While travelling around Australia in his dual role as commentator and selector, Mark Waugh carries a form guide on thoroughbred racing. Among other details, it gives each horse’s jockey, trainer, parentage — and if it wears blinkers. When Waugh commentates on the Big Bash, he doesn’t always seem as well prepared. He has been a lifelong racing fan: he has owned horses, is married to a trainer and, when it’s time to place a bet, wants all the information going.

That’s not how most cricket selectors work. There is a big community of former players in the game whose decisions — despite the sport’s evolution — are often based on biases, anecdotal evidence and their own experiences. But there is a new breed, who claim