Aussie test squad announced
The Australian squad for the first test against Sri Lanka next week has been announced. Frankly it has been a bit of an anti-climax. The selectors have opted to buy themselves some time to make the tough decisions picking 13 players. Phil Jacques has been picked to replace Justin Langer at the top of the order. Jacques is in excellent early season form and was the only realistic option left after Chris Roger's injury and Brad Hodges dip in form. The other contentious positions of third seamer (McGrath's replacement) and spinner (Warne's replacement) are still not clear. Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait have both been selected and will vie for the vacant seamer birth as will Stuart MacGill and Brad Hogg for the spinner position.
I think Johnson should get the seamer position as his one day form has been good and the fact that Tait is just returning from injury. I think the selectors will probably stick with MacGill, though I would go for Hogg. MacGill didn't have a great season for NSW last summer and he is also returning from injury. Hogg on the other hand has been in excellent form in ODI's for quite a while now. He also took seven cheap wickets for WA last week in Shield game (it will always be the Shield for me, not the Pura Cup). Hogg will also provide more with the bat and in the field. The other factor in Hogg's favor is that he is known as a good team man, and a solid character to have in the dressing room. MacGill on the other hand has had several run-ins with administrators, umpires, opponents and team mates throughout his career and may be seen as a disruptive influence.
The 13 man squad will be trimmed to 12 on Wednesday so we are unlikely to know any more until then. The squad is: Matthew Hayden, Phil Jaques, Ricky Ponting (capt), Mike Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark, Shaun Tait, Brad Hogg, Stuart MacGill.
3 comments:
When Warne retired, no one seemed to be talking about Hogg as a potential replacement - I couldn't understand why not. He seems like the logical player to go for to me, and as you say Magill seems like one of those nightmare players that captains have to molly-coddle to get the most out of them.
Hogg hasn't been seen as a four or five day player for a little while now. He was actually dropped a year or two ago by WA in four day cricket. This is a little difficult to understand as he has one of the best googlies in the game and this is surely a wicket taking delivery. It is only now with his ODI form so good that he is being looked at again.
Ed - some might say Graeme Hick was the same.
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