User:TripleRoryFan/sandbox/Chadd Sayers with the Australian cricket team in South Africa in 2017–18

Chadd Sayers played for the Australian cricket team on their tour of South Africa in early 2018.

Background
Prior to the tour, Sayers had been the dominant bowler in Australia's domestic first-class competition, the Sheffield Shield. In the eighteen months immediately before the tour began, Sayers had taken the most wickets in the competition, and he had a career total of 246 first-class wickets at an average of 24.11. Though he had never played a Test match, his form led to him coming close to making his Test debut for Australia during the 2017–18 Ashes series, as he was included in Australia's extended squad for the first two matches. When none of the incumbent fast bowlers was injured Sayers didn't make his debut, and he was dropped from the squad for the final three matches.

Though Australia picked five pace bowlers in their original 15-man squad for the tour of South Africa, Sayers was not among them. In addition to the incumbent bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, Jackson Bird and the yet-to-debut Jhye Richardson were picked ahead of Sayers. The selectors indicated that Bird had been chosen in front of Sayers as a potential replacement for Hazlewood and that Richardson had been selected as a potential replacement for the fast bowlers Starc and Cummins. Sayers was disappointed that he hadn't been selected and wanted answers from the Australian selectors, particularly Trevor Hohns, as he felt that the South African conditions would benefit him as they did South African bowler Vernon Philander.

Sayers attempted to call Hohns to seek clarification on why he wasn't selected as he hadn't been called and given an explanation when the squad was announced. Hohns publicly said that he was disappointed with how Sayers had reacted to not being selected, and that he stood by his decision not to call Sayers about the selection as he had not been in Australia's previous Test squad and as a result had not been dropped and didn't need a call to inform him.

Sayers came back into contention for the tour when Jackson Bird, while bowling in a Sheffield Shield match, suffered a hamstring injury. During the same round of the Sheffield Shield, Sayers failed to take a wicket in what was a surprisingly poor performance with bowling figures of 0/85 and 0/50 from two innings. Bird was ruled out of the tour due to his injury and Sayers was brought in as a replacement player.