My Current XI:
- Warner
- Rogers
- Khawaja
- Clarke
- Smith
- Watson (if not fit - Hughes, or even Maxwell who can bat AND bowl)
- Haddin
- Johnson
- Siddle
- Starc/Cummins/Pattinson/Hazelwood - take your pick.
- Lyon /
BOLD are definite walk up starters IMO.
ITALICS are in the side but if someone younger and with plenty of form could come in, then I'd start to look at moving them on.
UNDERLINE are in the side but if you got someone fitter, faster and better, then they'd be dropped.
My thoughts...
If
Harris was fit, in for
Starc but not sure if that's to happen soon. I also like
Cummins,
Pattinson and
Hazelwood. As a smokey, I have
Muirhead in for development. Back up keeper between
Hartley or
Nevill. I also think they need to look at easing
Rogers out after this summer. If
Finch could find some red ball form, imagine he and Warner opening the innings?!?
I definitely don't believe
Mitch Marsh has done enough to warrant his spot at this time. This Australian obsession with picking an 'all rounder' is terrible. You need 6 bats, a technically adroit 'keeper (and if he bats well, a bonus), three quicks and a spinner (but if the spinner ain't a winner it's no sin for a 3rd quick in
)
It is also time for Australia to start having a couple of batsman who can contribute 10-12 overs of handy change bowling. Oh for the days when Australia's bowling attack of say, the 1990's, could be complemented with M Waugh, S Waugh, Blewett, Bevan, Border … all having a decent mid-afternoon bowl.
It's also time to stop giving out caps on 'reputation' - EG Mitch Marsh - and start selecting on sheer weight of numbers - wickets and runs. Runs - gotta score 'em; wickets - gotta take 'em. Oh, and fielding - but Australian teams are drilled on this so anyone can be trained or practice this harder. Everything else falls in to place.
That said, what I know about selecting balanced teams could be written on a postage stamp. My efforts of late are no runs, no wickets, dropped catches…so I'm only in the side on sheer personality - a good bloke, a bit like Cam White when he was in the Test side a few years ago - and I don't even know if I'm a good bloke
Players to watch/develop for the next 2 years :
NSW - Nevill, Patterson
VIC - Finch, Muirhead
WA - Coulter-Nile, Behrendorff, M Marsh,
SA - Zampa
Qld - Hartley, Burns
Tas - Silk