So that’s another Test in the series out of the way and a commanding victory to our English rivals. It was clear throughout this Test that the Australian team was outplayed in all facets of the game and the victory went to the most deserving side.
Now attention moves to the upcoming Test, and in particular, which players will be in the Australian squad.
Although many ideas are being floated about the makeup of this team, including some extremely left-field suggestions on The Roar forums, I think we will likely see four changes to the team.
Firstly, with Katich being ruled out through injury, a new opener is required.
Phil Hughes is most likely the man to get the nod, as he has some experience (not all good) in this role at international level and has proven in the past that he can cut the mustard at international level. The English fast bowlers tore through Hughes in the last Ashes series in the UK and will probably feel confident of doing the same again,
But I don’t think they will have the same luck this time around.
Another suggestion doing The Roar rounds is for Khawaja to come in as opener.
Although this is a possibility, I think it won’t be the right option for the selectors to take. I would prefer to see Khawaja come in further down the order where there will hopefully be less pressure on him so he can work his way onto the international stage.
For this reason, I would have him replace North, who has not been able to step up in this series, and whose place in the team is surely gone. North’s final opportunity was in the Adelaide second innings where the Australian team needed him to perform more than ever, and once again, he did not front up with the goods.
The Doherty experiment has not worked and should now be looked upon as a failure.
The question is who to replace Doherty with.
The selection seems to be between Hauritz and Smith. Hauritz has a better average, taking 63 test wickets at 35, than Smith who has taken 33 wickets at 50. Based solely on those figures you would have to go with Hauritz, but Smith might get the nod due to his lower order batting abilities.
At present, none of the Australian bowlers have shown that they know what to do with the bat and the Australian team desperately needs a tail end that knows how to wag now and again.
Bollinger was knocked all over the park and seems to have forgotten exactly what line and length is. As such, he will probably lose his place to Hilfenhaus, who should be more competent bowling at a length.
Johnson could make it back into the team, but I doubt this will happen for the next test. It’s a shame the selectors decided it would a good idea to make Johnson sit on the side lines in Adelaide rather than go and get some specialist coaching as he might have managed to find some form in time for the next test.
For this reason, I back Hilfenhaus to replace Bollinger.
So my test line up would be as follows
1. Watson
2. Hughes
3. Ponting
4. Clarke
5. Hussey
6. Khawaja
7. Haddin
8. Smith or Hauritz
9. Harris
10. Siddle
11. Hilfenhaus
Timmuh
Roar Guru
I've been on the Klinger bandwagon, and would have taken him to India, but he hasn't started this season too well. He was dominant for two years, but seems out of form now, just when a spot is up. Bad luck on the timing, but that's how it goes sometimes.
Long On
Guest
I don’t understand the obsession people seem to have in trying to get Hughes back into the team. He has a fundamental flaw in his technique, he should be forgotten about for a couple of years while he fixes it. He should then have to again prove himself like Simon Katich did. I think a guy like Klinger from South Australia is worth a try. He has had some good performances over the last few years and as an experienced first class player would be more likely to hit the ground running . For the same reason I would pick David Hussey ahead of Khawaja or Fergusson to replace North. Both of the younger players have been inconsistent lately and Hussey has been a tremendous scorer in recent seasons. For the spinning position I would go for Hauritz or Krezia, probably Krezia given he is the more attacking and we have to be aggressive. Stephen Smith appears to be in danger of going down the same path as Craig White. They start out as promising leg spinner but become batsmen when their bowling fails. Smith has a long way to go to become a threat at test level. We also need to replace Bollinger, seriously Doug the Mug. He spits the dummy when not picked in Brisbane and then turns up in Adelaide unfit. I’d go for Hilfenhaus, he might be OK in Perth, we could try someone like Cameron but too many new faces would make us appear like the English. So I agree four changes We have three test matches left to win the Ashes back, a tall order given the form of the two teams, but we should try. We have to be more aggressive with the ball and more reliable with the bat and starting taking catches.
Seiran
Roar Guru
I think you're right about Ponting ouzo, but as I pointed out in a comment above, I don't think it will happen in a series. I think Ponting was open to becoming a player only after the last ashes debacle but the selectors didn't take the innitiative, probably because their isn't anyone else to step up just yet. For a similar reason, I don't think you'll see him move down in the order. He may have lost some of his power but I'm pretty sure he still wields some power in the team through his old boys club, which is why the selectors aren't going to rock the boat by pushing him lower in the order. As I also pointed out above, I think this series will be his swan song.
Seiran
Roar Guru
G'day Blackie, very good point in regards to McDonald. I'm not so sure about dropping Siddle for Johnson though until Johnson proves he's back in form. Siddle hasn't done much wrong this series and I think it would be harsh to show him the door. I notice you've also moved Hussey up the order. Do you realistically think the selectors will have the guts to to this? I don't think there will be any movement of players in the order until after the series when I'm expecting some pretty big wholesale changes. I also think Ponting will be announcing his end-of-series retirement on the back of the fourth test.
Seiran
Roar Guru
Hi James The quote about cutting the mustard was first coined back in 1904, so it's definately not my quote. As for Hughes proving himself at international level, I think you've kind of pointed that out yourself where you've highlighted his very good performances against SA and NZ. I'm not saying he is the best we've got, and I also stated that his performances at international level were 'not all good', but because he has played at the highest level I think the selectors will lean toward him as opener. You could be right about Hughes making less runs that Katich. This is probably the reason Katich was the first pick opener, but the selectors don't have the pleasure of picking him so they will need to make the hard decision. Do they go for someone with some experience against a team that is bowling the Aussies off the park or do they throw a rookie into the mix and hope for the best. My thoughts on this are clear, I want to see Khawaja do well at the international level and I think the best way to do this is to ease him through the lower order. Smith can't do much worse than North can he?
ouzocokenoice
Guest
I like your team. Smith at 8 make sense. We dont have a decent spinner so why not go for the promising part timer who can bat and field. I'm not in the knock Ponting club but I wonder if its time to relieve him of the stress of captaincy and/or move him down the order to salvage a great career. He may be in decline as a batsman but still has plenty of runs in him. I think the twin pressures of captain and batting at 3 are not helping.
jameswm
Guest
Seiran - where does this quote of yours about Hughes come from? "...has proven in the past that he can cut the mustard at international level". When exactly did he do that? Was it shen he played in the last Ashes series? He was all at sea in his first test innings, then counter-attacked aggressively against the SA quicks for 3 innings, and scored a better than run-a-ball 86 against NZ under no pressure at all in his last test innings, chasing 100 in the 4th innings to win a test. That was 21 months ago. In between, Hughes struggled big time in tests, with 8 innings for 180 and a highest score of 37. Hughes has shown that sometimes he gets going and is good to watch, but the man you want in a crisis? Additionally, there is a very important point - this next test is at Perth, and if there is one thing above the several others Hughes struggles with, it's short-pitched bowling at his body. Hughes has scored bugger all runs this Shield season too. So he has form and technique counting against him. Many, like you, would pick him though. I just don't get the push to bring him in. Khawaja is not a lower order batsman - he is a no.3, and no.3s can open and often virtually do. I reckon with your team - you'll get less runs from Hughes and Smith that you've been getting from Kat and North, so those two changes will make our batting weaker.
Blackie
Guest
Australia at present do not have the fire power to blast England out so the attack needs to be accurate and build pressure on the batsmen. We also need some into the wind outswing bowlers to do the job at the WACA. McDonald should come in as it gives the side this option, he bowls stump to stump and he can get runs.Whilst it is necessary to win it would be far worse to have lost all chance before Boxing Day! My side would be:- 1. Hughes 2. Watson 3. Ponting 4. Hussey 5. Clarke 6. McDonald 7. Haddin 8. Smith 9.Johnston 10.Harris 11.Hilfenhaus
Seiran
Roar Guru
Hi TD I was thinking about a similar thing whilst writing this article. I was thinking that perhaps instead of giving Khawaja a knock, it might be a good idea to put in another fast bowler who was good with the bat. I think being good with the bat would be a priority in this case. Johnson could fit this role, but he needs to get his bowling form back in a hurry to make the team. Because I think Johnson won't be back to form, I'm putting my money on the selectors going for the three quicks with Watson picking up the slack. I think Smith will get the nod due to his stonger batting than Hauritz and with spin expected to make less of an impact on the test than it was at Adelaide.
tommy_doleman
Roar Pro
While runs are clearly a problem in the team, admittedly to win a test match you MUST take 20 wickets regardless of who you are playing. Imperative now given Australia have to win 2 of 3 test matches to win the series. On a Perth wicket I'd flirt with playing an extra frontline bowler: Out: Katich, North, Dohery In: Hughes, Smith, (pace bowler) While Hilfenhaus could come back into the side given I thought he was a bit harsh to be cut for Adelaide, I think Peter George could be an outsider on a bouncier Perth pitch. Bollinger looks unfit though and should be replaced too. Tremlett is also a big bloke - again with the bounce, it wouldn't surprise me if he was to replace Broad. As for Khawaja, possibly too early to throw him in here but i agree him and Ferguson need to come into the test team post-ashes as part of the re-building phase. 1. Hughes 2. Watson 3. Ponting 4. Clarke 5. Hussey 6. Smith 7. Haddin 8. Harris 9. Siddle 10. Hilfenhaus 11. George