Pick your 16 Australian players for the 2013 Ashes Tour

[Sapientia]

Okay, firstly I'll state I believe it's best to take the best XI + a backup keeper, bat, Spin bowling AR, Pace Bowling AR and Seamer. While I do believe it does leave us short in the inevitable circumstance that more than one seamer pulls up sore, one can always be flown over later.

Right now, I see Australia's best XI as this:

1. Watson (He's shown his proficiency opening. Clearly likes ball on bat, doesn't like spin as much and also mentally. Needs to bowl however, he's being picked as an allrounder)
2. Cowan (Sees off the new ball, his best is also ahead of him. He hasn't shown it yet - definitely better than all those middle order nothing types vying for selection)
3. Hughes (Can switch between attack/defence, can play the new ball and not awful against spin. Good #3)
4. Clarke (Potentially at 5, could switch with the person below)
5. Warner (A left field placement here, but I believe the team is better off facilitating Watto's move to opener. He's shown while opening that he's susceptible to the moving ball and batting here allows him to avoid that, while also gives him more access to the spinners which he's dominant against. Potentially will be there for the 2nd new ball too)
6. David Hussey (I hate selecting him due to his age but the only other option is a 2nd AR which leaves our batting a bit weak or Khawaja who doesn't have the temperament to bat six. The number six has to be certain of themselves from the get go, the ability to consolidate upon a collapse, accelerate when ahead and bat with the tail. I have confidence in Usman for none. Hussey gets it purely as he's the best candidate by a country mile. Experienced in English conditions too)
7. Nevill (I'm sick of glovemen being selected on batting. Wade's the best wkB in the country but not the best WK. I'd prefer Nevill's superior glovework to Wade's extra runs. Chances must be taken especially off Lyon in the Ashes and Wade has shown he cannot do that)
8. Pattinson (Bowls genuine wicket taking deliveries, swings it and bowls with aggression)
9. Siddle (Holds the attack together. Picks himself)
10. Lyon (Without a doubt the most competent spinner in Australia. Doesn't say much however)
11. Bird (The perfect bowler for English conditions. While I like Starc more, having Starc in there is too much of a liability given the previous bowling selections)

12 (Bat): Usman Khawaja (The next best)/Brad Haddin (Probably the best cover for 4-7 and also one of the best players of spin/finishers in Australia)/Matthew Wade (See: Haddin minus the spin bit. Yes, I'm suggesting that potentially Nevill, Haddin and Wade all tour, Nevill for his glovework and the other two as reserve bat/keepers)
13 (Keep): Haddin/Wade for aforementioned reasons
14 (Spin Option): Steven Smith (I think he's been messed about by the Australian public. Gone from 'golden boy' to 'failure' despite still being a very competent state player. He hasn't realised his potential but he's no less a player than he was 2 years ago. Technically proficient, aggressive and an excellent fielder. His bowling adds enough variety. If Lyon went down I'd select him instead of Dussey and play Starc. I also believe he should be around the squad as a batsman only)
15 (Allrounder): Faulkner (Faulkner's a bowler who'd excel in English conditions. Very capable with the bat too, more of a pure/bowling allrounder, but one nonetheless. You'd have him below the keeper/at 8 though, and nowadays international ARs have to be able to bat top 6 pretty convincingly or merit a spot as one of 4 bowlers, he's close as a bowler but definitely not there as a bat which counts against him)/Christian (I've preferred him to Henriques. Despite the fact that I believe Henriques to be a better batting option, I see his bowling as '130kmph pies' - he does nothing. He'd fill in overs, not take wickets. Christian's a far more capable wicket taker, and not far off as a batsman so for that I'd prefer him
16 (Seam cover): Starc. Speaks for himself really.

Johnson unlucky.

[BB67th]

Mate if you want the best keeper in the country by means of glovework then it is Chris Hartley from Queensland by a mile.

[PowerBug]

I think that the importance of the batting skill on a keeper is underrated. Having that extra batsman shortens the tail. ;)

[CrowsFan]

Bring in Paine :D

[My Chumps]

Bring in Paine :D

:P

[CrowsFan]

Haha why not?

[My Chumps]

I just hate him so much :P

He's alright. Better with the gloves, but Wade is a far superior batsman.

[BB67th]

I just hate him so much :P

He's alright. Better with the gloves, but Wade is a far superior batsman.

Wade might average another 15 with the bat, but will his keeping improve from what he showed this summer. We were okay having Gilly as the explosive batsman and not the best keeper because we had such great bowlers, that if he put down the occasional chance, they would soon create another. We can't afford to have Wade keep missing 1-2 chances every match if we want to become the number 1 test team. Most of those chances were off Nathan Lyon's bowling too, so they impacted his figures a bit as well.

For the record, I believe that Wade will improve his keeping steadily over the next couple of seasons and become one of the great keeper batsmen for the next 10 years. But he needs to start to get his act together soon, otherwise Tim Paine does look a very good player and hard to go past.

[Sapientia]

Mate if you want the best keeper in the country by means of glovework then it is Chris Hartley from Queensland by a mile.

Yep, I agree with that however Hartley's batting just isn't at the required level. Nevill offers the best of both worlds, Hartley's batting is just not near good enough. It's like Jack Russell v Alec Stewart on a lesser scale. He also isn't quick enough to bat with the tail/pile on runs post 400 which is something that occurs in test cricket and not so much shield cricket.

Oh and RE: Paine - he lacks the same. A good, compact technique but not the aggression/gears required, I don't think.

[Sapientia]

Also, heard from a reliable source today that the selectors are probably going to select Zampa for the Indian tour.

Idiots.

[Capper]

Also, heard from a reliable source today that the selectors are probably going to select Zampa for the Indian tour.

Idiots.

thought i knew that name, local kid from the Illawarra region. How does he get selected for India though

[Sapientia]

He played a lot of games in the big bash. Looked promising but still, a T20D average of 30 at an economy of 8+ is pretty awful. I'd say it's in a developmental role but still awful.

Boyce is probably the best wrist spinner in the country, followed by Qadir, Ahmed and some nuffies, then Zampa.

[JBs-Hawks]

Mate if you want the best keeper in the country by means of glovework then it is Chris Hartley from Queensland by a mile.

Yep, I agree with that however Hartley's batting just isn't at the required level. Nevill offers the best of both worlds, Hartley's batting is just not near good enough. It's like Jack Russell v Alec Stewart on a lesser scale. He also isn't quick enough to bat with the tail/pile on runs post 400 which is something that occurs in test cricket and not so much shield cricket.

Oh and RE: Paine - he lacks the same. A good, compact technique but not the aggression/gears required, I don't think.

Paine can be aggressive, he has 1 ODI ton.

[Sapientia]

Mate if you want the best keeper in the country by means of glovework then it is Chris Hartley from Queensland by a mile.

Yep, I agree with that however Hartley's batting just isn't at the required level. Nevill offers the best of both worlds, Hartley's batting is just not near good enough. It's like Jack Russell v Alec Stewart on a lesser scale. He also isn't quick enough to bat with the tail/pile on runs post 400 which is something that occurs in test cricket and not so much shield cricket.

Oh and RE: Paine - he lacks the same. A good, compact technique but not the aggression/gears required, I don't think.

Paine can be aggressive, he has 1 ODI ton.

Test SR: 43
ODI SR: 68
FC SR: 44
LA SR: 68

That hundred was also only at a strike rate of 75. Hardly huge.

Everyone *can* be aggressive, he's just naturally not, and finds it difficult to be.

[upthemaidens]

   On the subject of wicket keepers and the importance of batting..   I'm taking Gilchrist or Sangakarra over Healy or Knot, the extra batting strength is worth more in my opinion. Thats of course that the keeper is of some reasonable quality.