Test XI Selection Thread

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I am guessing Starc will come in for Pattinson and Watson in for Quiney. It will be interesting to see who the selectors go with though.
 
Don't really see Hastings as a Test player but his Shield form this season has been impressive, guess he'll only be cover anyway.
 
Good to see the selectors are giving Ponting some support. A big score from him is not far away, he played some nice shots in his innings of 16.
 
They should play four quicks. The last two tests they've played in Perth they have played four seamers and flogged England and India by considerable margins both times. I'd back Siddle to be fit to play with Hilfenhaus, Starc and Johnson the other seam bowlers. Watson to bowl as a fifth seamer if required.
 
Yeah I think they will go with the 4, hopefully they also win the toss and Siddle can get the extra day or so rest, 3 days is a short turn around. A lot of people are angry about Johnson but I think if they actually want to win the series it's a good move, with that team and Watson there is enough cover that he's well worth the risk as a selection.
 
Yeah I would go with 4 quicks. We would be more attacking and give ourselves a better chance of taking 20 wickets. Mitchell Johnson will be worth the risk if he can bowl well. He rip a team apart with his fast bowling and he is not afraid to hit them in the head as well. Watson will be a handy inclusion if he can bowl, he has the ability to take important wickets.
 
So we're in our second innings at the Perth test. Fair to say that Hastings was pretty rubbish with the ball, one wicket for 170 runs is a poor return and his general deliveries of high 120's (km/hr) with the ball were unthreatening to say the least. I can quite confortably say he'll be out for Siddle in the next test when Sri Lanka get here. Mitch Johnson impressed me in his comeback, he is in our top two bowlers for the game and he'd have to be in the mix for the Hobart test against the Lankans. The question is whether Hilfenhaus comes back, Hobart is his home town and if he gets his swing going he'll be pretty deadly with the ball. Starc and Johnson have bowled well though and with Pattinson not returning for the remaining tests you'd have to say they are in with a shot of playing against Sri Lanka.

As for the batting, Ponting retires after this game so that leaves one spot free. Hughes and Khawaja would be the front-runners but there's been whispers of Alex Doolan from Tasmania coming into the team after averaging almost 60 with the bat in the Shield this season.

Going to be an interesting build up after the Perth test is finished to say the least.
 
Ljp86 said:
As for the batting, Ponting retires after this game so that leaves one spot free. Hughes and Khawaja would be the front-runners but there's been whispers of Alex Doolan from Tasmania coming into the team after averaging almost 60 with the bat in the Shield this season.
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I hope those 2 have really improved, Hughes has suspect technique and Khawaja gets bogged down against good length bowling which he is sure to face at Test level.
 
Hughes will take Ricky Ponting's spot in the batting order. I would of had Khawaja ahead of Hughes because Khawaja has made scores of 30 before playing for Australia which shows he has made a good start but hasn't been able to turn it into a big score. Hughes on the other hand played for Australia before and got out cheaply in each of his innings. In the Australian A team he failed to post a decent score in his two innings. Khawaja is similar to Ed Cowan early in his career, in making good starts but not capitalising on them. Cowan came back this year and made his big score of 136. I think if Khawaja was picked he would of done the same thing and showed us he was the real deal. Khawaja also made a solid 56 against Sri Lanka in the Prime Minister's XI. Showing us that he can play against the Sir Lankan bowlers, which is very important if you are going to play a series against them. Khawaja is more experienced at batting at number 3. It could take time for Hughes to adjust to batting at number 3, which could cost Australia.
 
Zack said:
Hughes will take Ricky Ponting's spot in the batting order. I would of had Khawaja ahead of Hughes because Khawaja has made scores of 30 before playing for Australia which shows he has made a good start but hasn't been able to turn it into a big score. Hughes on the other hand played for Australia before and got out cheaply in each of his innings. In the Australian A team he failed to post a decent score in his two innings. Khawaja is similar to Ed Cowan early in his career, in making good starts but not capitalising on them. Cowan came back this year and made his big score of 136. I think if Khawaja was picked he would of done the same thing and showed us he was the real deal. Khawaja also made a solid 56 against Sri Lanka in the Prime Minister's XI. Showing us that he can play against the Sir Lankan bowlers, which is very important if you are going to play a series against them. Khawaja is more experienced at batting at number 3. It could take time for Hughes to adjust to batting at number 3, which could cost Australia.
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I was backing Khawaja over Hughes as well but Hughes performed rather well against SL just recently so that will give him an edge for a little while anyway.
 
So it looks like Clarke will be out for Boxing Day, who will they replace him with? Better not be Quiney.. They may look at giving Usman another go or Doolan who is making runs and also made a big score in a tour match.

The other thing is who will Captain? There isn't really an obvious choice, will be interesting to see which way they go.
 
Kram81 said:
So it looks like Clarke will be out for Boxing Day, who will they replace him with? Better not be Quiney.. They may look at giving Usman another go or Doolan who is making runs and also made a big score in a tour match.

The other thing is who will Captain? There isn't really an obvious choice, will be interesting to see which way they go.
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I'd give Usman a go definitely.

Mike Hussy or Shane Watson would be my picks for captaincy. Just before anyone brings up the 2007 Chapple Hadlee series in which NZ whitewashed Australia when Hussy was captain, I'll say that it was a well under strength Australian side and Hussy's captaincy was not what made Australia lose. I'd choose Hussy over Watson as he seems like a thinker and I know he has great knowledge of the game as his nickname would suggest.
 
It would be crazy to select Watson as captain. He has missed so much cricket because of injury and his form is patchy at best. Siddle could be charged with ball tampering which may result in a suspension. If that happens then our bowling stocks look very thin. There is a lot of agitating to get Haddin back in the team.
Not sure why as Wade is a much better bat, a better keeper and now can roll his arm when needed. Having watched how the Poms came back from one down against India to win the series really impressed me. I can't see Australia getting close to them next year. Anderson and Finn bowled magnificently and got important wickets when they were needed whilst Monty and Swann were very good. Poms batting line up is looking very settled and dangerous. A young man with an unfortunate surname 'Root' showed immense courage in his first Test to bat nearly 2 days to make 73 and helped England win the final Test. It is going to be a long winter of watching the Aussies getting flogged in India and the UK. We are going to need 15 bowlers on stanby to cover the next two tours.
 
So Jackson Bird in and Khawaja cover for Clarke, pretty expected selections, Bird has been in great form.

If Clarke doesn't play 6 of the top 7 batsmen will be lefties!
 
I think the selectors have got it right this time. Khawaja was unlucky not to get picked in the Australian team ahead of Hughes. It make sense to have him as backup for Clarke, as he is next in line. The selectors have rewarded Khawaja for his big scores with the bat in the Sheffield Shield. Some of the selectors thought Khawaja needed to improve his fielding, according to Clarke in his press conference Khawaja is now fielding really well.

Jackson Bird has been one of the most consistent bowlers in the Sheffield Shield, for 2 years. It is good that he has finally been rewarded for his hard work, by being added into the Australian squad. I saw Bird bowl when Tasmania played against Western Australia, in Burnie. I was very impressed with his line and length and his wicket taking ability. Bird also plays well on the MCG pitch.

I would still have Mitchell Johnson playing in the Boxing Day Test ahead of Bird. Johnson is more experienced and has the ability to really rattle batsman with his fast bowling. He is a bowler that I think will make a big impact against the Sir Lankan batsman. Bird will still gain experience from being around the Australian team and it will help him get to know the players better. I think Bird would be a suitable 12th man for the Boxing Day Test match.
 
futureblackcap said:
I'd give Usman a go definitely.

Mike Hussy or Shane Watson would be my picks for captaincy. Just before anyone brings up the 2007 Chapple Hadlee series in which NZ whitewashed Australia when Hussy was captain, I'll say that it was a well under strength Australian side and Hussy's captaincy was not what made Australia lose. I'd choose Hussy over Watson as he seems like a thinker and I know he has great knowledge of the game as his nickname would suggest.
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Watson is vice-captain and will get the job if Clarke is not fit. Hussey's days of captaining are finished not because of his previous efforts but because he is 37 and is getting towards the end of his career.

CLOCKER said:
It would be crazy to select Watson as captain. He has missed so much cricket because of injury and his form is patchy at best. Siddle could be charged with ball tampering which may result in a suspension. If that happens then our bowling stocks look very thin. There is a lot of agitating to get Haddin back in the team.
Not sure why as Wade is a much better bat, a better keeper and now can roll his arm when needed. Having watched how the Poms came back from one down against India to win the series really impressed me. I can't see Australia getting close to them next year. Anderson and Finn bowled magnificently and got important wickets when they were needed whilst Monty and Swann were very good. Poms batting line up is looking very settled and dangerous. A young man with an unfortunate surname 'Root' showed immense courage in his first Test to bat nearly 2 days to make 73 and helped England win the final Test. It is going to be a long winter of watching the Aussies getting flogged in India and the UK. We are going to need 15 bowlers on stanby to cover the next two tours.
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No way that Wade is a better keeper than Haddin. Wade's glovework so far this summer has been fairly ordinary.
 
Jackson Bird and Mitchell Johnson will both play in the Boxing Day Test match.

Resting Mitchell Starc is pointless to me. Mitchell is fit and could of played in the Boxing Day Test match. You can't let previous injuries scare you away from picking the best players available. Cricket Australia need to look out new ways of managing their younger players better, to prevent injuries.

It will be a exciting time for Bird in the lead up to his debut. Hopefully he bowls well and can take a few wickets. Johnson is a good inclusion and should make the best of this opportunity.

It is looking like Clarke will play in the Boxing Day Test match but it is still touch and go.

The fact we have so many players coming in and out is a worrying sign. At least we can see how much depth we have.
 
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