Ridiculous Rotation Resting and Ricky's Last Stand

Can someone explain to me why, in a Test that will decide this series, and (ridiculously) the #1 Test team in the cricket world, that our top two bowlers are NOT being picked because they have had a heavy workload. What a disgrace, why not just spit in their face! Both Siddle and Hilfenhaus would not play if they didn't think they were capable. What happens now if Mitch Johnson (unlikely) and Mitch Starc (maybe) and either John Hastings or Josh Hazelwood go out in this Test and take a five-fa? How do you then justify dropping THEM for the next Test?! It's just a joke.

I hope we win, but if we don't, then we have a whole new panel of selectors that need to take a long hard look at themselves.

And on this #1 ranking... how can they honestly label Australia as #1 if we win this Test? We got flogged at home and away by the Poms, and flogged in India two years ago, and only drew with New Zealand at home last season. It would be a joke and an embarrassment to put our hands up and claim that title again befor we beat India and England away from home next year. THEN it would be deserved.

And finally, on Ricky Ponting's final Test for Australia.

Let's not preempt anything. Ricky - do not defend with a crooked bat, do not lunge forward early, do not poke at that ball on the off stump. Walk to the crease, doff your cap to the crowd - and then just take the bowling apart. Take the first ball to the mid wicket boundary, and the second to the cover point boundary. Do not let the bowlers settle into a groove. Hit them off balance, and don't let them recover. Now is the time to truly show how good you have been. Do not go out with a whimper. Go out in a blaze of glory.

Discards Deserting the Blues Ship

It's been a busy 24 hours in New South Wales Cricket, with three of its recent Australian cast-offs deciding to test the waters in different states in the 2012/13 domestic season.

Phil Hughes, the much maligned former opening batsman, has decided to throw his lot in with South Australia for the next three seasons.

On the face of it, it isn't a bad decision. He has a good record at the Adelaide Oval, which possesses a flat batting track and narrow square boundaries that will accommodate his penchant for playing square of the wicket. He will play all forms of the game, and will no doubt be groomed for a role as a senior player along the way. He will join other former New South Welshmen like Daniel Christian, Tom Cooper and Aaron O'Brien. No doubt he will feel some of the pressure will be relieved by leaving his home state, given the number of players pushing for top order positions in the New South Wales squad, that even despite the retirements of Simon Katich and Phil Jaques. The Redbacks have been looking for an opening batsman for a couple of years with minimal success. All in all it looks to be a good decision for both sides.

Another of those top order batsmen and former Test player, Usman Khawaja, has apparently agreed to terms to move north to play with Queensland. On the surface this appears more unusual than the Hughes decision. Khawaja has enormous support still, despite failing to nail down his Test position, and his move can only come down to one motivating factor. Queensland no doubt was looking for another top order batsman, as much in the same way as South Australia they have searched without success for a long term solution there. Again, Khawaja is assured of playing all forms of the game in his adopted state, and follows the path of Peter Forrest from last season, a decision that has led to forcing his way into the Australian ODI team.

Nathan Hauritz is a native Queenslander who travelled to New South Wales to revitalise his career, a move that saw him return to Australian colours for a couple of years. Selectors indecision and injury helped to cost him his place in the team, and since his return he has had plenty of competition to get game time for New South Wales, even despite his improved batting. Last season he played for the Brisbane Heat in the KFC Big Bash, and with Queensland still not able to confirm a regular spinner (though to me Cameron Boyce is one of the best prospects around) he obviously feels a return to Queensland will give him the game time he needs. No doubt he will be the number one spinner in the 50 over format, but will he be able to play in front of Boyce in the four day variety?

All of this has been brought to the forefront by the fact that Australian contracts have been cut from 25 to just 17 this season. That means players like Hughes, Khawaja, Steve Smith and Brett Lee, just to name a few, suddenly are back on State contracts as their main income, which means that New South Wales have something like 16 current or former national players in their squad. That means the dollars have to be squeezed out to everyone. These three players have obviously decided that not only will their career get a boost by changing states, that their back pockets will as well.

Cricket Australia Contracted List

Witht the release today of the new Memorandum of Understanding between Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA), and the new contracted list for season 2012-13, there has been a great deal of discussion on those who have been deemed worthy of inclusion.

The toughest part of the process was the fact that the list has been pared back from the 25 contracts that has been the case for a number of years to just 17 - basically an Ashes squad number from the days when the one squad toured England for four or five months.

The list as named was as follows:
Michael Clarke
Pat Cummins
Xavier Doherty
Brad Haddin
Ryan Harris
Ben Hilfenhaus
David Hussey
Michael Hussey
Mitchell Johnson
Nathan Lyon
James Pattinson
Ricky Ponting
Peter Siddle
Mitchell Starc
Matthew Wade
Shane Watson
David Warner

Of the 17 players named, nine are bowlers, two are wicket-keepers and six are batsmen.
What can we take from this?

1. There are plenty of bowlers in the list, and given that all are fit you would expect that there will be rotation and resting of all of them to ensure their workload is managed properly.
2. The selectors obviously are not sure who the Test keeper should be. To be honest, it seems superfluous to have two keepers on the list. One would suggest that apart from indecision the selectors have on who should be the keeper, the reason both are contracted is the lack of batsmen in Australia pushing themselves to the front of the queue.
3. The selectors have no idea where our next batsmen are coming from. They have named only six specialist batsmen in their list - Clarke, Ponting, Michael and David Hussey, Watson and Warner. Neither Ed Cowan nor Peter Forrest were considered to be certainties to be in any of the Australian teams in twelve months time, and thus have missed out. So too players such as George Bailey, Phil Hughes or Usman Khawaja. In effect, the selectors are saying "We need someone to step up and answer the call". To every batsman in the country, it is a clear message - make runs and you will get a chance.

Only time will tell if this new system works. It has at least created a debate in the sports community about cricket during the off-season, keeping it to the forefront of discussion.