Beer’s selection proves Hilditch has ‘officially lost the plot’: MacGill

MELBOURNE - The selection of Michael Beer into the Australian Test team proves that selectors chairman Andrew Hilditch has officially lost the plot, according to former spinner Stuart MacGill.

Left arm spinner Beer was playing grade cricket in Melbourne last season. He moved to Western Australia because he wasn’t good enough to represent Victoria.

He has a mere 16 wickets at the average of 39.93 in the Sheffield Shield, FOX Sports reports.

MacGill said that Beer has only played at the WACA ground three times in his life and he’s never taken more than three wickets in an innings.

“I am gobsmacked, shocked, I honestly cannot believe it. To be honest, from Andrew Hilditch’s comments, he doesn’t even really know who Michael Beer is. He said he’ll bowl well in Perth because it’s his home ground,” MacGill said.

“I’m not sure Andrew thought those comments through before he made them. Look, Andrew Hilditch is a lovely bloke but someone needs to tell him Michael Beer has not spent his career playing at the WACA.

“Three games there and nothing better than a three-for. Honestly, there is no big picture here. The team will have to change again after the next Test. Good on Michael Beer, good bloke and good player, but look at this as a job interview and show me his qualifications to get this job,” MacGill said.

Beer lists his boyhood heroes as Shane Warne, Merv Hughes and Dean Jones and his favourite Ashes moment is Warne’s 700th wicket in the Melbourne Test of 2006-07. (ANI)