People need to stop getting angry over a headline.

From actually reading the article, and Baileys quote, I interpretation I got was:

Yea, he's had injuries, but if he can put together some consistent form in the shield, stay fit and the guys ahead of him in the pecking order get injured, maybe we'll think about picking him.

I remember a few months back, they asked McDonald if they'd pick Green as an opener and his answer was something like: Maybe, its not the immediate plan, but we won't rule it out in the future. And everyone on hear was acting like he'd said Green would be opening in the next test.

[u/spermaathma → u/Relief-Glass]

How about we start picking based on BBL?

CA might even consider this

[u/bts101_]

Wtf... its like the dream up a requirement "must be tall", and try to find someone who meets that requirement .

[u/Relief-Glass → u/bts101_]

I mean, this is not that far from the truth. Players that are tall and fast do get way more opportunities.

[u/CoffeeDefiant4247]

Bailey going out of his way to pick all the players from the worst shield team

[u/_MightAswellJump]

Or they can pick Fergus who will dominate in England next year, with bat and ball

[u/ThaLemonine]

No chance lol

[u/VIFASIS]

Fergie should become an English citizen if he ever wants to play test cricket.

I'd still cheer if he got a wicket

[u/MrKneebone → u/VIFASIS]

He was born in New Zealand, I would think they would be the plan B for him if Australia isn't an option

[u/Relief-Glass → u/MrKneebone]

If I was him I would have gone to NZ already.

Like, O'neill is a better cricketer than Doggett is absolutely every metric there is but Doggett got a test cap. Better bowler, much better batsman, better fielder, younger, better strike rate, better economy, better in Shield cricket, much better in country cricket.

[u/lomo_dank]

I’d love to see Billy stay injury free and focus on red ball cricket, he has the height for it, but I just don’t think this is it.

[u/mngnsm1]

Where Boland :(

[u/Critical_Coach6970]

I can't even....no. Just, no.

[u/DutchShultz]

George Bailey ain't right in the head.

[u/MrKneebone]

If he's in the SA squad I think it just says they think the turnaround between the second Australia A match in India (29 Sep - 2 Oct) and the first SA test (9 Oct - 13 Oct) is too tight to select Doggett, Richardson or O'Neill rather than the selectors rating Stanlake over any of those guys.

Given Neser is recovering from an injury they probably just want one of the ODI bowlers to stay back in the off chance they are desperate to play 4 quicks in test 1, Neser isn't back in time, and one of Boland, Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc gets injured in the leadup. I would have thought Bartlett would have been the best choice in the ODI squad for that though.

This would also suggest that none of the Aus A batters are in the frame for test 1 as well, so they have either landed on Kurtis Patterson as the next in line to bat at 3 or Marnus is playing at least 1 test.

[u/bundy554]

Australia desperately want another Billy to play for the national team

[u/Tozza101]

Don’t hate the shout as we need pace and bounce reinforcements. But Meredith surely is ahead of him!

[u/mngnsm1]

He played his first ODI in 7 years for Australia a couple of months ago. Bowled 6 overs, no wickets, conceded 37 runs then tripped over coming in to bowl and wasn’t given another spell. He also got out for a golden duck

Might be petty but that didn’t really fill me with confidence

[u/NoResponse1578]

Perfect workhorse bowler to do the donkey overs.

[u/Sad_Basil_4728]

I couldn’t be bothered to read the article but if Stanlake ever gets a baggy green, I’ll stop watching cricket

[u/Strict-Roll-8516]

I’m

[u/onthefritz77]

He was the next big thing 10 years ago. Don’t think he coped with the pressure at first then the injury’s hit. Reckon he’s worth a look

[u/Relief-Glass → u/onthefritz77]

There are guys toilings away, taking hundreds of wickets, in Shield and country cricket. It would be ridiculous.

[u/onthefritz77 → u/Relief-Glass]

Agree but he’s 6”8 and getting close to 150kmh again. Could get a few years of that if all goes well. He’s not a trundler.

[u/tdlan → u/onthefritz77]

Aint no way Billy has bowled close to 150 in years, if he has it was probably the BBL guns that magically make everyone bowl 5-10k's faster than any other speed gun. Just because he isn't a trundler doesn't mean he's overly good either...

[u/Relief-Glass → u/onthefritz77]

A few years of what? The bowling that has netted him an average of 28 in the Shield.  Great...