Captain Pat Cummins has downplayed the so-called "bat off" for the final spot in Australia's Test team but has noted that it does provide a "final piece of information" and help the player chosen prepare for the first Test given the public scrutiny around the contests against India A.
Cummins spoke at the MCG on Sunday ahead of the first ODI of the summer against Pakistan, which will be his first international appearance since the T20 World Cup in June after he missed the tour of the UK in September.
But while the three-match series does carry some importance given it is Australia's last ODI series before the Champions Trophy in February, bar a one-off game in Sri Lanka, the fight for the final batting spot in the Test side remains the major talking point.
Four players, Marcus Harris, Nathan McSweeney, Sam Konstas and Cameron Bancroft have emerged as the main contenders for the vacant spot at the top of the order and have been on show in the Australia A game against India A in Mackay.
McSweeney has been the standout performer of the four, finishing unbeaten on 88 in Australia A's victory, and is almost certainly set to be part of the Test squad given two batters will need to be selected in an extended 13 to ensure there is a batting concussion substitute with the team in Perth. Harris got starts in both innings without kicking on while Konstas and Bancroft missed out twice each.
Cummins said he had kept an eye on the scores from Mackay and emphasised the quartet would likely get another chance to impress in the second four-day game at the MCG starting on Thursday. But he added the Australia A games are not the be-all and end-all as far as selection for the first Test is concerned.
"I think it's like a final bit of information," Cummins said. "It's never as clean cut as a bat off. Some of these guys have only played a few games of Shield cricket, and then you've got other guys who have played over a decade.
"That last couple of weeks, is it really important? It's got some importance, but it's not going to guide the 100% of the decision. So it's that final bit of decision.
"In some regards, it's a lot of pressure on those last two games, which, whether you like it or not, it's probably what you're going to get in Test cricket anyway. So I suppose, again, whoever does get picked, they've experienced as much pressure as they might get in a Test debut anyway. So it means they are pretty well placed."
Cummins was not concerned about having to leave the decision quite late given Australia's current selection panel and leadership group has preferred to give players more certainty in the recent past.
"I don't think it's a new problem," Cummins said. "The good thing is, if it's say that one batting role that we're looking at, whoever's picked, they're going to come off the back of plenty of runs at the start of the year, you'd think, and they'll be well positioned. The reality is you try and make a debut as comfortable for someone as you can. But it's a Test debut. Whoever it is, they're going to be feeling nerves. So, yeah, it's not like they're going to wake up one morning and kind of be told they're playing. They'll certainly know at least a week or so out I'd imagine."
Cummins was asked whether it was possible that Marnus Labuschagne could open the batting to allow McSweeney to possibly debut at No. 3 given that is where he bats in first-class cricket for South Australia.
"You could do," Cummins said. "Again, maybe once we kind of start discussing who's in the side, then you start looking at the batting order.
"Ronnie [Andrew McDonald] and I have said it quite a bit, we think the place where you bat isn't that important. You try and work out how the batting order as a whole is going to function best. And I don't think anyone should be super protective around a certain spot."
Cummins did note there had been plenty of jokes flying around at training in the last two days about positions in the batting order given how vocal Labuschagne and Steven Smith had been about the latter's move away from opening in Test cricket.
Meanwhile, Cummins said he was feeling physically as fresh as he had in a long-time after skipping the T20I and ODI tour of the UK in order to undergo a significant training block in Sydney to get ready for the summer. He also explained his decision to not play a Shield game prior to the first Test.
"The one that I would have had to play back here in Melbourne, I probably would have had to start bowling about an extra two or three weeks earlier," he said. "So we kind of made the decision to have an extra two weeks of building up in the gym and prioritizing that. I feel like I've done it for a fair while now, and so I feel like the ODIs will give me a good lead in and obviously the two weeks before the first Test, we'll make sure we do loads of red-ball and centre wickets to try and replicate it."
Cummins said he was unsure if he will play all three ODIs against Pakistan. He confirmed he would play the first two but it appears likely he will miss the final game in Perth in order to avoid a cross-country return flight, a week before having to make the same trip for the Perth Test.
If he does miss the Perth match it will mean Australia will have to find a captain, with ODI vice-captain Mitchell Marsh missing the series while on paternity leave.
Smith and Josh Hazlewood have both led the ODI side previously but there is a possibility both could also be rested from the Perth trip for the same reasons as Cummins.
Australia's new T20I captain is set be announced this week with Josh Inglis and Matt Short the two most likely candidates for the job. It is possible the man who gets the nod could also captain the ODI side in Perth.