FEW Australia A tours have loomed larger for Test cricket hopefuls than this month’s trip to India.

The ongoing absence of suspended trio David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft, and injured Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, has left almost half of Australia’s XI vacant.

Australia’s next Test assignment comes on the subcontinent against Pakistan, meaning the link between performance in the Indian ‘A’ series and senior selection has become all the more tangible.

The door is now wide open for the likes of Travis Head, Kurtis Patterson, Chris Tremain and Michael Neser to earn their baggy green.

For those already capped — like Usman Khawaja, Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb and Ashton Agar — it’s a chance to end selectors’ doubt and secure longer stints in the Test side.

Ahead of the Australia A tour of India starting Friday, we look at who has the most to gain from the one-day and four-day series.

BATSMEN

The series is a chance for Usman Khawaja to show his game can withstand a trial by spin. The 31-year-old has amassed 2226 runs at 42 in 33 Tests for Australia, but has regularly come under scrutiny for his troubles against the craft. Most recently, he lost his wicket three times for less than ten runs to left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj during March’s tour of South Africa.

But the Queensland captain will be hoping his stint for English county side Glamorgan has since improved his ability to play spin. He scored three centuries for the county in four matches, two of which were on spin-friendly decks similar to those on the subcontinent. A solid performance in the A tour will give selectors further confidence in taking him to the UAE.

While Khawaja is likely to retain his Test spot at first-drop, Smith’s vacancy at four is open to a three-way battle.

Peter Handscomb had the first shot at assuming the role, playing the fourth Test against South Africa after Smith was suspended for his part in the ball-tampering scandal. It was far from the ideal scenario to earn a Test re-call, which was arguably telling in his scores of zero and 24 in that match.

Handscomb played four Tests in India and two in Bangladesh last year where he developed the unwanted habit of giving away his wicket after promising starts. The 27-year-old averages 34.40 across his 12 innings in Asia, with only two scores in excess of 50 — meaning he will need to impress this month to book his flight to the UAE.

Should he fail, that may leave selectors open to the possibility of handing out fresh baggy greens, either to Travis Head or Kurtis Patterson.
Redbacks captain Head has become a staple of the Australian ODI and T20 sides, but is yet to earn a Test cap. Head was the sixth-highest scorer (738 at 46.12) in last season’s Sheffield Shield, despite only playing eight matches. But his return in this year’s County Championship was less fruitful, scoring 339 at 33.90 for Worcestershire. He’s previously struggled on the subcontinent in ODIs, averaging 24.90 across ten matches, compared to his overall average of 37.

Head is only 24 though and is widely expected to eventually earn Test selection, although Smith’s vacancy means there hasn’t been a better opportunity for him to date.

As for New South Wales batsman Patterson, his challenge will be to fully convert on his talent — something which he has been guilty of failing to do in the Sheffield Shield after years on the fringes of Test selection. Last season, he failed to make a hundred in ten matches despite making five half-centuries. He also lost his wicket in the forties three times in the last three matches. His case for selection would gather serious strength if he can even just slightly improve his conversion rate.

Meanwhile at the top of the order, Matt Renshaw will look to lock down his opening position for Australia. It should be a simple task with both Warner and Bancroft suspended, but he will be wary of his poor record on the subcontinent which led to him losing his spot in the Test side initially.

Nine consecutive scores below 50 on the subcontinent and a lean start to the domestic summer was enough to seal Renshaw’s his fate. It cost him a place in the 2017-18 Ashes series. But the 22-year-old will come into the A series after taking the County Championship by storm with 513 runs for Somerset at 51.30, including three hundreds and one half century. He was sent home early after breaking his finger, but has since returned to full fitness.

ALL-ROUNDERS

Mitchell Marsh would be the obvious all-rounder selection if the next Test series was in Australia. The 26-year-old enjoyed something of a coming-of-age series in the 2017-18 Ashes, where he made 320 at 57.04, including a high score of 181. But as Australia look to take a second spinner to the UAE, it could be Ashton Agar who gets the nod instead.

Agar has just four Test caps, and none since September 2017 when he was selected to play away to Bangladesh. Agar took seven wickets at 23.14 in the two-match series, along with 65 runs at 32.50 with the bat. The statistics would suggest he is certainly in the mix for Australia’s next assignment on the subcontinent. Although, he did struggle in Australia’s ODI tour of England with figures of 4-232 at 58, and 130 runs at 26 with the bat. Given he has never batted higher than No.8 in Test cricket, elevating him to all-rounder status may be a risk.

Marsh comes into the A series after a lengthy injury lay off. He underwent ankle surgery in April, and will need to prove to selectors in India that he is fully fit and ready for a busy schedule. Marsh averages 26.78 in Asia with the bat, and has taken just two wickets at 117.

BOWLERS

As Australia looks to bolster its spin stocks in the UAE, left-arm tweaker Jon Holland is once again in the mix. The 31-year-old has twice played for Australia - both appearances dating back to 2016 when he played Sri Lanka away. Holland failed to impress with five wickets at 54.80. He hasn’t played for Australia again, however was named in its squad to tour South Africa earlier this year.

Holland suffered an injury-interrupted 2017-18 season, but was the Sheffield Shield’s second-highest wicket taker the season before. He took 50 wickets at 20.78, which selector Trevor Hohns said was a factor in his promotion in March. He looms as a key candidate to take up a second specialist spinner’s role in the UAE.

His main competition will be leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson, who earned his first international cap for Australia in a T20I against England in June, taking 2-37. Back home, the Queenslander took 32 wickets at 36.92 in the Sheffield Shield.

Meanwhile, at least one of Hazlewood and Cummins will need to be replaced for the series against Pakistan. Chris Tremain is a clear front-runner to do so after topping the wicket-taking charts in the last Sheffield Shield season (51 at 21.07). He achieved the feat while playing the majority of his matches on the lifeless Melbourne Cricket Ground, which will likely play in his favour when it comes time for selection.

His Queensland counterpart Michael Neser has emerged as another candidate to step up, which he was asked to do at the last minute for the one-day tour of England when Hazlewood pulled out. Neser finished last season as the second highest wicket-taker in the Sheffield Shield (39 at 21.84).

What arguably sets Neser apart however, is his ability to chip in with the bat. He has a first-class batting average of 23.24 and six half-centuries to his name, meaning he could offer some much needed stability to the Australian lower-order.

The slightly more left-field option would be fellow Queenslander Brendan Doggett. The 24-year-old heads to India after bursting onto the domestic scene with two five-fors and one four-for in the Sheffield Shield. He’s considerably less-experienced than Tremain and Neser, meaning he will need a standout A series to jump them in the fast bowling hierarchy.

Australia A one-day squad: Travis Head (c), Alex Carey (vc), Ashton Agar, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Joel Paris, Matthew Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitch Swepson, Chris Tremain, Jack Wildermuth

Australia A four-day squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Alex Carey (vc), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Michael Neser, Joel Paris, Kurtis Patterson, Matthew Renshaw, Mitch Swepson, Chris Tremain