I wonder if Ryan Harris will play in this Test match? If the talk about his knee being ready is all about ‘seeing how he pulls up in the morning’, then in this heat, and on a hard, pacy, bouncy wicket, he might be a risk.
I wouldn’t play Doug Bollinger, but then I haven’t seen his fitness regime.
Bollinger is bowling great in the Sheffield Shield, but I have never been a fan of unfit players, and Doug qualifies too often.
He doesn’t run well in the field, cannot bat, is not a good catcher of the ball and you need your best athletes in Perth.
Belly laughs aside, Doug needs to be a tough cricketer and I don’t think he has the motor.
Nathan Coulter-Nile would be a far better bet for Perth.
Australia would still need to play Nathan Lyon. Then we would have Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Coulter-Nile to do most of the grunt work, Watson to fill in, and Steve Smith to accompany Lyon.
Coulter-Nile can be a rabbit in the headlights at times. It is as if he isn’t aware of his potential venom. He could rival Johnson for bounce and nastiness – if he was set loose.
One point. He runs too far for 38-45 degree heat. His run up is 15m, he only needs 10-12.
The non-selection of Harris would not worry me at all. There is a determination ‘we will play the best available team’, according to the Bible of Boof.
James Faulkner has my sympathy. This kid does all that is ever asked of him, and then some more.
He is a giver, not a taker, and now he has a broken thumb. His heart must feel the same way.
The Poms seem intent on going with the veterans and Ben Stokes. Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan, Jimmy Anderson and Ben.
I would like to have seen Boyd Rankin and or Chris Tremlett, but big guys on hot days can feel like they are running in sand.
It is strange to say it, but prior to this series you would have bet tall bowlers like Broad, Rankin and Tremlett would have been tough to handle.
Broad has done the business. But Tremlett flopped at the Gabba, and Rankin seems to be destined for use if the rubber is dead after Perth.
The fine edges of Test match cricket call for minimal change to a line-up for continuity.
It makes the introduction of new blood that much harder to digest.
Four pace bowlers who prescribe to the theory that rest and a strong back are the only remedies.
Jackson Bird, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins are apparently ready to start back in first class cricket.
Where will they fit in? How will they fit in to this line-up?
I doubt they will unless they are 150% fit and they take bags of wickets.
And so Coulter-Nile and Bollinger are simply fill-ins and might be made to feel that way by team members, if not Cricket Australia officials.
The feeling of belonging is integral to the camp. I believe Bollinger was in Adelaide for the Test. I am not sure of Coulter-Nile.
That sort of gesture goes a long way to making a player relax and feel he is needed.
The talk of non-rotation and picking the best available team is trite. If someone is hurt, sore or too good to risk, then they should be left out.
And to that end, if Watson or Harris are unfit, then rotating players through the line-up will become necessary.
That means if Bollinger or Coulter-Nile – or both – play today, they must be made to feel like they can run through a brick wall for Australia.
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