Better to find out how he, and Woakes, can do now than at the Gabba?

I'd have taken him as a drinks carrier to Aus as well - maybe play him towards the end of the series if it's dead. That, to my mind, would have been better than chucking him in at the deep end. Give him a chance to soak it all in.

But what do I know?

That would be the ideal. But if Swann breaks a finger on the eve of the first test?

Then you're buggered, unless you've taken another spinner (which would be highly doubtful). You can't plan off ifs, buts and maybes, though, even if it isn't always ideal.

Exactly. You have to plan on the basis that all members of the squad are ready to play, if needed.

And he's 24. Youngish for a spinner but not exactly a babe in arms. Same age as Panesar when he was first picked.