Who will win the Ashes from here?

With England up 1-0 after 2 Tests, can Australia fight back? Or is the momentum now against them? They fought back from 1-0 down in 1997 in England, but that was a vastly different team. Have a vote in our poll - we'll shut it down just before the 3rd Test to capture what people are thinking at this stage of the series.

The Children Are Our Future

Having gotten used to Australian dominance for the last decade or so, our recent slump in form has me kind of worried about the state of Australian cricket. The selectors, who are not the most popular of people here at HTB, have decided that it is time to blood some young talent in an effort I suppose of starting afresh and rebuilding the side and restoring our glory.

This was evidenced initially by the selection of Dave Warner into the shorter form games, with debatable success. 

I think the gutsiest call though has come with the selection of Phil Hughes as the replacement for Matthew Hayden on the South African tour. I think it's particularly gutsy because of the elevated importance of tests over one dayers and Twenty20 matches. Where a throwaway selection happens all the time in one dayers, and Twenty20's test match selection, particular a tour squad selection is a much more considered thing, due to the importance of the matches themselves over one dayers. Sure you have the odd injury related call up to anyone of citizenship who is playing in the local competition, but when you're named in the touring squad and it's clear you're the only option they're selected, this is a deliberate thing.

Phil Hughes is a starter for Australia, and he will be the youngest player since Craig McDermott to debut for Australia. His form has been sparkling, and he totally deserves his spot. He's a young and exciting player, and I praise the selectors for taking a punt on what could be great investment for the future.

The Aussie Summer is here

I have missed the Aussie cricket season over the last few years. Just the other day I bought my tickets to the first day of the SCG test vs. South Africa and am looking forward to that feeling of mild-drunkenness, the smell of sun-screen mixed with sweat and the debilitation effects of sunstroke that you only get from a day in the Doug Walters stand.

I have high hopes for a top-quality series. I am very disappointed to see that Stuart Clark is out because I believe he is one of the main reasons that we have remained pretty close to top of the Test heap over the last few years - him, Hussey and Ponting. I am not convinced about Peter Siddle yet - and I'm not sure what Bracken and Hilfenhaus did wrong. Please, please let them pick Krezja...

And it's good to see that Graham Smith has come over with his mouth shut. He was put firmly in his place last time SA toured after he came out sledging and talking-the-talk. He seems to be a much wiser cricketer now. Given Australia's current fortunes, Ponting could learn from him.

And finally, this may be sacrilegious, but I was very disappointed England did not beat India in the first test. But at least it took a record chase for India to win. After all the drama surrounding this tour, I would be surprised if England could put up such a fight in the next Test.

Absolutely Krazy

I am still in shock after day 2 of the fourth test. When I discovered that Jason Krejza was in the Australian side at the expense of Stuart Clark while Cameron White gets to fill space once more, I was pretty confident I knew how things would turn out.

India would score 400+ runs, and Krejza would conceed at least 200 runs in the process. I was spot on.

What left my jaw hanging on the floor was the fact that he took 8 wickets! In a performance that could be described as the best and worst debut ever, he's gone ahead and equalled the record for most wickets taken in a debut innings, and broken the record for the most runs ever conceded in a debut innings.

Krazy is the word. So my question is - does a massive amount of wickets make up for conceding a massive amount of runs?

So, we've lost this test...

I don't buy this argument that Australia has no depth and that this crushing defeat is a sign of things to come.

I think it is a sign that the selectors - Andrew Hilditch, David Boon, Merv Hughes and Jamie Cox - really need to have long hard think about the next Test. It's not the retirement of champion players that has left us in this position, it's some very poor selections. I can't comment on Cox and Hilditch, but Boon and Big Merv were never known for their intellect.

I am not at all surprised we couldn't bowl out India, but I am surprised at how badly the batting fell apart. We need some steel - it is not the time to be trying out pretty blond-haired boys like White and Watson who simply are not good enough to be there. The selectors have been trying for years to get them into the team, but Watson kept getting injured and there wasn't a big enough excuse to get White in. You can't argue that they are both players who haven't the attitude to play for Australia - White has been a quality captain of Victoria and Watson has impressive first-class numbers. But in Test cricket, what counts are results. Watson batted well in one innings, but couldn't buy a wicket. Isn't half the excuse to have him in the team because he can bowl a bit? Is he really "the future" as the commentators kept saying? As for White, well he simply isn't up to it and you can't polish up any argument for his inclusion.

So why are we relying on these guys? We have quality players like Bollinger and Hilfenhaus in the wings who can actually bowl (not to mention Bracken), and Jacques, Hodge and David Hussey are just waiting to have another crack. And if we must try a spinner - which is one area where I will concede we are lacking - then what really is wrong with Casson or one of the other guys who actually give the ball a tweak? Why bother contracting Casson if we're not going to play him?

In the next Test I'm not sure what the best option is but would consider a four man pace attack with Clark back for White. Siddle did OK and could keep his place but his promotion above the aforementioned Bollinger and Hilfenhaus is quite odd. Katich should have a bit more of a bowl, and I never thought I'd say it, but wouldn't Andrew Symonds be handy right now? With a team of this balance, Watson's position must be under threat but he seems to have done just enough for now. Perhaps we will turn to Krejza?

Well played India, you certainly deserve this win and even with our strongest possible current team I think you would have beaten us. I'm not surprised at Ponting's fight with Lee, he must be at his wits end with the selections. We almost got past England in 2005 when we had a bit of a selection problem, but we are not as good as that team and India are better than England were.

It's a shame we couldn't give India a good game.

Have we ever had such a long and strange batting line-up?

So we went with Cameron White to bat at number 8. Interesting. I presume we have had a change of tactics as White is not a bowler. And we have Watson at number 6. Not a bad bat, but not as good as Jacques. And not a Test class bowler.

So, let's theorise what the selectors are doing, as it's clearly not obvious. I think that they are so unfathomably keen to get Watson in the team that they had to find a way to get him in there. Instead of picking a proper bowler, they picked a bloke (White) you can bat reasonably well to cover for the fact that Watson really isn't that good a bat. And the selectors seem to like White too, so having Watson there is cover for White's own lack of bowling skills.

It's a strange circular argument - use White to cover for Watson, and Watson to cover for White. The better solution? Pick a decent batsman in Jacques and a decent bowler in, well.... Maybe there is the problem. Picking White is conservative. The selectors probably thought "we don't have enough bowlers to bowl them out, so there is no way they are going to bowl us out." What a shame we seem to have to go against the way we have picked teams over the last 15 very successful years - that is, 6 good bats, 4 good bowlers and a keeper. Haddin is a top batsman, we should not forget. We don't need this much lower order cover and we need a spinner, not Watson's medium pace (and White is pretty much a pace bowler too given that he doesn't really spin it!)

It's the strangest line-up since Bevan was picked at number 7 in the Test team. The difference then was that Bevan could actually bowl and took the South Africans apart!

And what happened to Casson? Is White plus Watson really better than Jacques plus Casson (or Bollinger or Siddle or West - probably not Krejza)?

Oh well, Watson will probably go and score 100 and White take 10 wickets now. We are lucky India are not the team they were a few years back when I have no doubt they would have taken us apart.

A team of selections that didn't work...

In light of some of the odd recent selections that the Aussie selectors have come up with to try and fill the void left by the retiring legends, here is a team of not-so-inspired Australian selections that I can remember from recent years. Some of these guys have time to turn it all around, and I hope they do, especially Rogers who is a fine player:

1) Mick Lewis

A Victorian trundler who managed to concede 113 runs off 10 overs in an ODI - the world record.

2) Darren Patterson

We didn't say they had to be picked for Australia. This Aussie was picked for England having only played 11 first-class games for Victoria and Nottinghamshire. He did OK, but even he didn't agree with his selection: "I probably didn't agree with the selection, as it was," Pattinson said. "I don't think I'd be picking someone to play the one Test when they haven't really played that many first-class games and weren't in the squad." Needless to say he probably wont be picked again.

3) Shane Watson (in Tests anyway)

Ever since we lost the Ashes in 2005, the selectors have been after a Flintoff-clone, even though we already possessed the world's best all-rounder in Adam Gilchrist and some other pretty good bowlers and batsmen. Watson has been given so many chances at the expense of players who actually deserve to be there, like Katich, and just keeps getting injured. He'll probably go and get 100 in the next Test now, but really, a Test player? A top one-day player, who still has more to deliver there, he also has bad hair, an annoying attitude and poses nude.

4) Nathan Hauritz

Comprehensively out-bowled in the spin department by Michael Clarke in his one test, although he himself did OK. Seems like a nice guy, but I always got the impression I could spin it as much if I tried.

5) Scott Muller

"Can't bowl, can't throw" - was it muttered by Shane Warne or Joe the Cameraman - he was actually not too bad, but threw a bit of a hissy fit in a later state game and was never going to be picked again. At least the whole thing helped Brett Lee's band Six and Out release a single Can't Bowl, Can't Throw.

6) Shaun Young

Good solid state player found himself in the right spot at the right time and got a Test call-up in the 1997 Ashes series in England when Jason Gillespie got injured and Paul Reiffel went home for the birth of his child. Really didn't have a chance to do anything and never got another Test.

7) Wayne Phillips

I may be the only person in Australia who remembers "the other Wayne Phillips". Came in for one test to partner Mark Taylor at the top of the order in the 90s.

8) Brad Young

A spin bowler who played a few ODIs and had a bowling average of 251. I seem to remember him taking a hat-trick whilst cricket was still at the Commonwealth Games, but that was not an official game. Also slid into the fence, ruining his knee and his international ambitions.

9) Chris Rogers

A quality player, still has time to make it, but did not impress in his single Test. Unfairly lost his central contract, I hope he comes back.

10) Simon Cook

Australia tried some interesting bowlers when the big guys were injured, and Cook was just that. He took 7 wickets on debut, played another Test, then was never picked again. I honestly don't know what happened, whether he got injured, lost form, or there was simply no room for him.

11) Not sure yet, but wait till this season is over, I'm sure we'll be able to fill this position...

Would like to hear of anyone I may have left off.

So, about this team....

I feel like I've been a bit out the loop. I leave the country for 18 months, only to return and find out I only know half the Australian cricket team.

We all knew the Aussie team would change with the retirements of McGrath, Warne and co, but I never expected to find a team with the likes of Peter Siddle in it. Apparently, one of the world's best ODI bowlers, Nathan Bracken, is not good enough for the squad to India.

It's nice to see Bollinger get a go after being injured, and I was always going to be surprised by the spin bowling selections, because it was always going to have to be a punt after the retirements of Warne and MacGill, who were so much better then the rest, so good luck to Jason Krejza and Bryce McGain.

If somehow Shane Watson gets in ahead of Simon Katich - and the selectors will be trying to work out a way to make that happen seeing as they seem to love Watson and hate Katich - it will be a travesty. They came up with bad excuses for his dropping last time, and they will do it again. Even though Symonds has been left at home, there may not be space for the best batsman in the country, and this is a crying shame.

It should be a good series with India as they aren't the team they were, and either are we. I just hope they all keep their mouths shut and get on with the cricket.

Money Changes Everything

While I'm not naive and I know that professional cricket is a commercial thing and that money makes the world go around in the capitalist society we live in, but I have to admit I was really taken aback by the news that the Twenty20 Champions League dates had been shifted, and as a result the test between Australia and South Africa at the WACA had been moved.

Since when, in the history of cricket has a domestic match forced an international match to be moved, and a Test match no less!? Shame!

Weet-Bix Shield?

In keeping with their breakfast theme for domestic competition sponsorship, Cricket Australia have announced the new sponsor of the Australian Domestic 4-Day Competition will be Weet-Bix. Unfortunately the news is that they will be calling it "The Sheffield Shield", a sad departure from the name steeped in almost a decades worth of tradition, The Pura Cup.
The Pura Cup, which many of us grew up with since 1999 has been put to one side and will now assume some meaningless name without the proud commercial brand name attached to it.
It is a sad day for Commonwealth Bank Presents Australian Cricket, brought to you by Travelex.

The Kat goes to the dogs

It looks like Simon Katich is about to become the unluckiest cricketer ever. With Matthew Hayden set to come back into the Australian Test team, Katich will probably be dropped despite the fact he has scored back-to-back test centuries. This has happened to Katich before when he was dropped following a century in order to make room for Andrew Symonds.

But it seems The Kat has a new relaxed attitude, and doesn't seem as bothered this time round, which helps his cause as I still think he should be a contender to be the next Australian Test captain. It's premature to look to Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey has the very unfortunate ODI captaincy record of 0 from 4 - including failing to defend 346, 336 and 272, as well as a 10 wicket loss - and who else is there if Ponting gets injured?

Just because a batsman is dynamic and young doesn't make him necessarily a good captain, and Clarke has no pedigree. Mark Taylor was one of our least dynamic batsmen, but in my opinion has been the best and most interesting captain during my lifetime. I'd love to see The Kat step up next time Ponting is injured, even if he is not in the current XI!

80s and 90s Test team cause oil price rise

Petrol prices have recently risen. What is it caused by? Energy insecurity or the Iraq war? No! It's the fault of cricket, in particular Aussie cricket. Let's check out the Australian Cricket Team's Test winning percentage between 1982 and 2004 and compare it to the oil price rise over the last 8 years.



As you can see, the correlation is remarkable! So, when you fill up this week and notice the latest price rise, you can blame Allan Border, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh for improving the results of the Aussie Test Team! By the way, the data are completely real - make it for yourself at Cricinfo.

I put this together over at Mr Science to show how things can look correlated when they actually have nothing to do with each other - check it out for some more info on the maths behind it.

MacGill throws it all in - but it's a long hop and it's quickly smashed to the boundary for four

So after years upon years of living in the shadow of the greatest leg spinner in Australian (and Test history), arguably Australia's second greatest leg spinner Stuart MacGill has decided to retire. It seems like a rash decision, but at the same time it made me think it was very in keeping with the kind of personality MacGill has given off during his career.

He's always come across as a bit of a hot-head, or to be more specific very hot and cold. He was a great bowler who could turn the ball at near right angles, and was at times unplayable. Unfortunately at the same time he could bowl long hops and full tosses that would make Michael Bevan blush. When things didn't go his way, like an appeal turned down, he would get very fired up - like a guy frustrated that it wasn't all turning out the way he wanted it to.

And I suppose that has in many ways typified his career. It never quite went according to plan. He would've had an amazing career at literally any other time in Australian cricket history - he just had to pick the Shane Warne era. I can't even say I will particularly miss him because he never really had a chance to get much of a foothold, in the team or in the fans hearts and minds. Now was his time, but for him, it had already passed.

The saddest part of it all is, Beau Casson is next in line. Dear god.

Warne to the rescue?

I like the thought of having Warnie frozen in a glass container with the words "Break in case of Emergency" written on it. Warnie has gotten some attention over comments he made that "if required" he would don the creams again and roll the arm over for Australia in the Ashes.

Good ol' Warnie, when it suits him, he'll play for us. I'm not complaining - the guy is so bloody good, I'll gladly take him whenever he wants to. Any terms he makes, they're going to be worth it.

Of course, I don't think we need to panic just yet. MacGill is still around, let's see how he goes against the Windies. I have no idea what the future holds for our prospects with Beau Casson, but we're not quite at def con 2 yet, so Warnie can stick to taking the Royals to the IPL finals.

The Kat is back!

The career of Simon Katich has been, in my opinion, a strange one. He's struggled to find his place after showing promise early but being struck with chronic fatigue or something held him back. Till now he's had what I think is a one day career longer than he rightly should have, and a test career shorter than he deserves. Well now it seems he will get a temporary reprieve as he is playing in the first test against the Windies, replacing Hayden.

Unfortunately it seems he's already batted and only got 12. So the resurrection of the Kat's international career may be brief.

The End of the Tri-Series

I always had visions of it becoming even bigger, from a tri-series to a 5-series, where a series of 5 teams, always featuring Australia and New Zealand would play in a massive round robin tournament across Australia and New Zealand. It equalled more games in total, and less non-Australia matches because half would be played in NZ.

Anyway, those grand dreams have been dashed, and the tri-series altogether has been scrapped from the Australian calendar. It was very inevitable, but it's sad in a way. I have grown up with that formula and it dictated my summer.

However, I will not be sad for long, because it's place is a very robust little setup. 5 match series against two nations and featuring 2 and 3 test series as well. All in all, more Australia matches to enjoy and you can't complain about that.

Of course, I won't be in Australia come this summer, but I'll still be able to enjoy it on television, and mark my words - I will.

Can't wait for it!

The Hallowed Baggy VB

A lot of people have gotten very worked up about the fact that the Australian cricket team played a tour match against a Jamaican Select XI wearing caps featuring their sponsor VB rather than their traditional baggy green caps. The traditionalists, the ones I'm sure have already claimed that one day cricket and Twenty20 cricket will be the death of the game, got stuck into the Australians for their disrespect.

Well, it turns out it was actually all Brad Haddin's fault, because he hasn't played a test match yet, he doesn't actually possess a baggy green, therefore he would have to wear a broad brimmed white hat, which as we all know looks pretty naff, especially when you're the wicket keeper. The team management had decided that in a show of support, they would all wear the VB sponsored baseball caps.

Riiiight.

They quickly changed back the next day to shut everyone up.

I think the first clue should've been the fact they were playing a "Jamaican Select XI", "Select XI"?? Doesn't Jamaica just have a team of it's own? Sounds like the pickup truck scenario I mentioned before, either that or maybe it was the first eleven locals who came to the ground that day. That said, I wonder if eleven people actual did turn up to the ground to watch this.

I guess what surprises me more is that everyone got so upset that the Aussies were wearing the VB caps, but they didn't say anything about the fact Symmo was wearing thongs and stubbies - that's what you wearing when you're just playing a bit of backyard cricket, right?

Matthew Hayden should lose his book deal

I was very disappointed this week to hear that Matthew Hayden called Harbhajan Singh an "obnoxious weed".

As a senior player in the team, he really should know better than to use such inflammatory language. Clearly he meant noxious weed.

As Hayden is an author, such poor copy-editing should not go unnoticed. I call on ABC Books, publishers of his smash hit book The Matthew Hayden Cookbook, to pull all funding until Hayden goes back to English class.

Whilst I'm sure Harbhajan is obnoxious, a weed can't be obnoxious.

ob·nox·ious

adj.

1. Very annoying or objectionable; offensive or odious: "I know no method to secure the repeal of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as their stringent execution" Ulysses S. Grant.

2. Archaic Exposed to harm, injury, or evil: "The town ... now lies obnoxious to its foes" John Bunyan.

3. Archaic Deserving of or liable to censure.

nox·ious

adj.

1. Harmful to living things; injurious to health: noxious chemical wastes.

2. Harmful to the mind or morals; corrupting: noxious ideas.

I wait to hear that the BCCI are threatening to pull out of the tour due to Hayden's poor grasp of English.

Matthew Elliot Retires

So, Matthew Elliot decided to retire. As far as his international career is concerned, he'll probably be best remembered (if at all) for running into Mark Waugh back in 1999 and damaging his knee so badly he couldn't play for years. Elliot was one of those players that would score a mountain of runs at state level but never converted it into an international career, and it made me think about those "Champion First Class Players" that just can't seem to cut it on the big stage.

Clearly they have the skill, you just can't keep scoring mountains and mountains of runs or take bags and bags of wickets without having a bit of talent, but at the end of the day I suppose sometimes nerves can get the better of a player and they can freeze up and underperform.

Elliot is a prime example, I think Bichel and Kasprowicz (who incidently has also retired just recently) are bowlers that never quite made it despite showing so much form at state level. I suppose in a way Michael Bevan was another example (at least at test level) along with Simon Katich and maybe Chris Rogers...

Can Watson do a Symonds?

Last World Cup, Andrew Symonds was a bit of a dodgy selection - we've always had a place for an all rounder in our World Cup squad, no matter how dodgy they actually were as all rounders (like Tom Moody and Brendan Julian), and Symonds seemed like another one of them. He was only really put into the team because Shane Watson who looked like a potential genuine all rounder got injured just before the 2003 World Cup. Symonds of course went on to completely dominate the game and firmly establish himself as an invaluable member of the Australian team. Now however the situation is reversed, Symonds is injured and Watto is going to have to step up. Can he do it? I was a knocker at first, but I think he has potential. He genuinely can bat and can bowl, it's just a matter of him putting it all together. He takes wickets with the ball, he's decently economical, and when he opens he's put up the runs. He's not a big striker like Symonds, despite his size, he's more of a run accumulator, and to be honest he's definitely more of a bowling allrounder versus Symonds being a batting allrounder. My opinion, it would be great if lightning struck twice and we suddenly find ourselves with a world class allrounder all over again, but even if we don't, he's good enough.