Australia name their World Cup squad

Australia's attack will contain some serious pace at the World Cup.


"That's hot" - Paris Hilton on the Aussie pace attack
Now that that's out of the way, I can talk about the others. There was plenty of uncertainty going into the selection, and one or two picks could be debated upon, but I think this is pretty well done.

Shane Watson, Brad Haddin (wk), Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Cameron White, Tim Paine, Steven Smith, John Hastings, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Doug Bollinger.

Xavier Doherty may have been preferred of late, and he may even have (slightly) impressed, but going back to Hauritz was the right call in the end. He may still be shit, but he's the best they've got, and he's been very handy in limited-overs cricket despite his Test form.

John Hastings' inclusion, though, is a bit of a surprise. I haven't seen much of him, and he has only played two ODIs, but he had a good debut against India and was pretty decent when his teammates were getting smashed around. Teammates like Siddle, who has been left out - he can't really plug run flows in the shorter versions of the game. He's like their Sreesanth, but with more six-fors and hat-tricks. And other stuff.

David Hussey and Brett Lee were given the series against England to prove their worth, and while all they've done is prove that they are fit, that seems to be enough for the selectors. Even though they've gone with seven full batsmen (yes, including Clarke) plus Paine, the only two in the squad who can really be called tailenders are Tait and Bollinger. Steven Smith makes the cut as he is both/neither a batsman and/nor a bowler.

You've gotta feel for Callum Ferguson though - he spent a lot of time doing well and cementing his place in the side, then got injured, then wasn't allowed back in after recovering. Shaun Marsh hasn't been rubbish either. Michael Clarke had better score some runs.

0 comments: