Saturday, April 11, 2009

Preview of Australia's tour of UAE

With Australia’s tour of UAE coming up later this month, featuring 5 ODI’s, I have written this article to run through our side and put together what I think is our strongest team we can put on the park.

Australian squad:
Michael Clarke (c)
Brad Haddin (wk)
Nathan Bracken
Callum Ferguson
Brett Geeves
Nathan Hauritz
Ben Hilfenhaus
James Hopes
David Hussey
Ben Laughlin
Brett Lee
Shaun Marsh
Andrew Symonds
Shane Watson


It is a side with a lot of inexperience, and also some old members of the squad returning from injury, both mental and physical, in Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson, Brett Lee and Shaun Marsh. All 4 are ODI regulars, and in Symonds and Lee’s case, test match regulars too. Australia will be welcoming them all back, particularly because next month is the Twenty20 World Cup, a competition all 4 are sure to take part in if their fitness allows them to.

Captain Ricky Ponting, out of sort’s batsmen Michael Hussey and the star of the Australian team in the recent past Mitchell Johnson have all been rested, because the Twenty20 World Cup is just around the corner, and all 3 are a part of Australia’s preliminary squad. Mike Hussey has played the most total days of cricket for Australia over the past 12 months, and perhaps a break is what he needs to get his game right. Mitchell Johnson has bowled hundreds and hundreds of over’s this summer, toiling away at times being the only Australian bowler looking like having a chance of taking a wicket. Ricky Ponting, as captain of his national team, an incredibly stressful job, needs a break once in a while.

Pakistani captain Younis Kahn is disappointed that Australia decided to rest a few of their star players, because Kahn and his team mates wanted to verse the best. However he still thinks they will be very difficult to beat.

The Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar is making his return in this series for Pakistan, and is almost certain to make headlines, whatever he does. Hopefully, for world cricket, he can bowl extremely fast and knock over a few batsmen (but not too many!).


Likely team:
1. Shaun Marsh
2. Brad Haddin
3. Michael Clarke
4. David Hussey
5. Andrew Symonds
6. Callum Ferguson
7. James Hopes
8. Brett Lee
9. Nathan Hauritz
10. Ben Laughlin/Ben Hilfenhaus/Brett Geeves
11. Nathan Bracken


NOTE: This is the team I think will be chosen, the only questionable things are
a) Will Watson be selected shuffling the order around?
b) Will Michael Clarke open the batting with himself?
c) Who will be selected as the 3rd seamer to bowl out of Laughlin, Hilfenhaus or Geeves?

Team I would like to see:
1. Shaun Marsh
2. Shane Watson
3. Brad Haddin
4. Michael Clarke
5. David Hussey
6. Callum Ferguson
7. James Hopes
8. Brett Lee
9. Nathan Hauritz
10. Ben Laughlin
11. Nathan Bracken


I wouldn’t be including Symonds for the first game at least, he has had his chances to prove himself in the Australian domestic summer, and you can’t omit Ferguson, who has been holding our team together recently, or Clarke, because he is captaining, so Symonds best chances are Marsh or Watson not being match fit, or the selectors not selecting Marsh, Watson or Hussey.

My prediction:
Australia 4-1.


NOTE: Shortly after the time of writing Geeves has been ruled out of the tour, with a replacement to be named.