Is there a place for Hilfenhaus and Harris in the Ashes squad?

they shud include HIlfenhaus, S.Marsh, D.Bollinger......Otherwise the situation will be just like that was in India....lol

Harris can't swing it? Have you ever seen him bowl?

Just on Harris I know he has been injured but before this summer he has played 4 out of the last 5 tests against wi and ind so he must still be in selectors minds. Also we have 14 tests coming up and in the last equivalent period we used starc, Siddle, Harris, hilfernhaus, Pattison, Hastings, bird, Johnson and hazelwood was 12 th man so we will need more then the 6 chosen over the next couple of series

Agreed. We need guys who can swing the ball in England. Johnson is a no-go for mine.

Hilfenhaus, yes, Harris, no.

Hilfenhaus is more of a risk than any of the injury prone players. a) he gets injured a fair bit himself and b) which Hilfy is going to show up ? The dangerous swing bowler or the low arm medium pace pie chucker. I know he was leading wicket taker for Australia in England last time round but he averaged close to 30 and got a lot of 4-120, 3-90 type figures, he never really ran through their line-up. I really rate Harris but how can you pick him ? It must be 9 months since he last played first class cricket. He's on the wrong side of 30, has knees with no cartlidge and breaks down regularly. It's unfortunate but I think his chance has passed. Put him down with Phil Jacques as being the victim of unfortunate timing with selection and career ending injuries. Pattinson, Bird, Siddle is my starting line-up. Starc and Johnson as rotation / rest / whatever they call it back up. Cummins has taken a test 6-fer so has to be in the running if fit. I like the look of Cutting if not.

Kev, It's only hearsay but I was told by somebody during the recent Sydney Test that Cummins has grown an inch since his Test debut. This may help explain some of his injury worries but it also serves as a warning about his involvement on the Ashes tour. Like you I'd suggest he should be left out to prove his fitness in domestic cricket for a bit more than five minutes before being seen as any sort of bowling saviour. He virtually has not played since his debut so surely he's no chance for England. Likewise Harris who simply does not have any track record for the last year except watching from the grandstand. If rotation is continued in England - and we must assume it will be otherwise why are we doing it now - then, presumably, at least six fast bowlers will be in the squad. Siddle, Bird, Pattinson and Starc, I think, will be four of them. Johnson may well go presuming he and Starc will be rotated - there can then always be a leftie if necessary - which leaves one more. Like you I'd take Cutting for the experience which means five of the six can also bat which I reckon might come in handy given our top six. Perish the thought that our bowlers get picked on their batting ability but these are uncertain times in cricketing terms and it just so happens that several of our up and coming quicks can handle a blade.

That's who I expect they will take. However I don't think you can go for 2 loose Mitchells. Remember Perth. And I'd take Harris even if he'll only be good for 2 tests.

Agreed, if Harris shows some fitness and Shield form. you take him - even if he'll only be good for 2 tests. At least we might take 20 wickets for those 2 tests. His knees are shot though, hope he can get back to shape.

Yep he'd be in my first XI with Siddle and Bird

If Harris shows any sort of form in the last matches in the Shield, he is second on the plane to England among the bolwers as far as I am concerned. Siddle being first. Probably looking at Siddle, Harris, Pattinson with Bird next in line. The selectors will take Johnson, but I wouldn't without an extremely good end to the SHield season. I'm not sold on Starc either, but at least he tries to pitch it up and around off stump rather than relying solely on pace and bounce like Johnson (England, unlike Sri Lanka, have some players capable of playing off the back foot, and no English pitch is as quick as an Australian one - maybe The Oval if compared to Bellerive or the SCG). Cutting would probably be before Starc in my opinion - but not the selectors. Hilfenhaus would need to tear up the remainder of the Shield season to make the trip. His best chance is if there is an Australia A tour of England again this year (as was rumoured somewhere, but would be a bit of a surprise to occur two years in a row) and he does well in that of if he is taken on the strict understanding that he has to take 15+ wickets in the tour matches to be considered (highly unlikely). Its too early to make any definitive calls, with half the Shield season and a tour of India to go. I still can't decide on a 14 for India, and there is basically no first class cricket before that squad needs o be announced (one round of shield games I think).

I have to agree with The Silent Progressor. My first three bowlers picked are Siddle, Bird and Pattinson, with Starc and Johnson my next two. I have been a big Johnson critic, and I am still nowhere near sold on his bowling but his batting could be crucial in England. For me, at the moment, the English and Australian first picked sides are relatively equal on the bowling front (except Swann and Lyon), however, they're batting is far more settled and as much as it pains me to say, simply better. Unless Starc performs above expectations with the bat in India, Johnson may get the nod in front of Starc for England if the selectors decide to go with a left-armer. With all of this in mind, I think Australia is far better placed to replace their bowling stocks if a couple go down, which over the duration of 10 Tests is highly likely. Hopefully, Jimmy Anderson can take a page from Pigeon's playbook and stand on a cricket ball before the start of play (preferably before Day One of the First Test).

I rate Pattinson our best bowler at the moment. Hard to argue he shouldn't be a first choice fast bowler.

My squad has 17 players. Warner, Watson, Hughes, Khawaja, Clarke, David Hussey and Doolan/Baily/Cowan as the spare batsman (dependant on shield form). Then Wade and Haddin as the keepers. Lyon and Beer as spinners. And Siddle, Pattinson, Bird (as preferred fast bowling attack) with Starc, Johnson and Hilfenhaus as reserves. There's still time for Harris to push a claim with some shield cricket, but age is well and truly against him. Hilfy has shown he can be dangerous in England and was Australia's leading test wicket-taker last year. Picking Cummins, Cutting or other players looks a recipe for disaster to me. Go with the proven guys in a big series like this. No need for senseless gambles.

I agree that a left-armer offers good variety, especially Starc who can consistently swing the ball back into the right handers unlike Johnson. But at this stage he is not in the top 3 fast bowlers. The attack should be Siddle, Pattinson, Bird, Starc (12th Man). I am a massive supporter of Starc and i really like what he brings to the team but he needs to improve his control and accuracy before he is considered before Bird or Pattinson. Just on Cummins quickly. I really like him I think he is probably the most naturally talented bowler Australia has at the moment to be doing what he has done at 18 - 19 is incredible. But until he can prove that he can play more than 1 FC match before breaking down he should not be considered for the test team. Harris I still believe is one of the best bowlers Australia has unfortunately he shouldn't be included because he is even more injury-prone than Watson. The 6 bowlers i would take would be 1 Siddle 2 Pattinson 3 Bird 4 Starc 5 Hilfenhaus 6 Johnson

I should have added Cutting to the list as well. He's down the pecking order but I think he would be a great selection and could easily slot into Siddle's first change role if needed

Let's assume we take 6 quicks. On that basis, you can afford a couple who are an injury risk. Have another couple playing County cricket. Siddle, Pattinson and Bird are automatics. Pattinson might get injured a bit, but he's our best bowler when fit. I'm not so sure about taking both Mitchells. You can't play both in the same team as tey leak too many runs. Starc now has a more lethal wicket-taking ball, but is looser than Johnson. Johnson's lost that blinder delivery a bit, but is much more consistent in the areas he bowls. It's a toss-up for me, but for one spot. If Harris has shown form and fitness and can play say 2 tests, I'd take him. I know many would disagree, but he's as good as Pattinson when fit, bowling fast, heavy outies. That would leave one spot. Sorry, Hilfy isn't good enough right now. Cummins, well, he's got to show some proper red ball form before you consider him. If he plays no Shield cricket this season, I don't see how you can pick him. Who else is there? Hazlewood, coming back from injury, Qld's Cutting, and Tassie's Faulkner, NCN, Putland, Bollinger, Copeland, McDermott, Hastings (how can someone who played a test not be mentioned?), Butterworth. For mine that's a toss-up between Cutting and Faulkner, both young, consistent fast bowlers, with the added bonus of being handy bats. Cutting showed good game sense last night. What they will take Pattinson Siddle Bird Starc Johnson Cummins What I would take Pattinson Siddle Bird Johnson/Starc Harris if some fitness shown Cutting/Faulkner

Agreed. If we're taking a squad of 6 fast bowlers (which seems the most likely option right now) then you could take one or two of those players. I'd take Pattinson before any of those bowlers. The other three can fight it out for the other spot, if it's even available

Assuming that everybody is fit for the Ashes you'd think that Siddle and Bird would be the first two chosen. Pattinson, Starc and Johnson are probably also going to the Ashes and are probably ranked in that order. That probably leaves one spot for a fast bowler. I could see them gambling on Hilfenhaus given his bowling should suit the conditions. If he bowls like he did against India (pushing 140km/h and swining it late) then he'll be a real handful but if he bowls like he did this summer and two years ago (struggling to his 130km/h and swining it too early) then he will be a wasted selection. Harris is probably a very slim chance now. He hasn't played since the WIndies and there won't be enough Shield matches to prove his fitness for India. He'll need to end the Shield season very, very strongly, and probably have one or two bowlers fall over, to get a spot. he's outstanding when fit but he's probably slipped well back now. The other contender for that 6th spot would probably be Cummins, though his body clearly isn't ready for a test series and I'd rather him spend some time in domestic cricket and hopefully county cricket to build his body up. Given his injury history we need to be very careful managing him. We don't want his career to falla part because we mismanaged him and CA's recent injury management record is woeful. He's a chance to be picked because the selectors love his potential. So right now I'd say Hilfenhaus is more likely followed by Cummins then Harris. Though perhaps someone like Faulkner, Hazelwood or Coulter-Nile could be a bolter if they have a great end to the domestic season.

I don't think we need a left-armer just for the sake of having one. Pattinson, Bird and Siddle are all different enough and are all probably better than Starc at test level, though Starc should be in the squad. That being said the recent news about Starc's ankle injury, and CA's plan to deal with it, is a worry