Vale to Matthew Hayden, one of Australia's greatest openers. It was the right time to go, the last year was pretty ordinary by his standards and, surely, his body was giving him big hints with injuries he coudn't shake off. For me the final straw was the dropped catch in the last few overs in Sydney; Hayden would normally snaffle those up in his sleep. He must've known then it was time to go. Well done o good and faithful servant of Australian cricket.
The selectors are now confronted with the task on reinvigorating the test team with a view to building a new empire. Some of their selections since 2005 have been bizarre, trying to shoehorn an all-rounder into the team for one. Trying to replace Warne from a handful of ordinary trundlers for another, admittedly an extremely difficult task. They are also faced with the absence, possibly long-term, of the senior fast bowler, Lee. However, it's not all gloom and doom and there are some encouraging prospects for our test team. The decision to stick with Siddle despite his ordinary debut in the fourth Indian test at Mohali has paid off; this instance of selecting and persevering with a player should be applauded, followed by the obvious question why Krejza wasn't given the same opportunity. His figures of 12 for 358 are the fourth best by a test bowler on debut, to me an indication of some ability. His reckless discarding after getting knocked around on the flat track in Perth is ludicrous; to replace him with the harmless Hauritz, who struggles to get a guernsey for the Blues, is ridiculous. Krejza is a much better prospect than any other spin bowler in Australia at the moment.
There are a couple of test players returning from injury, Jaques and Clark, who should be slotted staight back into the team. The four batsmen after the openers present a problem for the selectors as the balance isn't right with the current fashion for an all-rounder and Hussey's slump in form. Does anyone really think McDonald looks like an Australian test player? Does he have a long term future in the side? I think not. When a similar turmoil in the batting order presented itself some 20 years ago the solution was to move Boon to first drop to accommodate Taylor's debut. I propose something similar with the intended effect of pushing Ponting, Clarke and Hussey one spot down the batting order. Ponting's new spot at 4 echoes Ian Chappell's oscillation up and down the batting order as he aged; I could see him staying at 4 with Clarke moving to 3 in the next few years.
Presuming Jaques and Clark are fit my team for the first test in South Africa is:
Jaques
Rogers
Katich
Ponting
Hussey
Clarke
Haddin
Johnson
Siddle
Clark
Krejza
Those listed from 3 to 6 are all capable of bowling, although Ponting seems to be following the captain's tradition of the last 30 years not to bowl himself. At various times Greg Chappell, Border and Waugh as well as Ponting have proved to be very effective test bowlers, a shame not to see him roll his arm over. Hughes and Hilfenhaus to replace Jaques or Clark if they're not fit. This would also be my squad for the Ashes tour (isn't there a rumour the ACB intend to send a squad of only 13 players?). The desired rejuvination starts with a squad like this with a lot of younger players selected.
The selectors are now confronted with the task on reinvigorating the test team with a view to building a new empire. Some of their selections since 2005 have been bizarre, trying to shoehorn an all-rounder into the team for one. Trying to replace Warne from a handful of ordinary trundlers for another, admittedly an extremely difficult task. They are also faced with the absence, possibly long-term, of the senior fast bowler, Lee. However, it's not all gloom and doom and there are some encouraging prospects for our test team. The decision to stick with Siddle despite his ordinary debut in the fourth Indian test at Mohali has paid off; this instance of selecting and persevering with a player should be applauded, followed by the obvious question why Krejza wasn't given the same opportunity. His figures of 12 for 358 are the fourth best by a test bowler on debut, to me an indication of some ability. His reckless discarding after getting knocked around on the flat track in Perth is ludicrous; to replace him with the harmless Hauritz, who struggles to get a guernsey for the Blues, is ridiculous. Krejza is a much better prospect than any other spin bowler in Australia at the moment.
There are a couple of test players returning from injury, Jaques and Clark, who should be slotted staight back into the team. The four batsmen after the openers present a problem for the selectors as the balance isn't right with the current fashion for an all-rounder and Hussey's slump in form. Does anyone really think McDonald looks like an Australian test player? Does he have a long term future in the side? I think not. When a similar turmoil in the batting order presented itself some 20 years ago the solution was to move Boon to first drop to accommodate Taylor's debut. I propose something similar with the intended effect of pushing Ponting, Clarke and Hussey one spot down the batting order. Ponting's new spot at 4 echoes Ian Chappell's oscillation up and down the batting order as he aged; I could see him staying at 4 with Clarke moving to 3 in the next few years.
Presuming Jaques and Clark are fit my team for the first test in South Africa is:
Jaques
Rogers
Katich
Ponting
Hussey
Clarke
Haddin
Johnson
Siddle
Clark
Krejza
Those listed from 3 to 6 are all capable of bowling, although Ponting seems to be following the captain's tradition of the last 30 years not to bowl himself. At various times Greg Chappell, Border and Waugh as well as Ponting have proved to be very effective test bowlers, a shame not to see him roll his arm over. Hughes and Hilfenhaus to replace Jaques or Clark if they're not fit. This would also be my squad for the Ashes tour (isn't there a rumour the ACB intend to send a squad of only 13 players?). The desired rejuvination starts with a squad like this with a lot of younger players selected.
