If Symonds does not return to the Aussie squad...

[aussie]

Yeah, that's the way I'd go, but I don't see it happening like that. Ponting actually hinted that Watson may have played in India anyway even if Symonds was on tour at one point.

Dropping Watson for Symonds, or indeed leaving Symonds out, would be a hard decision for the selectors to make, so they just won't make it. I'm sure they'll feel much more comfortable about the whole situation by just bringing Symonds straight in for White and having him play a similar role with the ball. White's only playing to add variation to the bowling lineup and Symonds's off breaks could do that anyway - whether or not you believe in the variation theory or not.

Unless Krejza or White do something really remarkable in the fourth Test against India or McGain makes a miraculous recovery and takes bag-fulls for Victoria before the first Test in Australia, I reckon we'll be seeing the team I named above. A mistake IMO, but the way they'll go.

If the selectors & Ponting especially wants Watto & Symonds in the team together, they could drop the Kat and send Hussey up to open.

Hayden
Hussey
Ponting
Watson
Clarke
Symonds
Haddin
Lee
Johnson
Clark
McGain

ATM for me this would be the best XI if all are fit.

 

[Precambrian]

Will the pacers retain their place if they continue their horrible show in India?

 

[Uppercut]

If the selectors & Ponting especially wants Watto & Symonds in the team together, they could drop the Kat and send Hussey up to open.

Hayden
Hussey
Ponting
Watson
Clarke
Symonds
Haddin
Lee
Johnson
Clark
McGain

ATM for me this would be the best XI if all are fit.

Don't think it's a good risk to take with your most reliable run scorer, nor do i think Watson has done enough to show he can bat at 4. Will McGain be fit? He seems better and better with every passing moment these days.

 

[Richard]

If the selectors & Ponting especially wants Watto & Symonds in the team together, they could drop the Kat and send Hussey up to open.

I think the situation so far has shown that Hussey is perhaps the least likeliest man in Australia to open in a Test again. Like South Africa with AB de Villiers, they seem to have decided that they will manufacture as many middle-order players into openers as is necessary to ensure this opener bats in the middle-order from now on.

 

[NZTailender]

If the selectors & Ponting especially wants Watto & Symonds in the team together, they could drop the Kat and send Hussey up to open.

Hayden
Hussey
Ponting
Watson
Clarke
Symonds
Haddin
Lee
Johnson
Clark
McGain

ATM for me this would be the best XI if all are fit.

LOL

 

[Richard]

Will the pacers retain their place if they continue their horrible show in India?

There's no way on Earth Clark deserves to be dropped given his career so far, nor Lee given his performances between Nov '07 and June '08, and if either are left-out we'll see once and for good that the Australian selectors never had the plot to lose. Johnson, well, say he gets 1-170 in the Fourth Test I suppose there's some amount of chance he might be left-out but a) that's pretty unlikely and b) even if it did happen he's survived bad games like that before now. And TBF, his Test form so far has been unspectacular, but the reasonably cheap small hauls (4 for 70-odd say) have outnumbered the expensive unpenetrative matches.

As for Watson, it obviously depends far more on his batting than his bowling.

 

[Richard]

LOL

I presume that Laugh is based purely on Katich being left-out, and fo' sho' he's got a far better case to be in the side currently than Watson.

Then again, when has having a fairly strong to irrefutably strong case to be playing stopped Katich being left-out for an inferior player who appers more "exciting"? It must've happened 3 times already in Tests (Symonds, Clarke, Hodge, and now possibly Watson), plus the ODI case which is a slightly separate matter.

 

[NZTailender]

I presume that Laugh is based purely on Katich being left-out, and fo' sho' he's got a far better case to be in the side currently than Watson.

Then again, when has having a fairly strong to irrefutably strong case to be playing stopped Katich being left-out for an inferior player who appers more "exciting"? It must've happened 3 times already in Tests (Symonds, Clarke, Hodge, and now possibly Watson), plus the ODI case which is a slightly separate matter.

Not just Katich, but promoting Hussey to open and Watson batting ahead of Clarke.

I know Watson is a top order batsmen and people have said as such on this website but I wouldn't be putting him there just yet. Perhaps when Hussey retires and Watson has had more innings under his belt.

 

[Richard]

Yeah, I mean, if it's Clarke and Watson at four and five it has to be in that order, pretty clearly. But Hussey opening is far from a bad idea - he should've opened instead of Katich, heaven knows how many runs Katich might've made had he actually been batting in his proper position rather than one that's (UIMM) totally alien. However, as I say, if Katich will be manufactured into an opener to ensure Hussey stays as the manufactured middle-order batsman, there's no reason to think the same won't happen to every other middle-order batsman in the land.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Will the pacers retain their place if they continue their horrible show in India?

Take a look at their performances for a moment.

Clark bowled quite well in the most recent test, but had no success on a wicket which no seamer had any success on. In fact, the Indian seamers took a combined total of 0 wickets. He was injured in the second test, and appeared short of his best in the first test and didn't bowl as many overs as one might expect, probably because he was carrying said injury. There's no way that's a case to be dropped.

Lee's had a pretty poor series, there's no denying that, but I don't think he's bowled badly aside from in the second test. In Bangalore he bowled pretty well without luck, especially in the first innings, and in the most recent test it was an improved performance. Disappointing series yes, but the guy was pretty close to the best fast bowler in the world for 2-3 years before the tour, so again, no chance he'll be dropped.

Johnson's been our best bowler on the tour by a distance. He's actually got more wickets at a better average than Zaheer Khan, whose performances have been roundly praised. Again, no case to be dropped.

So yes, all three pacers will certainly keep their places.

 

[aussie]

Not just Katich, but promoting Hussey to open and Watson batting ahead of Clarke.

I know Watson is a top order batsmen and people have said as such on this website but I wouldn't be putting him there just yet. Perhaps when Hussey retires and Watson has had more innings under his belt.

No doubt axing The Kat will be very harsh, picking Watson to bat @ 4 a risk & promoting Hussey to open a bit of an inbalancing of the middle order.

But the fact that Ponting was claiming that if Symonds didn't have his issues with the board both him & Watson would have played in India, i think we have the take the possibility of Symo & Watto in the same test XI very seriously and personally i can see it working.

 

[Precambrian]

Take a look at their performances for a moment.

Clark bowled quite well in the most recent test, but had no success on a wicket which no seamer had any success on. In fact, the Indian seamers took a combined total of 0 wickets. He was injured in the second test, and appeared short of his best in the first test and didn't bowl as many overs as one might expect, probably because he was carrying said injury. There's no way that's a case to be dropped.

Lee's had a pretty poor series, there's no denying that, but I don't think he's bowled badly aside from in the second test. In Bangalore he bowled pretty well without luck, especially in the first innings, and in the most recent test it was an improved performance. Disappointing series yes, but the guy was pretty close to the best fast bowler in the world for 2-3 years before the tour, so again, no chance he'll be dropped.

Johnson's been our best bowler on the tour by a distance. He's actually got more wickets at a better average than Zaheer Khan, whose performances have been roundly praised. Again, no case to be dropped.

So yes, all three pacers will certainly keep their places.

How's the backup pacers anyway? If Siddle is the first choice backup, then I've to assume that it's pretty ordinary. Haven't seen much of Bollinger though.

 

[Burgey]

I was surprised Siddle got the call up over Bollinger, though he did fine once selected.

Bollinger has had 2 "A" tours to the subcontinent and has bowled well in both, taking enough wickets to warrant inclusion in the test team, I'd have thought.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

How's the backup pacers anyway? If Siddle is the first choice backup, then I've to assume that it's pretty ordinary. Haven't seen much of Bollinger though.

Kidding? Pace-bowling depth is Australia's greatest strength.

 

[NZTailender]

No doubt axing The Kat will be very harsh, picking Watson to bat @ 4 a risk & promoting Hussey to open a bit of an inbalancing of the middle order.

But the fact that Ponting was claiming that if Symonds didn't have his issues with the board both him & Watson would have played in India, i think we have the take the possibility of Symo & Watto in the same test XI very seriously and personally i can see it working.

Just not sure why Katich should be the one to go, or why Hussey should open. Given he averages an insane amount in the middle order, and if you were to stick him to open a somewhat inexperienced middle-order to tail would be exposed.

I guess we're looking to the NZ series since there's bupkis chance Symonds will play in the 4th test so Symonds for White is the logical step, with the pace trio of Lee, Clark and Johnson.

 

[Johnners]

I think all Australians can be thankful "aussie" isn't one of the selectors. Next we'll have Tait for Lee, and Ronich replacing Haddin 8|

 

[Jakester1288]

Australia will be better in my opinion, easily with the bat, but outdone with the ball.

1. Hayden
2. Katich
3. Ponting
4. Hussey
5. Clark
6. Symonds
7. Haddin
8. Spinner - (Casson, Hauritz, Krejza, McGain or a paceman out of Noffke and Bollinger)
9. Lee
10. Johnson
11. Clark

That should be our side, injuries aside.

 

[NUFAN]

I reckon Symonds will come straight back in for him upon return to Australia.

I don't really think it'd make for the right balance given the qualities of the rest of the team, but it'd make for a better balance than the one we're seeing currently which contains a poor-man's version of Andrew Symonds batting 8 and bowling fourth change.

This is the team I expect to see for the first Test of the Australian summer:

1. Katich
2. Hayden
3. Ponting
4. Hussey
5. Clarke
6. Watson
7. Symonds
8. Haddin
9. Lee
10. Johnson
11. Clark

It's not the team I'd pick at all as I think it's ridiculous to stack the batting to such an extent when the established batsmen are in so much better stead the established bowlers, but that's what I expect to see. It's the easy way out of a selection drama of sorts on two levels.

I'm Andrew Symonds biggest critic but he's both a better batsman and a better bowler than White for mine so it's a step in the right direction anyway.

I really hope they don't opt with this lineup.

Pretty sure Symonds would bat ahead of Watson if they are both selected in the middle order.

 

[pup11]

How's the backup pacers anyway? If Siddle is the first choice backup, then I've to assume that it's pretty ordinary. Haven't seen much of Bollinger though.

For a guy playing his first test on a placid track against a classy batting line-up i think Siddle had a pretty decent debut and did quite well imo, though still think Bollinger should have played ahead of him, but still Siddle was pretty impressive and as Smith said the fast-bowling depth in Australia is probably at an all-time high atm, so there are no worries there, lack of a genuine spin option is the only big problem in Australian cricket atm.

 

[aussie]

I think all Australians can be thankful "aussie" isn't one of the selectors. Next we'll have Tait for Lee, and Ronich replacing Haddin 8|

. Lets not get besides ourselves here, linking me with such crazy notions of Tait for Lee & Ronchi for Haddin.

The basis of my arguments revolves around Ponting said before the start of the current series that if Symonds was available him & Watson would have played together. That is fact.

I don't 100% agree with the idea, but quite obviously i can see a potential XI where such Symonds & Watson playing actually not affecting Australia that much.