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If I were a selector: Hughes in, Warner out for Zimbabwe

31st July, 2014
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Phil Hughes. (AAP Image/Dan Peled)
Roar Guru
31st July, 2014
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1096 Reads

Australia start their preparation for the World Cup by visiting Zimbabwe at the end of August.

While there will be more important games in the Australian summer against South Africa, England and India in our conditions, the Zimbabwe tour gives the selectors an opportunity to bed down a 15-man squad.

This is the number you take into a world cup tournament. The tour will be important in getting the team together and working towards world cup glory.

Here are my selections for Zimbabwe, bearing in mind the players missing due to unavailability and injury.

First and foremost you need a balanced squad. I believe this consists of eight batsman and seven bowlers. The batsmen need to include a specialist keeper and someone to act as a reserve keeper in the event of injury.

As for the bowlers, it is best to have two bowling allrounders in the seven, with at least two slow bowlers. A bowling all rounder is one who could play as a specialist bowler as well as make big runs.

My selection: Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Michael Clarke, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey, Mitch Johnson, James Faulkner, Mitch Starc, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty, Aaron Finch, Phil Hughes, Nathan Lyon, Ben Cutting.

I believe you need five specialist bowlers in your eleven to win a world cup. Johnson is the bowling all rounder with Cutting his back up. Hughes gets a spot in the squad on the back of his 200 during the week for Australia A and also to act as a back up keeper.

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I hope the selectors give Nathan Lyon a go. He is the best slow bowler in Australia and should not be left as a Test specialist. He started his first class career in T20 with South Australia and would compete with Doherty for the spin position.

Players will come in as they become available, such as Dave Warner but initially a place in the squad is for these players to lose. Poor performances through to February will open the door to replacements.

So it’s over to these players to perform and to set themselves up for a tilt at World Cup success. The pressure on the home team to win in front of the home crowds will make this task even more difficult.

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