Birmingham, United Kingdom: Australia selection chief Rodney Marsh said on Wednesday he had no option but to leave wicket-keeper Brad Haddin out of the third Ashes Test against England at Edgbaston.
Haddin, the vice-captain, has been overlooked in favour of the younger Peter Nevill after the 37-year-old pulled out of the second Test at Lord’s to be with his sick daughter Mia.
Nevill, 29, took seven catches at Lord’s and made 45 during an impressive Test debut at Lord’s as Australia thrashed England by 405 runs to level the five-match Ashes series at 1-1.
Although both keepers played against Derbyshire in last week tour match, it was Nevill who was behind the stumps, with Haddin, again available for Test selection, playing as a batsman only.
Marsh - one of Australia’s greatest wicket-keeper/batsmen and coach Darren Lehmann, the two on-tour selectors, opted to stick with Nevill for the third Test, a decision which led to intense criticism from several former Australia internationals including Shane Warne and Ian Healy.
But Marsh told the cricket.com.au website on Wednesday - the first of the third Test - that Haddin’s form did not warrant a recall.
“He’s a fantastic player with a fantastic attitude but he’s averaging 15 in his last 12 Test matches,” said Marsh.
“We needed runs down there, he didn’t keep well - and he’ll admit that - at Cardiff (where England won the first Test by 169 runs) and the new boy did very, very well at Lord’s, so in my way of thinking, we didn’t have an option.
“It’s very hard to change a winning side.”
Haddin’s daughter reportedly suffers from neuroblastoma - a rare form of cancer that attacks children aged five years or younger.
Clarke said 66-Test veteran Haddin would have played at Lord’s if available and leg-spin great Warne, insisted, while commentating on television at Edgbaston, that he should have been selected for the third Test.
“If you’re going to have that ethos in the Australian cricket team that family comes first, and you’ve got a real issue with your family and decide to miss a Test match because of family reasons, to then get left out of the next Test match and (selectors) go with Nevill, I don’t think is correct,” Warne said.
Healy, like Marsh regarded as one of Australia’s best wicket-keepers, said Haddin should have a chance to “redeem” his Cardiff display.
“Then maybe at the end of the series - or when he doesn’t redeem himself - then we can move to Nevill,” Healy told Fox Sports.
Haddin retired from one-day international cricket after helping Australia win the World Cup this year and his omission from the Test team could signal the end of his Australia career.
