'Players can become jaded playing all forms of the game'
John Inverarity talks about the challenges of selection, the future of Australian cricket, and the forthcoming tour to England

John Inverarity: "I think we'll be really well prepared when the Ashes starts" • Getty Images
I'm not sure that it's changed much, because before I got into this position I was obviously following it very closely. One of the things we can really look forward to, I think, is the maturing of a lot of very good players: James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Gurinder Sandhu, spinners Ashton Agar and Nathan Lyon; allrounders James Faulkner, Mitchell Marsh, Moises Henriques and Glenn Maxwell; batsmen David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Alex Doolan, Joe Burns, Nic Maddinson, and Matt Wade with the gloves; and a number of other talented youngsters. We really hope those young players come through. But it will take time for them to mature.
That's a good question. The cricket scene now is more fragmented than it was, with T20. If you'd said ten years ago that there wouldn't be any domestic first-class cricket in Australia in December and January, you would have thought that was not possible. The Big Bash League has been a great attraction and it's been a great success in spreading the word of cricket. But in terms of players developing momentum, it has made it rather difficult. A very good example is Alex Doolan, who has been a very promising player for some time and built up some real momentum in October-November, and then of course the next time he played a Shield match was in February. So that was difficult for him.
Your summary there is exactly right. Nic Maddinson is a talented player who sees the ball early and strikes it beautifully, but there's a lot more to making 150 over four sessions in a Test match. That's the sort of player that we need. But with T20 and the boundaries in a bit, the better bats and the glitz, not as many are coming through that way. We desperately need players of the talent of Maddinson to find that gear you're talking about.
It's a difficult question. I don't think anyone has got the exact answer as to why we haven't got players who bat for long periods coming through. But one thing I am sure about is that young players need to work it out for themselves. As you've alluded to before, society is different now: there's fast food and immediate gratification. I would think, for an intelligent young player with some talent looking to make his way, high on his agenda would be developing an appetite and the wherewithal to bat for long periods and make big scores.
Ricky did, as did a lot before him, at school or in the backyard - when he got the bat, he liked batting and he was going to bat for as long as he could, until someone got him out. He probably batted all of recess time, all of lunchtime, all through after school, and most of the next morning. That's the sort of mindset we need, and that's less prevalent now than it used to be.
"Playing in all forms, players can tend to become jaded. I think Michael Clarke at the moment is benefiting greatly from having a break. Over a period of five years, my view is, you'll get more out of a player if he has appropriate breaks"
That's CA's responsibility. They do the scheduling. It's not at our level. There'll be meetings and we'll express our views, but the fixtures are the fixtures. As simple as that.
Just playing good cricket. Having good bowlers who are patient and bowl a line and length with some movement. And batting through the difficult periods, and then being able to capitalise when the sun is out later in the afternoon, when things are a little easier. So nothing much has changed in that regard.
We just used the resources we had. We had a steady bowling side at best. As in anything, you go with the best that you have and you apply yourself really well, prepare really well, and do as well as you can. I think with this Australian side, there's 11 weeks before the first Test, and there'll be a lot of preparation, physical and mental, and I think we'll be really well prepared when the Test series starts.
I was talking then about Pat Cummins four or five days before we knew he had a stress fracture. He's a fine young talent but we were fully aware he would not be able to play six Tests in a row; at most three or four out of six. It was also obvious when we were in the West Indies just over 12 months ago that Ryan Harris was a wonderful bowler who's had some fitness issues. He was, as I recall, the Man of the Match in the first Test. But he was obviously not going to be able to play the three Tests. So he was managed in the second and came back strongly in the third. That's just a reality.
I think that's exaggerated. It does not stand up to scrutiny. Missing a game or two for an elite professional cricketer, who plays all three formats and for numerous teams, should not be an issue at all. Players regularly come back from a prolonged layoff for injury and bat brilliantly. A recent example is Shane Watson's superb 122 against West Indies in Canberra after not playing for more than six weeks.
Steve O'Keefe is a very good cricketer. He's taken wickets, and he's a steady batsman. Whenever we've been at the selection table, we've marginally preferred other players to him. But he's still regarded as a good cricketer. We're very aware of his figures and we do look deeper than that. But there's a panel of five of us and there's a consistency of view when we select the spinners.
It was unfortunate that Jon Holland and Michael Beer were injured and could not be considered. Our spin bowling stocks were significantly reduced. The immediate future looks considerably brighter with these two players regaining fitness, Nathan Lyon having done well in Delhi, Ashton Agar and Fawad Ahmed performing very well at the end of the domestic season, and Steve O'Keefe continuing to perform consistently.
I consider it very important for spin bowlers to establish a relationship with others who are, or have been, successful spin bowlers. They do well to have soul-mates. People like MacGill, Mallett and others have a great deal to offer. In the West Indies just over 12 months ago Lance Gibbs told me that when in Australia in 1960-61, he constantly sought the company and advice of then recently retired Australian offspinner Ian Johnson, and then in England soon after, he sought out Jim Laker. Lance wanted to talk about his craft with those who had had successful careers as offspinners. He indicated he learnt a great deal from them.
All you can deal with is what's going on at the time. Ricky made his decision just before the third Test against South Africa. His mind was very clear. A month later we learned of Mike's decision, and he was very clear there. We certainly didn't see Mike's decision coming. But they're two separate decisions. And we've lost a lot of experience with those two.
Times change and there's an expectation of a national selector being in the media. I'm asked a lot of questions and I'm forthcoming, but there's always a word or a sentence here or there that will be taken up. It's a challenge.
That's for others to judge, but I certainly enjoy conversations.
Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here