Australian selection???

[iamdavid]

For the first time in exactly a year , no body is certain exactly what the Australian test team will look like for the next match.

The are 2 main points of conjecture.

With Gillespie , Bichel & MacGill fit , yet McGrath & Lee almost certain not to be fit , there is a battle for the 3rd pacemans slot.
4 realistic contenders are:

Brad Williams- who is the incumbent , did nothing wrong last time , also did a better than reasonable job in the tri series.

Nathan Bracken-is clearly in the best bowling form of his life , should have a phsycological advantage over the Indians after the tri series , being left arm adds variety.

Micheal Kasprowics- did a great job in India , has a great record against India in the past both home & away , very experienced & with McGrath & Warne out the attack need experience.

Ashley Noffke- Would almost certainly have gone to India if not for injury , bowling very well in Pura/ING without much luck.

I guess you could consider Matt Nicholson but I doubt he's a realistic chance.


Then theres the batting , who should bat at 6 , again 4 contenders

Simon Katich- did very well last time & has been in superb form for NSW , very hard to omit a man in his form , handy bowler , superb anywhere in the feild

Darren Lehmann- was a dead certainty before his injury came up however others may have overtaken while he's been out , scored 2 hundreds in his last 3 tests , has experience on his side , handy bowler

Martin Love - was the next batsman in line until the selectors decided they wanted someone who could bowl a bit , scored 300* last week in Pura cup but has done nothing else this season , a good first slip which has been a problem area for Australia since Warnie was suspended

Micheal Clarke- had a very good series of India with bat , ball & in the feild , has time on his side , easily the youngest of the contenders at 22 (compared to 28 , 29 & 34) , handy bowler , sensational feildsman anywhere.

So who would you pick , personally I'd go for Katich & Bracken

Lehmann & Kaspa would be second choice

 

[Blewy]

I think i would have to agree, as much as i think Bracken is way better in 1d then 4/5D cricket his form has been nothing short of sensational and the added fact that he is a left hander and i believe that we need to find one puts him at the top of the order...

As for the batting spot, im not sure whether Boof will be fit and although i would love to see Clarkey get a run i think Katich could not be dropped after his performance in the last test and his domestic form....

 

[Top_Cat]

Brad Williams- who is the incumbent , did nothing wrong last time , also did a better than reasonable job in the tri series.

Check his stats - 'better than reasonable' is nearing an insult to how well he bowled.

Ashley Noffke- Would almost certainly have gone to India if not for injury , bowling very well in Pura/ING without much luck.

And injured again so he's out of contention.

 

[NikhilN]

Clarke & Bracken

 

[amits]

clarke & bracken.

i am :O no votes here.

these 2 were the best for aus in the tvs cup.

 

[Gaijin-san]

Clarke is without doubt the best option for THE NUMBER 6 POSITION. I'd understand if he still doesn't get a mention in the squad, though. For mine, India next year is the last straw. They can't keep him out any longer than that.
As for Bracken, it is well known that he's yet to prove himself in the longer version of the game, but I think if there's a time to give him a chance to prove himself, it's now. There's something about him the Indians just don't like. If he were tried on a more bounce friendly pitch he might be even more effective. He's worth a shot.

 

[V Reddy]

Clarke and Bracken for me too. It is the best time to bring in Clarke on his hometurf against a weak bowling attack and Bracken who always bowled well against India. They are both young too and so will bring the avg age of the side.

 

[Mister Wright]

Well for starters Lehmann is injured and wil not be back into first clas contention untill Queensland talke on South Australia on December 19 so he cannot be selected for the first test as the Australian selectors have said that no player will play unitl they have played one first class game which rules Lehmann, Lee & Mcgrath out, as they will not play a first class game before the test which is only 13 days away.

I believe Love should be given first chance because he has been consistent for many season (as opposed to Clarke who has had 1 brilliant season) however, I agree with furious_ged (surprise, surprise) Love is not a number 6, he is a number 3 or 4. so Katich or Clarke would be the better option.

As far as bowling goes...Kaspa has been the the best bowler in domestic cricket for the last 2 years, so he deserves his chance, but Williams is the incumbant so he will probably play, which is good because, Laxman will eat him when it comes to the 'Gabba wicket (which sould help the batsman alot more than it has this week).

My tip is Katich & Williams

although

being a true Queenslander....

I feel Kasprowicz and Love should play!!!

 

[Tom Halsey]

I'd go for Katich and Bracken. I think Katich is the best choice of the batsmen, mainly we all saw against Zim and for Hants last summer that he is a very handy bowler, and a very good feilder. As for the bowlers, I went for Bracken because I dont know much about any of them, but all you lot seem to say him

 

[Mr. P]

I believe Love should be given first chance because he has been consistent for many season (as opposed to Clarke who has had 1 brilliant season) however, I agree with furious_ged (surprise, surprise) Love is not a number 6, he is a number 3 or 4.

Exactly right mate, as we have discussed over msn a while back, Love is certainly not a no. 6, he is a no. 4. But I also feel that Katich is wasted at 6. I just have a feeling that if he plays, he needs to bat up the order. So my thinking is either Clarke bats at 6, or Lehmann bats at six OR we can change the order around a bit. I don't think it will happen but i certainly think Martyn can bat at 5/6 as well as his normal 4.

 

[Richard]

If Lehmann is injured and Katich is still dropped after The SCG he can rightly claim to be the hardest-done-by man in cricket.
How can a few ODIs possibly count anything against domestic-First-Class-cricket? Bracken not in the question for me. Picking Kasprowicz ahead of Williams after The SCG, even if Kaspr is probably the best of the rest, cannot really be justified after Williams' debut.
Personally I say Kaspr is easily better than Williams. But Kaspr didn't exactly distinuish himself in his last Tests; Williams did.

 

[marc71178]

mainly we all saw against Zim and for Hants last summer that he is a very handy bowler,

17 wickets @ 34.76 (eco 3.67) is not that handy IMO.

 

[Tom Halsey]

i agree, you can hardly call him an allrounder, but even if it is against Zim, you can hardly call 6-65 bad for a part-timer

 

[Gaijin-san]

Come on, Clarke 6, Gilly 7. Who wouldn't wanna see that??

I would pay very, very good money to see those two together.

 

[Ford_GTHO351]

Lehmann & Bracken should be selected in the Test Team.

Lehmann isn't exactly out of form and he deserves to be in the Australian Test Team. Yes Katich is in superb form, but like I said, Lehmann has produced the goods in the last few Tests he has played.

Bracken should be given a Test debut. During the Tri-Series in India, Bracken was bowling superbly. Bracken being left armed will certainly add variety to the bowling attack. A worthy replacement if McGrath or Lee fail to recover from their injuries.

 

[Gaijin-san]

I refer you to above. Lehmann is out.

 

[Eclipse]

Well IMO Love just aint a number 6 batsman and should not bat there and Katich is not the best number 6 ether.

If Lehmann is fit he should get the nod he deserves his place in the team and makes a good number six batsman.

Clark is very much suited to number six and personaly he would be my choice if Lhemann is unfit but I cant see him being selected just yet.

Bracken has yet to prove himself at FC cricket but now that he has re-modeld his action and is now getting swing form the hand I would expect that to change.

Kaspa and Clark for me but I think it will probably be Katich & Williams.

 

[Mr. P]

Could someone update this so that Lehmann is not involved in the poll?

Pity he was ruled out of the series, real shame.

 

[Gaijin-san]

It's not a shame, it's an opportunity!

 

[Craig]

Well even if Kaspa, Williams, Bracken or whoever plays, still gives Australia weakish bowling line-up.

Somehow Bichel doesnt inspire much confidence in me. He has a big heart, but I wouldnt say he is anything special.

And since I do live in Queensland, you cant call me biased.