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When people talk about the Australian cricket team, there is one question always asked: Do the selectors favour NSW players?
Since the greatest series of all time in 2005, the answer is yes, however not by as much as you would expect.
The Blue Baggers have since then had the most players wear the baggy green, with 12:
Phil Jaques
Stuart Clark
Brad Haddin
Beau Casson
Doug Bollinger
Phil Hughes
Steven Smith
Usman Khawaja
Trent Copeland
Pat Cummins
Mitchell Starc
Moses Henriques
You could make a claim that Starc, Henriques and Smith did not deserve a baggy green when they got their’s but all three of those players made a case that they did.
Victorians in paticular hate the fact that these Blue Baggers are named over their golden boys, with Bradley Hodge in paticular getting fired up numerous times.
It led one of the more flamboyant cricketers in David Hookes to make this comment, “when they give out the baggy blue cap in New South Wales, they give you a baggy green one in a brown paper bag as well to save making two presentations.”
These golden boys of Victoria have had the chances to wear the baggy green:
Brad Hodge
Cameron White
Peter Siddle
Andrew McDonald
Bryce McGain
James Pattinson
Matthew Wade
Rob Quiney
John Hastings
Glenn Maxwell
That’s 10 players, only two behind NSW.
The proud state of South Australia have no local born talent representing them for the next tour of South Africa.
Phil Hughes was recently called up, but we have him as a born and bred Blue Bagger.
While the South Australians will proudly call him their own when he gets a big 100 this tour (I’m calling it), he is just one of a number of players who are playing for a state they were not born in.
Ryan Harris was in fact born in New South Wales, but started on his way as a bowling all rounder for South Australia.
He now plays for the mighty Queensland Bulls.
Jackson Bird was New South Wales through and through, with blue everywhere in his heart, however he worked his way into a baggy green with the Stars and Tasmania.
Mitch Johnson is a tough Bulls man himself and first got his selection there, but now finds calls home a place where he makes even the best batsman scared of the wild bounce of WA.
Chris Rogers is a recently claimed Victorian and as a Victorian I won’t even admit where he came from.
The most intresting case is Shane Watson.
Shane made his way through the ranks of Tasmanian cricket before moving back to his home of Queensland.
Now he ripped his soul away again from the Queensland boys to play for New South Wales.
He still gets the odd game for the Brisbane Heat but even then a lot have turned on him.
Lots of people will tell you Watson gets picked on the basis he was a good boy and moved to NSW, while naughty boys Hughes and Khawaja moved away.
It’s all a conspiracy folks, I for one believe the Blue Baggers scheme has greatly diminished from what it once was.
This is the results of all states:
New South Wales – 12
Victoria – 10
Tasmania – eight
WA – six
SA – four
Queensland – two
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