I'm very, very happy to be back in the team: Aston Agar

Aston Agar, the left-arm spinner, had just finished a thrilling chase with a last-ball six for his side Perth Scorchers in the Big against Melbourne Renegades when he received another good news from the chairman of selectors the following morning. Agar was included in the Australia squad, marking his return to the national setup after been absent for a while.

“Those were a great few hours of my life. It was nice to hit the winning runs the other night and to get the call in the morning really topped it off. I honestly thought I’d just be heading back to Perth, but I’m very, very happy to be here,” Agar said during a media conference in Sydney.

Agar, however, could have missed the chance had Trevor Hohns, the chairman, not being patient and re-dialled the 23-year-old’s number to inform him about the inclusion in the Australia squad for the third Test against Pakistan in Sydney.

“There hasn’t been a lot of information yet (about the make-up of the final team), so I’m just going to try and train really well and put my best foot forward and we’ll just see how the selection pans out. I guess I have a chance, maybe. But I’m not going to look any further than the next couple of training days (in Sydney) and then if I get selected for that Test match… That’s what has worked for me at the moment. I’ve tried to not look too far ahead at all and it has held me in good stead this season,” Agar added.

Agar believes that he won’t have a problem shifting to Test match bowling from the T20 fold. The all – rounder claimed fame in his debut match during the Ashes 2013.

“I see myself as an all-rounder. I’ve been selected in this squad as a spinner, but I think I’m capable with bat and ball. I think I would be able to bat in the top seven if I was given that opportunity. You just have to make good decisions and that’s what I’m learning more and more each time I’m batting in first-class cricket.

“I guess with the red-ball cricket you’re allowed to be a bit more predictable because you have to bowl a lot of good stock balls. That’s what the great spinners do – they bowl good ball after good ball after good ball. But you have to have your variations.

“In the white-ball form, you have to be a little bit unpredictable and really mix things up a bit because otherwise they’ll just get used to it and hit you over the fence,” Agar said.

Australia squad: Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Hilton Cartwright, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Stephen O’Keefe, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade.