It may have just been a warm up match, but Australia’s intra-squad match in St Lucia in preparation for the T20I series against West Indies was a special occasion for the Agar family.
It marked the first time brothers Ashton and Wes have played together in Australian colours. While Wes has yet to receive an international cap, he is one of several fast bowlers aiming to impress during a winter tour missing a number of top-line stars.
“I'm loving it. I really love it,” smiled Ashton Agar, speaking from St Lucia.
“Yeah, we're close, we speak about that all the time. We love each other a lot and it's nice to just spend time with him let alone be on an Australian cricket tour with him.
“So the family's really proud. It was good to play on the same team in Australian colours yesterday together.
"Col [Hitchock, the Australian media manager] took a couple of great photos of us which we sent through to the family. It's a really nice feeling.”
While it remains to be seen if Wes will make his Australian debut during this tour, Ashton’s all-round batting and spin skills have earned him 32 T20I appearances and, with slower pitches likely in St Lucia, Bangladesh as well as in the UAE and Oman, where the ICC T20 World Cup will be held later this year, 2021 presents a huge opportunity, starting with the first match against West Indies.
"I can certainly see [spin] playing quite a significant role,” said Agar.
“As in most T20 games, spin is playing a huge part and we've got a few really good spinners over here.
“Obviously Zamps [Adam Zampa] and I have enjoyed a really nice partnership over the last couple of years. [Mitchell Swepson] is bowling beautifully and so is Tanveer Sangha. And we all work really closely together, we actually have great relationships with each other, so it's a lot of fun.
“We talk about that opportunity and it's really nice to be a part of a spin group who just genuinely care about each other.
"I guess you can say we're fighting for spots if you want to put it that way but to be honest we're trying to help each other get better and better every time we train and play together, so it's a lot of fun.
“And, yeah, certainly that increased opportunity is always something to look forward to so hopefully the wickets are spin-friendly.
"With T20 pitches, you're not always going to get raging turners or ones that go underground. Generally, around the world, they're pretty flat but not in the subcontinent or in the West Indies. History shows us that they might be a little bit more friendly to us.”
There has been plenty of discussion surrounding who might play a ‘finisher’ role for Australia in the batting line up, but Agar has been focussing on his own finishing skills, as someone who often comes to the crease lower down the order with fewer balls to face.
“It's tough. I find it quite hard, if I'm being honest, coming in down the order, and trying to make as many runs off as few balls as possible is a tough task for anyone. But that's the role I’m there to play, and I've been working really hard to try and get better at it.
“I think I've identified a few areas, so I think playing the pull shot is a really important shot to have, and trying to get better at hitting slower balls is really important too. You don't often get two balls in the same spot or the same speed.
"There's a lot of variation coming your way and you have to make the most of those deliveries, so I'm certainly waiting nearly out of it, but it's not always so easy.”
To improve his T20 batting, Agar has recently sought the advice of his friend Viv Paver, who has worked with coach ‘Noddy’ Holder, a Perth based coach who has mentored players including Justin Langer and Marcus Stoinis.
“He just seems to have a really good eye for how I bat,” Agar said.
“But also has some really good ideas of certain swing planes, swing paths, and how you're coordinating all your movements to give yourself the best chance possible to play any shot or hit the ball to all parts of the ground and be able to adapt to different balls coming your way.”
While white-ball cricket remains the primary focus for the next few months, Agar still harbours ambitions to add to his four-match Test career to date, particularly when Australia tours the sub-continent.
“Obviously, Nathan Lyon’s the number one, and I’m pretty insistent when I say this, the best traditional offspinner in the world and he's our best off-spinner, so that's absolutely fine,” said Agar. “What I've always tried to do is be the next best.
“To be fair Sweppo’s bowling like a genius as well. But when you have the subcontinent tour generally they take a few spinners and you just want to be part of that group and then take your opportunity when that comes and develop a really diverse range of skills.
“If you have a really wide skill set that really helps you over there and that's something I've tried to do since I was a kid. I've always loved trying different deliveries: square spinners, top spinners, normal ones, balls that go the other way.
"And it seems to be that sort of really fun play time and the enjoyment you get out of spin bowling helps you a lot in those conditions so they're really exciting to be a part of if we can get a chance.”
