Greg Chappell on Australia's Ashes selection: 'Being risk-averse is not being risk-free'

New Delhi:

Former Australia captain and legend Greg Chappell called out the Australian selectors for their selection strategy for the first Ashes Test against England. The Aussies are leaning towards opening Marnus Labuschagne with no Sam Konstas in the team and an uncapped specialist opener, Jake Weatherland, in the squad.

Writing in his column for ESPNCricinfo, the Aussie legend raised concern over the selection. "Despite selecting a specialist opener, Jake Weatherald, in the squad, I believe the intention is to send Marnus Labuschagne out to open with Khawaja. This will allow Cameron Green and Beau Webster to play, giving the best balance of batting and bowling in the squad - especially as Green has hardly bowled a ball in anger since his recent back surgery," Chappell said, as quoted from his ESPNcricinfo column.

Chappell stated that opening with Labuschagne could be risky and he should bat at No.3. "Opening with Labuschagne is extremely risky. He should bat at three, as that is his specialist spot, where he has delivered prolifically. The fact that he is being considered as an opener suggests that the selectors do not have a specialist they trust, and that one or both of Green and Webster are well short of the bowling loads required to get through a Test match," he noted.

Chappell gave examples of legends Ian Chappell and Ricky Ponting, both of whom made their name batting at No.3. "Ian Chappell and Ricky Ponting were exceptional No. 3 batters for Australia in their time. That doesn't mean that they would have been as successful had they been press-ganged into opening. They were often batting early in the innings, but the mindset to walk out to open the innings is subtly different."

He highlighted that Labuschagne has reinvented himself in the summer, but highlighted that risk-averse batting can lead to dismissal. "Marnus has reinvented himself this summer with a return to the intent that he showed early in his Test career. For the past few seasons, he has looked like someone who was batting to not get out. This risk-averse attitude to batting actually increases the risk of getting out. In this state of mind, the feet do not move, and the runs dry up. Even if one succeeds in not getting out, one doesn't make many runs because the number of deliveries that you can attack becomes limited. It would be a shame to risk short-circuiting his return to Test cricket by batting him out of position."