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The only word for it is ‘pragmatic’. The announcement of the 16-strong Australian touring party for the upcoming Ashes series created the anticipated level of interest in this country yesterday.
There was never likely to be a massive fanfare, why would there be, but neither was it going to slide under the radar.
The travails of Michael Clarke’s men in India, where they barely competed let alone challenged, saw to it that perhaps there was a touch more focus on which names would be served up but it was probably about right given the profile of the encounters with the old enemy.
And as much as some in this country like to poke fun at a traditional foe, when it came down to it, there wasn’t much to laugh at.
The antipodean selectors have made their fair share of howlers over the past few months – Rob Quiney, Glenn Maxwell, Xavier Doherty anybody? – but in this instance they have done all that they could.
Chris Rogers was the only name that may have caused an eyebrow to be upturned but his inclusion isn’t as daft as some might think.
Faced with a pool of players that included some decent fast bowlers, limited spinning options, a reluctant all-rounder and the bare minimum number of batsmen worthy of an international tag, John Inverarity et al plumped for exactly that.
The batting might well be thin on real quality, the captain excepted, Nathan Lyon is the only spinner worth considering, Shane Watson is their best all-rounder when he feels that he would actually quite like to bowl and the seamers may be spending as much time filling out medical insurance claim forms as they do on the field, but the 16 players named are, by and large, the best 16 available.
Hence the pragmatic tag.
There isn’t much that could be considered ambitious just as there isn’t a great deal that would be fairly termed ultra-conservative.
Rogers, at 35, is fairly long in the tooth, but he does have an enviable first-class record, especially in this country, had a good recent domestic campaign and isn’t past his best just yet. And if there isn’t the talent coming through then why not opt for a bit of experience.
If anything, Rogers’ inclusion highlights the dilemma facing Australian cricket.
There is a significant void in their batting ranks that won’t be filled overnight.
Their best players, again Clarke excepted, are relatively old, two of whom in the shape of Mike Hussey and Ricky Ponting have just called it a day, those in the middle are, in the main, not quite consistently up to the task and if there are any youngsters excelling in the domestic arena then I’d like to see them.
But be that as it may, they are who they are and a word of caution should be sounded.
Those who opt for the ludicrously patriotic four or five-nil predictions would do well to wind their necks in a bit.
Conditions in this country will be far more to the tourists’ liking than the arid dustbowls in India and, or are we forgetting, New Zealand were hardly given a lesson.
So while the Aussies aren’t the awe-inspiring group they once were, don’t think of them, superstars or not, as cannon-fodder, because they certainly won’t be that.