Australia's Testing Summer

Cricket Australia has released the home summer itinerary for 2011/12 which begins slightly later in December with Tests against New Zealand in Brisbane and Hobart. The late start is to allow our boys to play three away games in September against Sri Lanka and two away games in South Africa during November. Good move that. When our Test team assembles for the first Test of our summer they will have already played five Tests.

This could well work against what would have been seen as relatively easy Tests against the Kiwis. Players five Tests into a summer at the first toss would be tough for any of our good Aussie teams from the past, let alone this rag tag mess with its surfeit of captains, over supply of out of form batsmen and the best quicks we can offer which aren't good enough. We don't have a spinner so I won't mention one here. If ever a real example of the camel being a horse designed by a committee has been provided by the Australian Selection Panel, it is the current Australian side. If things go badly in Sri Lanka and South Africa, which common sense, word rankings and home ground advantage suggest they might, then the cards may well be falling to New Zealand's advantage.

The exposure to mangled vowels will barely be settled when Michael Clarke's collective will face the best team in the world at Melbourne for post Christmas festivities. Sydney will follow in the New Year. That's right. Australia's best grounds for spinners will be handed to the hosts in the first two Tests ... a side with more spinners than a group of blokes tossing coins on Anzac Day and each of those close to the best of their type. Melbourne and Sydney where Tendulkar has four hundreds, three of them in Sydney where he averages 221. Masterful programming. By the time Perth happens, our quicks will be in their tenth Test match in 61 days across three different continents so perhaps the advantage Perth usually offers the home side may be somewhat reduced. By Adelaide, they'll be waving white flags.

After that, it will be one day capers, with programmers again returning to a three team format but, will anybody care?

Eleven Test matches from September to late January is an impossible task for new captain Michael Clarke but at least we should see some new faces as players wear out and crumble before stern opposition. Three of Australia's four opponents are ranked above them, India and South Africa markedly so. Breaking the series down doesn't make it better. 

Sri Lanka haven't been beaten at home for six years and that includes series victories against India twice, South Africa and England and even though England are putting the cleaners through them in Blighty, Australia will struggle to win a Test, let alone a series. Sri Lanka 2-0.

South Africa aren't one of the two best sides in the world by fluke and you can forget the choking tag providing any solace to the Australians as there is nothing to choke over. South Africa have lost only once in 12 years at Capetown, five years ago to a very different Australian side and although The Wanderers Ground in Jo'Berg has offered mixed fair, its a result pitch and its hard to see Australia getting on top of Graham Smith's men. Let's be generous and called it 1-0 to South Africa.

Clarke's men should beat New Zealand comfortably in Brisbane but Hobart will offer the Kiwi's a chance for a draw so I'll score the series to Australia 1-0.

As for India, Melbourne and Sydney look to be easy victories to the visitors if they can bring their best side and their thoughts are only of cricket. There are less distractions these days and by that stage of the summer Ponting may well be gone, so only Johnson who seems coated with Teflon, will remain to say nasty words in an endeavour to have the ICC asking who let the monkeys out. Perth should be Australia's under normal circumstances so again, let's be generous but Adelaide can only be a draw as even good spinners tend to disappear over the short haul to the Victor Richardson Gates. India 2-1.

That makes a 2-5 summer for Australia with four drawn. Under the circumstances - bad programming, heavy work load, ongoing selection routs, the captaincy - its a generous estimate. Without doubt, those who can rise above these circumstances will deserve our praise. 

Cricket Australia couldn't have made a worse hash of a follow up summer to last year's Ashes debacle if they tried. All that's needed to make it complete is the reappointment of Andrew Hilditch for another three or more years. David Boon and Jamie Cox will be axed once the Argonauts Report is tabled as Cricket Australia needs to do two things: apportion blame and save face. Its the latter which will be applied to Andrew Hilditch. To do otherwise will be to direct blame too close to home .

We Cricketragics, maddened by last summer and further incensed by recent events with Simon Katich, must do what those in the ties and coats refuse to do. We must turn up to the grounds and support our team, despite its lack of strength, despite  it playing with hobbles about its ankles, despite its lack of sensible direction ... for its not their fault. Clap until your raw hands bleed and your wife begs you to stop, even though there seems no sense. Save your anger. The dark ages will pass and amongst the destruction, avengers will rise ... just don't ask me how or when!