Rhino Richards

Titan is right you should shove it. He still has an Ashes record and pizzant efforts to deride him are petty and puerile.

Marsh was first selected in Tests in front of Brian Taber, a renowned better keeper but worse bat. Marsh did go onto to become a great keeper Marsh hit 92 not out in his fourth test and was the first Australian keeper to hit a century in Tests. And you conveniently forgot Ian Healy in nit picking.....

Ah......having a keeper that can bat has been in vogue.....since ahhh....... Rod Marsh.

Aside from Doolan, all the others have black marks against their name. Hughes two fold. The clock is against North. Others dont excite. Lets hope we dont have to rely on them.

And you are pushing for Wade??? Ugh. That might be eye opening for some.

Backstop?? Seem to remember he set an Ashes record somewhere....... http://sports.ndtv.com/the-ashes-2013/news/212980-the-ashes-australias-brad-haddin-sets-new-wicketkeeping-record Oh yes of course....... The Ashes keeping for this series is Haddin's to lose. Wade can do all he likes but if Haddin is in that sort of form then Wade should be contemplating his future chances post Ashes. I would have thought that a fit Tim Paine with a bit of form is the heir apparent and would be called up if Haddin stumbles.

Not unless he was Shane Watson.......

I think the optimism for the home series is evaporating somewhat from the welter of injuries to our quicks. The bowling attack that includes Johnson, Hilfenhaus and Siddle is Groundhog Day from back to last home series and we know what happened there. The absence of Cummins, Starc, Pattinson and Bird has made the stocks look very thin. Australia A has confirmed that. And despite Watsons hope, doing a hamstring at 32 us not usually a 3 week recovery especially if there is potential for him to bowl. And Clarke and Harris are being nursed along. They have Hazlewood as back up for Harris for the 2nd Test. I have a feeling that what cards we have in our hands are going to spread very thin in the series

Once again facts dont back you up. Watson has played 46 Tests and batted 85 times. He avrages 36 and has got past ninety only seven times. He hasgone onto 100 or more only 3 times. Aside from his last Ashes Test 176, he has not hit a score over 90 since Dec 2010. A stellar career of underachievement for a player who has been given so many opportunities to shine.

Agree. The evidence is there. A technically flawed batsman whose front pad thrusts in all forms of the game are embarrassing. If he could deal with that problem there is no reason why he could not prosper in all forms of the game.

India is besotted with 20/20 yet still manages a production of batsman adept at both forms of the game. You are using the lack of temperament of one batsman as the "proof" that 20/20 is culprit when it's a crutch. I have mentioned a number of cricketers who a technically flawed players when they reach the top echelons and it's nothing to do with concentration. It's ineptitude of technique. You can just watch a Cowan a Hughes or a Watson with leaden foot and angled bat seem at loss when they Achilles heel is probed and probed until they fall. It's a Chinese water torture.

He bats like that at club level before 20/20 and Tests. It's the nature of the beast. And he's a five star goose off the field which does not help.. And based on your comment about Warner at Club level, should he have played Tests before club cricket?? The problem affecting our batsman is that they are not technically good enough there are enough examples of players who aren't playing considerable 20/20 and just have not made the grade because they are flawed batsman. Hughes Cowan are just two examples.

Yes you can see the players telling Bailey to take it easy. Harris is battling a virus. The good part is he has got through the day.

It's ominous with Cook finding touch soon before the first test. The curator must have taken a kick because the pitch was bowler friendly last year. The positive out of today's play is that none of today's bowlers should feature in the current Ashes series.....barring injury. None of them were on my radar. As for Ahmed he will have his day and Lyon is just a Test by Test proposition.

Agree. Warner is no No 3. Wrong. Warner has played like that since club days. And he played 20/20 before he played Test cricket. And he has batted like he has always batted.

You left out Philip Hughes in the cant group. I have a terrible feeling he might get the nod if Watson is not fit.

Can he bat at No 3? Wickets are not an issue. Just the runs. if they want leg spin they will use Smith. Rogers Warner ??? Smith Clarke Bailey Its a smokey but would need loads of runs to rub out the failures of last year. And by the time he does that, Watson might be fit again.......then he might not also...

That is the unresolved risk with Watson. If that indeed happens then the monkey on his back starts itching. This is his last Test series to make a name for himself. If he fails in this series his International career will involve coloured clothing and a white ball.

Third quick is an issue - gulp it might be Mitch J - no no no Doug Bollinger....pleasee! Macca- England 2015 - Clarke, Watson, Haddin, Rogers, Harris and Johnson retired. Lyon surpassed. And Cummins.....will commence light training after breaking down again.. Titan - Anderson's swing may worry in Brisbane but not so much in other Tests. More worried about Broad Tremlett who hit the pitch harder.......and Swann.

IMO Test top 6 will be Rogers Warner Watson Smith Clarke Bailey with Haddin as keeper. Lyon will be the spinner and the fast bowlers will be Harris, Siddle and due to injury possibly Johnson (no fan of that). But with Starc, Pattinson, Cummins out its a possibility

Ahmed has put his name up there but will have to back his performance with further wickets. Lyon needs to take wickets often to survive the selectors. He does not seem to have their confidence and seems to be picked as the best option at the time. I think Bailey was etched for No 6 in the Test side before the last ODI. His powerful innings the other night makes him a certainty IMO. If he bats competently in the Ashes series and plays right through I reckon he is odds to captain Australia post ashes. Win or lose the Ashes I think Clarkes back is so bad he will retire as captain and player at the end of the series.

Ponting spoke of the withdrawal of the CA contract for Katich. Katich was dropped from the Test team during the Ashes series in 2010 on form. At the time it was choice between Hussey, Ponting and Katich as the senior players under the gun. And asking Arthur how we deal with Australian cricket team is like asking Mark Neeld how Roos should re build the MFC. Arthur was definitely part of the problem and source of significant division in the team and the ACB have dealt with him. The process to do so was found to be wanting. The difference between Arthur being in charge and Boof Lehmann is stark and wide. And ask Shane Watson about Arthur...... And as for Shane Watson, he rivals Bernard Tomic as the biggest underperforming sook and prima donna in Australian sport. I can't think of another player who has been given so much opportunity to perform for this country at Test level and has delivered so little on and off the ground. Watson would do well to pull his head in and get his front pad out of the way and just make runs. Change in Australian cricket needs to be undertaken from the Board down. And regardless of what happens in this series, Clarke is unlikely to go on regardless of the ashes outcome given his chronic back problem ( must all those pins you have put in that doll) While still Australia's premier batsmen, he was hindered significantly with it. In the absence of leadership alternatives in the player rankings, George Bailey is being groomed for the role. And FWIW, you can actually spend some time and actually understand what is actually happening. Now remember small steps first....

Irony never had a more obvious example.If and I mean if you did actually understand what Ponting was saying he was saying a number of things about the state of Australian Cricket from the Board downwards. And Clarke made an error of judgement dating Bingle. No issue there. It's no great error that much of the stupidity performed by a number of Australian cricketers over recent years. What does that have to do with his tenor of captaincy? Pretty much s.f.a. But that won't stop the goon squad dribbling over some false injustice. Ponting has a lot of pertinent issues to say about Australian cricket. Let's hope its gets more intelligent consideration than shown in some quarters

You should be because you got it wrong again. Ponting issue was the termination of Katichs CA contract. Katich was already out of the Test team. It wasn't a Clarke vs Katich issue but keep fantasising. It will hide the embarrassment.

Zimbabwe will always be shackled by political system and failed economy that has destroyed the greater community and in the process, completely routed the cricket talent they have. Its a pity that Zim players but for country will for the foreseeable future remain a sporting minnow.