Well, the team for the First Test has been announced. 13 names, one to go altogether, one to carry the drinks:
Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting (c), Damien Martyn, Mike Hussey, Shane Watson, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait
Will Mitchell Johnson get a homeground debut? Simmo reckons we need more swing bowlers, so he may get the nod. Or will Shaun Tait get to show his wares after a good domestic season? And what about Stuart Clark?
8 responses so far ↓
Shaun // Nov 16, 2006 at 7:42 pm
Welcome aboard wrongun!
My bet is that Johnson will be 13th man with Clark and Tait fighting it out for 12th man. Ithink it will depend on how fast the Gabba will play. It they think it will assist the pacemen Lee and Tait will be hard to go past. But Clark’s form has been impressive so I don’t think they will lose out on either.
I’m not convinced that Watson is a number 6 batsman nor backup pace bowler. I’d rather have Michael Clarke but hopefully Watson can prove me wrong.
Bring Back the Currency Lad's blog // Nov 16, 2006 at 8:04 pm
Shaun you have it wrong on Watson.
He is a technical accomplished batsman who will be fast bowler no4. He will enable McGrath not to bowl as many overs as he might.
My guess is that Tait will play and Lee and
Tait will try to bounce them out given what has happened previously.
Johnson is over-rated. He has a lousy action and isn’t fast.
Shaun // Nov 16, 2006 at 8:48 pm
We’ll see Homer. I said I’m quite happy to be wrong about Watson.
wrongun // Nov 17, 2006 at 7:48 pm
I got to see a bit of both Watson & Johnson around the traps when I was teaching. Both are very talented, and Johnson reminds me of Wasim Akram (another one with an imperfect action). I do think that Stuart Clark has earned his stripes, though. It’s a tough one.
Shaun // Nov 17, 2006 at 8:30 pm
Note that Watson did his hammy today so he could be out.
wrongun // Nov 17, 2006 at 9:16 pm
According to cricinfo he’ll be right to play, but Martyn has tendonitis. I’ve had tendonitis. It bloody sucks and you can’t move. Maybe Clarke will get a guernsey after all.
Shaun // Nov 17, 2006 at 9:43 pm
I did my hammy three times last season and it is bloody inconvenient. Then again I didn’t have a full-time physio to help me. Though it seems it was a “twinge” which a player can recover from relatively quickly.
Bring Back the Currency Lad's blog // Nov 18, 2006 at 12:10 pm
My U/10s won a thrilling game today!!
Clark cannot be dropped after SA so I see both Tait and Johnson missing out.