The Test Team We Had To Have

The quizmaster ... John Inverarity

It's summer. An all powerful side has arrived and will play under conditions that will suit them. Like last summer, Australia starts the skirmishes as underdogs.

In these same circumstances in the past, our national selectors have grabbed more attention than the players, usually springing a shock from nowhere but this week, John Inverarity and his sober-sided panel found no need for panic and as a result, there is no "Greg Chappell wunderkind" amongst the twelve chosen for Brisbane.

So expected was Michael Clarke's team that the media could only find the choice of the incumbent wicket keeper Matthew Wade as some point of disagreement. The yardstick used against Wade was Brad Haddin's leadership, indeed his form, in a T20 escapade in South Africa recently which helped make the Sydney Sixers collective millionaires and perhaps a compassion for his self-exclusion last March. Of course Wade had emerged down the straight, galloping away with form in the short forms of the game last summer when Haddin was set on the shelf and whilst Tim Paine was in between operations on his hands. Since then, he could hardly have done more every time he has pulled on Australian cap, regardless of colour or design. In his previous Test appearance he made a first innings century in Dominica, after Australia had slumped to 6-169 against Shane Shillingford's off spin. It was a tour for which Haddin was chosen as first choice keeper but had to courageously leave. Greater love has no man. Inverarity says Haddin is still in the frame ... one of those ones that hang in the pavilion with pictures of the other former Test players.

Wade was always going to be chosen

All in all, a no brainer for the selectors.

The top seven is unchanged from the West Indies series: Dave Warner, Ed Cowan, Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey & Wade.

Cowan and Watson need big scores. Both are guilty of starts but few hundreds. Watson has only hit three figures twice in 64 Test innings, his last being two years ago against India at the Punjab. As good as he is, if he is going to bat in the top three he has to achieve more discipline. A Watson innings usually contains lots of stunning drives and aggressive pulls and cuts to anything short and then, to date, a dumb shot made in extreme meekness which has him dragging his bat back to the pavilion. Cowan is still bedding down his spot and its a hard time to expect him to blossom with Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander staring at you from the top of their run. His best work has always been when he is on top of his mental game. He is vast thinker about the game of cricket, writes with intelligence and like Langer, can be mentally tougher than the rest of this batting line up.

Warner is a fire cracker who wants to a catherine wheel. Best he stay on a short fuse and blow. One explosive innings from Warner and you win a Test match and that's what Clarke and the selectors should be giving him licence to do.

Hussey is waning but even low on form he is still Test class and Clarke is in the best form of his career. The captaincy has sat with his personal form and reached a very nice agreement.

Pressure? He loves it.

Ponting's off stump will be under constant attack. Sure Steyn and Morkel will muscle up and give a recently unreliable hook shot an opportunity to offer gifts behind square leg, but it's back at off peg they will come time and again. The Indians didn't have the pace of the expertise to exploit his lazy footwork which is squaring him up and trying to play everything to mid on. Most older players go back to where they started. The little man is a champion and is batting like a Test player in Tassie colours, having made better use of the short first class season than any of the batsmen selected. Unfortunately, this could be a bridge too far. He likes Brisbane, having scored four centuries there and only at the SCG does he have a better batting average on Australian grounds. Oddly, this will be his first game against the South Africans in the Queensland capital.

The four best quicks available have been chosen: Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc. Ryan Harris is still learning to pick up cups of coffee after his shoulder surgery and probably won't be back. Pat Cummins hasn't played any first class cricket since his injury and a plethora of others like Mitch Johnson, Doug Bollinger, John Hastings, Josh Hazelwood and Luke Butterworth are off the radar. It will take major catastrophes for that to change and its not likely two summers in a row. Siddle and Pattinson have been in good form in the Shield for Victoria and Starc bowled with intelligent shape for the Sydney Sixers, so their current form is assured. The loose canon is Hilfenhaus, who hasn't played any first class cricket since Australia's last Test in April, was mediocre for Chennai Super Kings in South Africa and took 1-74 in his only one Ryobi Cup game for Tasmania. Yet, Clarke would be expecting him to lead the attack. Still, Sleepy Hilfenhaus has been counted out as dwarf before.

Nathan Lyon is the sole spinner and must play. Even the South Africans will include leg spinner Imran Tahir. The Gabba produces bounce for spinners and Lyon was impressive there last year against the Kiwis. Fighting fire with fire is seldom a good choice and without Lyon, Clarke's only variation is Watson's slow mediums and Hussey bowling even slower ... unless Ponting will be asked to reveal his off breaks which won him the David Boon "nudey bomb" award the last time he bowled.

Lyon must play.

Hilfenhaus looking for form

On the strength of that, it will come down to Hilfenhaus or Starc and the left armer is likely to lose out in the toss of the coin. The left arm quick variation is a good one but South Africans have never shown a weakness to it. Their right handers all whip the ball from off and middle to all parts leg, so Starc's stock ball will present them little fear and to the left handed Graeme Smith, its the ball which comes back at his off stump, from a foot outside, which will find his infamous inside edge. Its a ball that a fit, on-song Hilfenhaus will constantly deliver, often with change up.

The South Africans play a warm up in Sydney this weekend against Australia A, so comments on their prospects later.

At the risk of becoming monotonous, with so much at stake and many of the best players in the world involved (4 of the ICC top ten Test batsmen and 5 of the top ten bowlers), why are the players being asked to paint with a limited palette? For this series to be a test of either side, five matches were required. Shame on both controlling authorities.