National selector Rod Marsh has admitted that Jackson Bird, who bowled Australia back to the world No.1 ranking in New Zealand this year, was tipped from selection for next week's first Test against South Africa because of his inferior batting to newcomer Joe Mennie.
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The latest bizarre decision by the Marsh-led panel leaves the NSW-raided Tasmania seamer with every right to feel extremely hard done by.
Marsh denied fast bowlers who bat at No.11 were now being chosen on the strength of their batting – but seconds later conceded it was that aspect of Bird's game that had cost him a spot at the WACA.
The 29-year-old's non-selection is a cruel blow for him personally. Bird had taken seven wickets in his most recent Test in Christchurch in February as Australia clinched the series against New Zealand and a return to the top spot on the ICC Test rankings.
He then toured Sri Lanka with the Australian side beaten comprehensively, although he didn't play in the Tests as Steve Smith's team opted for only the two quicks, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, in the conditions. And this week Bird arguably out-performed Victoria's Peter Siddle, also chosen in the 12 for Perth, with six wickets in his first outing of the Sheffield Shield season in Melbourne.
One can only imagine how the likes of Marsh's great mate Dennis Lillee and Glenn McGrath would have reacted if they had been instructed they needed to go away to the nets and work out on their batting. But that is exactly what Bird was told on the phone by Marsh on Friday morning.
"I talked to Jackson again this morning," Marsh said. "I said to him the thing that probably cost him his place was his batting. "We've got to get runs at the bottom of the order as well, particularly against a very good attack."
That reasoning, tough to swallow for Bird, is likely to only heap more pressure on Marsh, who will not continue as full-time chairman of selectors after his contract expires next June.
South Australian Mennie topped the Sheffield Shield wicket-takers list last season and toured South Africa with the Australian one-day team humbled 5-0 by the Proteas this month, but Bird, as effectively an incumbent Australian paceman who had done nothing wrong since, had appeared the logical choice alongside Starc, Hazlewood and Siddle.
Bird might have thought his bowling effort at the MCG this week would have clinched his position in the squad but instead it was Mennie's 32 as a nightwatchman for South Australia against Western Australia in Perth that has proved the crucial contribution.
The Coffs Harbour-born Mennie, 27, averages 18 in first-class cricket compared to Bird's 8.97. Bird has only made 14 runs in five Tests but has been dismissed just once.
There have been a series of mystifying decisions made by Marsh and his panel over the past 18 months but Friday's was as difficult to comprehend as any.
Mennie recorded the worst bowling figures for an Australian on one-day international debut in Johannesburg this month, but Marsh defended his inclusion over Bird for Perth.
"We've been watching him very closely, he had a terrific season last season. He was the best bowler in domestic cricket last summer," Marsh said. "He continued his good work in the Ashes series, he was rewarded with a trip to South Africa. He's not the greatest one-day bowler, he showed in that last one-day match a bit of the talent he has.
"He's a very good length bowler, which in Test cricket is of paramount importance. Congratulations to him. I think it's a wonderful thing to be chosen and just reward for what he's done."
Elsewhere, Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja were, as expected, included in the top three and Joe Burns' push for a recall overlooked.
Marsh offered a light-hearted clip for Khawaja, who had told Fairfax Media last Sunday that he and Burns had been made scapegoats for Australia's failings in Sri Lanka by being dropped for the third Test there in August.
"He probably opened his mouth before his brain got working," Marsh said. "It might have been early in the morning, he loves a sleep-in, Usman. I'm not too concerned about it. I wouldn't have said it's the smartest thing he's ever said. That's life."
Australia (squad for first Test): David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (c), Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Peter Siddle, Joe Mennie.
