New Look ODI Team Not to Everyone's Fancy

ODI Squad for first two matches against Sri Lanka.

George Bailey (capt)
Phillip Hughes
Usman Khawaja
Aaron Finch
David Hussey
Brad Haddin (wk)
Glenn Maxwell
Steven Smith
Mitchell Johnson
Ben Cutting
Mitchell Starc
Clint McKay
Xavier Doherty.

There has been quite an uproar about this team, in the main because the selectors have chosen to leave out Mike Hussey after his announcement that he will retire from all International cricket at the conclusion of the Australian season.

Haddin Back, Selectors Axe Hussey

So let's go through the sore points and see what we can discover:

• George Bailey as captain as the team. Well to be honest, isn't this just logical? Michael Clarke needs to rest. He needs to be fully fit for the Test tours of India and England. Bailey has only failed on two occasions to make double figures in ODI cricket, at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 77. As a result he is assured of his position in the team, despite what many may think. he has also shown himself to be a good captain, both with Tasmania and with the national T20 team. Having lost the experience of both Ponting and Hussey, Bailey is the best qualified person in the team make-up to take on the captaincy.
• Phil Hughes and Usman Khawaja have been two of the top three batsmen in domestic one day cricket this summer (with Aaron Finch the third), so on form their selection is justified. There is also no doubt that the selectors want these two both playing longer innings than the Big Bash would allow them, given that both are very likely to be chosen on the next two Test tours. They both need time in the middle, even if that is only in a 50 over game rather than a 20 over game.
• Whether both Warner and Wade need a rest is open to question. Warner is in good form and is perhaps our best fielder. Resting him now seems a bit odd, surely a rest closer to the Indian tour would suit him better. I would have thought Wade needs the remedial work on his keeping after a somewhat shoddy display overall with the gloves in the Tests. Giving Haddin a couple of games back in the national colours won't hurt.
• Maxwell and Smith are both playing for the same spot in the team. Given Smith has reneged on his bowling in recent times a-la Cameron White, it would seem he is a fill in.
• Ben Cutting deserves a chance at International level, but he has been hosed on at least three occasions this season in one day cricket. It seems a strange point at which to give him a game. He appears to have been chosen more for his rear-end slogging that his bowling. He and McKay would also appear to be dueling for the same spot in the team.

With the retirements of both Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey, and the injuries to Michael Clarke and Shane Watson, that means that four of the top six from Australia's ODI team from 12 months ago are currently unavailable. Last year Peter Forrest was given an extended run in the ODI team, which brought one century and some other promising starts, before he failed to produce in the West Indies and England. George Bailey now filled that gap, with opinion varied as to his success or failure in that position. New players need to be found as the team continues to grow older - Clarke, Watson, Bailey and David Hussey all resides over the age of 30.

Australia's success or failure in the ten ODI's coming up against Sri Lanka and West Indies may decide the fates of a number of players. More than ever, however, what it does show is that form with either bat or ball can propel you into the national team, and at the moment even quicker than has been the case in the past twenty years.