The rotation policy being used by Cricket Australia has many doubters. Australian cricket fans look at the teams of other nations, who remain stable and have no need to rotate their players through fear of injury.
Cricket Australia has identified the rotation policy as being the most effective way of reducing injuries, particularly to fast bowlers.
The way the rotation policy must be used in the correct manner to provide positive and successful outcomes. How is a fringe player supposed to perform to their best if they know they are only a fill-in, a stop-gap until the preferred player comes back into the team?
How is a best XI player going to feel when his replacement bags a five for?
The Australian team needs to be picked dependent only on form, playing conditions and opposition.
Players, especially new players, need to be given time to find their feet on the daunting stage of Test cricket. There is no point throwing them in the deep end for one game then stamping their cards due to one bad performance.
The selectors need to give them a guaranteed two matches to allow them some breathing space.
With the Ashes fast approaching, we need to find our best six batsmen who will be able to withstand the swing of the duke ball and the spin of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar.
The selectors have identified Matt Wade as the incumbent keeper to Brad Haddin, so they now must stick with him.
As for the fast bowlers, Australia has Mitch Starc, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Jackson Bird and Mitchell Johnson.
While will most likely all be used during the Ashes in England, the worrying factor is none of those bowlers are great swing technicians and may have trouble taking 20 wickets against a settled England line-up.
Due to the different conditions the Australians will face in India, the selectors should take a different approach to selecting the side for the Indian series.
Continue rotating the bowlers as they have been.
Perhaps leave Pattinson at home to continue his recovery from a side-strain and practice bowling with the duke ball.
Play Starc and Siddle in the first two Tests then let Bird and Johnson play in the final two Tests, allowing adequate rest at home as well as time to their perfect bowling.
Decide and stick with your best five or six batsmen for the Ashes and let them become settled and confident in India. Play Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell and maybe even Steve O’Keefe to in all four Tests as auditions for the spinning spot in England.
If the Australian selectors can get the rotation policy right and show how it can unearth new talent, the policy will be branded a success. However, at the moment, players aren’t feeling secure in the team due to the unsettled line-up.
John Berry Hobbs
Guest
I think the rotation policy has merit. But why stop at cricket? I think all media should implement a similar policy. It's got to be tough on one's constitution to churn out the same drivel day after day, week after week, year after year. I don't know how they do it!
Nick Jungfer
Roar Guru
Aaah if only a sensible amount of games were scheduled each year and countries could play their best 11 every game. But no, that's far too obvious and sensible.
Concerned cricket person
Guest
Funny that the critics of Shane Warne's anti rotation rant, also just happen to have never played at the highest level and possibly never played even suburban cricket. They just stick the boot in because they don't like him. The old tall poppy syndrome. Just ignore that the man played cricket all his life and a large chunk of it leading Australia's bowling sweeping the world in his path. He knows the game inside out and he knows the public wants to see the best play. My advice to Cricket Australia if they want to keep this up is to substantially drop ticket prices. Upcoming MCG one dayer v. West Indies, General Admission tickets are $35, and they are pretty average seats at best. Then you go to about $100 plus for the really good seats. To see the same standard players, Shield level, it is $5 (five dollars) to go the following weekend. ODI should be about $5 up to $20 for the best tickets. Afterall it is free on tv and they are the best seats in the house.
Jason
Guest
The rotation policy is like the Carbon Tax of cricket. Just like the Carbon Tax results in the current generation bring poorer on the off chance that it might benefit later generations, the rotation policy means that current watches of cricket are deprived of watching the best players on the off chance that their rest means that those players might be available for future matches. Both are based on educated but uncertain science. If the 14 September is a referendum on the Carbon Tax, perhaps the next Ashes Tour should be like a referendum on Informed Player Management. If we lose, the Howard, Invers et al are out and it is never spoken of again.
Bob
Guest
My problem is not the resting of players (they do play a lot of cricket) but the total inability of selectors to recognise how different the 3 forms of the game are from each other. Picking the test team on the basis of ODI and big bash form WTF- you should never do that, How can anybody compare bowling afew tight overs in an ODI with bowling in the Ashes. Time to get 3 seperate teams- the test guys will not improve their test cricket getting the head to the side of the ball and playing ramp shots. Haev a look a how Watson has gone since taking up all 3 forms, the same will happen to Starc and Warner if theya re forced to play all 3 forms. Maybe they have to decide. I see NZ is basically giving up on test cricket, I'm guessing their T20 and ODI form will improve dramatically.
TheGenuineTailender
Roar Guru
Shane Watson is an exceptional part timer. If Xavier Doherty gets a game in India, your rule of worst players to play three matches for Australia will qualify him as by far the worst three match, Australian test cricketer ever. Nathan Lyon is actually a very good bowler and if Matthew Wade could hold a catch or six, Lyon's summer would have looked very good. Lyon is actually the tightest bowler in our attack and thus I don't understand where you get the idea he eleviates pressure.
TheGenuineTailender
Roar Guru
How isn't it working? We've only actually rested a couple of players all summer. Those guys are still sit and firing, except Warner who now has a broken thumb, but that's a different kettle of fish. Who has been rested and then got a soft tissue or repetitive strain injury? No one. Thus rotation is actually working. You're citing example of poor communication of injuries or niggles which have resulted in players not playing as times when players have been rotated, which just isn't the case. Our players are being managed very well and I think the team staff deserve some credit for the hours of work they put into the well being of Australia's elite cricketers.
TheGenuineTailender
Roar Guru
Hopefully he's abruptly rotated out of the squad.
mick the clown
Guest
I want to see Lyon rotated. - He is the most woeful bowler I have seen play more than 3 games for Australia, He has a bowling average worse than part timer S watson, cannot clean up a tail, and eleviates all pressure that the other bowlers may apply. we would be better playing 5x pace bowlers + Mitch Johnson, than give up 100 runs every innings with this joker as our main spinner in India.
John Hunt
Guest
Well it's not working at the moment so I am ye of little faith
Tanami Mehment
Guest
Steve Smith named in the test squad for India. If only I could get a selector down to my One Day Division Z match this weekend I could show them why I deserve a game.