Selection panel changes 'make sense': Hohns

Australia's new National Selection Panel has no fresh faces but the roles and responsibilities of its members have significantly changed, Cricket Australia announced on Friday.

Trevor Hohns, who has acted as interim chairman since Rod Marsh stood down in November after a fifth-straight Test defeat, has been appointed the role on a full-time basis, while National Talent Manager Greg Chappell, former Australia batsman Mark Waugh and Head Coach Darren Lehmann have all been retained as selectors.

However, Hohns, Chappell and Lehmann will form a three-man panel responsible for selecting the Test and ODI outfits, while Waugh and Lehmann will lead a two-man panel for the T20 international team.

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These changes are effective immediately, but Waugh will arrive in India and replace Hohns as the selector on duty for the final two Tests, a decision that was made well in advance of the NSP’s overhaul.

One of the main reasons CA decided to split the NSP is to improve the performances and ranking of Australia’s underperforming T20 side.

While Australia sit in second spot on the official Test and ODI rankings, in the shortest format of the game Steve Smith’s men languish in seventh having never won an elusive World T20 title.

"It’s certainly exciting and going to be challenging going forward for us," said Hohns, who is contracted until February, 2020.

"I think it certainly makes sense to separate the T20 format of the game from the others because we are, in effect, trying to increase our performance in that format and also our ranking ... so it does make sense to have a little bit of a split panel in that area."

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With one less red-ball selector, the NSP will rely heavily on state talent managers and those involved in the national talent management system to provide expert feedback, analysis and opinion on domestic players.

In the past, ideally one selector would be at every Sheffield Shield game, but now the onus is on state representatives to report back to the NSP at the matches panellists are unable to attend.

"That’s our intention, to use the state talent managers a bit more," said Hohns, who leaves India today before heading west to Perth for Western Australia’s Shield clash against NSW.

"That will give the selectors, or the people on the selection panel, a little bit more flexibility as to who we go to watch.

"We might pick and choose a little bit more but we’ll certainly have a presence at all games if we possibly can."

The NSP was reshaped in November due to the resignation of Marsh after Australia lost 3-0 to Sri Lanka last winter and the first two Tests against South Africa at home to surrender the Commonwealth Bank Test series with a match to spare.

Hohns was elevated to interim chairman, Chappell was drafted in and, with their first opportunity, the new-look selection panel revamped the Test squad with five players dropped and three youngsters handed debuts at the Adelaide Oval.

While NSW’s Nic Maddinson was unable to make the most of his opportunity, Queensland opener Matthew Renshaw and Victorian middle-order batsman Peter Handscomb have seamlessly made the giant step up to international cricket.

A win against South Africa in Adelaide was followed up by a 3-0 clean sweep of Pakistan, with both Renshaw and Handscomb scoring maiden Test centuries on home soil.

Further vindication followed when Australia, against all odds, won a Test for the first time in India since 2004 last month when they beat India by 333 runs in Pune as each Test rookie made key contributions.

Renshaw in particular was considered a bolter by many Australian fans when he was chosen to debut last November, but the selectors stuck to their guns and so far most of their picks have hit the mark.

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"We obviously knew a fair bit about (the Adelaide debutants) and we have all watched a lot of interstate cricket over the last few years so we did know a bit about them," said Hohns.

"Of course when we made the decision to make several changes it was a little bit unknown, everyone accepts that, but sometimes when you give people the opportunity some grab it and some don’t.

"It just so happens a couple of them have really grabbed it and done very well for us."

Chappell’s appointment and the move towards youth sent fears into the current crop of domestic players on the wrong side of 30.

Chappell, who along with Waugh is contracted until August next year, was the driving force behind the youth-orientated Futures League competition and has been a long-time advocate for blooding potential superstars at an early age, but Hohns said it’s a misconception that NSP has written off the country’s seasoned state campaigners.

"There’s no need for anybody to be concerned about that,” he said.

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"We’re not about having a team full of under-23 players.

"We need a good blend of players – experienced players are definitely not ruled out.

"What we have right now of course and what we’ve attempted to do here is build a squad of players that can take us forward for some time to come and we see by their ages that there are a lot of a similar age.

"History has shown us that good teams develop over a period of time but they develop because they’ve got players who play together and they’re all of a similar age and that’s what we’re trying to do here."

Cricket Australia chairman David Peever says the new panel have been rewarded for their efforts during the summer and that the new structure will continuously be reviewed.

"Trevor, Greg and Mark all have a vast amount of experience, we are pleased with their performance in the role over recent months, and are satisfied that this new structure will allow the Panel to be well supported by our national talent pathway and talent identification systems," Peever said.

"We believe this new structure will enhance the performance of the selection function and deliver clearer accountability around selection and, at the same time, offers the Board the opportunity to review a two-person selection panel in the T20 format, and how well this works."