Okay, a few minutes after my last post in which I lambasted the selectors’ inattention to Mitchell Marsh’s failings, Rod Marsh has said the 25-year old all-rounder is on notice.

The public acknowledgement of Mitchell Marsh’s poor performances is a big step forward. It’s difficult to know how much patience the selectors will continue to show Marsh, but reading between the lines, one would think if he doesn’t make a big score in the three Tests against South Africa, he may be left out of the side to play Pakistan.

So who – if anybody – would be considered for the all-rounder slot?

The trouble is the selectors have for years insisted on picking an all-rounder even if no suitable player was available. A Test all-rounder should be competitive at international level as either a batsman or bowler (preferably both, of course, but players who excel at both are like hen’s teeth). The players selected for Australia in recent years have not been particularly outstanding in either discipline. And really, this was obvious before they were picked.

Australia is full of solid, handy all-rounders who represent their states with some success and for long periods of time, but who are not good enough for Test cricket (Dan Christian is a good example). Shane Watson may have justified selection early in his career, but not for the last two or three years of it. The selectors tried the likes of John Hastings (1 Test), Moises Henriques (4), Glenn Maxwell (3), Ashton Agar (2), James Faulkner (1), Steven O’Keefe (3) and Jon Holland (2), but none have nailed the spot.

There is not a single player capable of batting in the top 6 in the Test team while also bowling well enough to be the fourth or fifth bowler. Watson was not good enough, neither are Mitchell Marsh or Henriques.

For me, the most sensible option on pitches in Australia and outside the sub-continent would be to pick James Faulkner (182 first-class wickets at 24.36 and 2,397 runs at 31.96) and have him bat at No. 8. The selectors have tended to consider Faulkner only for the short form of the game, but he spends so much time travelling with the ODI and T20 teams that he has little chance to play red ball cricket. Of all the all-rounders tried so far, he is the most promising and deserves more opportunity.

On the sub-continent, beginning with the Australian tour of India next February, it would make sense to play (at least) two spinners. In this case, the first choice should be Steven O’Keefe (207 wickets at 23.84 and 1,844 runs at 29.74). O’Keefe was sent home from Sri Lanka recently with a hamstring injury and has since missed the Matador Cup with a broken finger but I would think his selection for India is a lock. Breathing down O’Keefe’s neck is the promising Adam Zampa.

The obvious result of all this is that the selectors would still need to find a batsman to bat at No. 6.