Rhino Richards

You forget Shaun Tate. Nannes is 31 and a wild card. The difference between his best and worst is wide and he is too much a risk for where Australia is at the moment. Hilfenhaus moves the ball to slips to the right hander and was in the Melbourne 13. Bollinger is on his home ground. I would favour Hilfenhaus. Klinger is in the mix. For the record, many of Australia's top cricketers have been selected ahead of proven performances. I have not seen Hughes bat but he comes with big raps. He is a chance on his home ground. Selection is not just a matter of most runs scored and best averages otherwise you could just have a monkey with a calculator calling the shots. Up until recently the selectors have got it pretty right with the teams. However it has been somewhat easier to build a team around a core of McGrath, Warne, Ponting, Gilly.

Get your grandmother to call Andrew Hilditch quickly before the Sydney Test. Her spin and experience will be vital.

5/145...... Good bye Matthew Hayden. Good bye Andrew Symonds Rest up Brett Lee. My ins......Hilfenhaus, Hughes (although Klinger has claims) and I think they will give Watson a last chance to do something to prove he belongs as either a batsman or bowler. Dale Steyn has has a terrific year and finished it with a real bang. Outstanding. Full credit to Punter. Under alot of pressure and he has stood up where others have withered. A test and a touch of class. I hope he gets the back to back hundreds and I hope Haddin stays with him.

Unfortunately I would back Aust to be 2-1 against SA before I would say they would be top 4 in 2009.

Love your Optimism. Its like climbing K2 one day then climbing Everest the very next day!!! I have more faith in Clark and Punter to have a stand then be able to set a defendable total and to get 10 wickets with only 3 front line bowlers Johnson (15 tests or so), Siddle (3 tests), Hauritz (3 tests). Maybe the pitch plays low and Roy takes 7 wickets bowling on one leg.

Harris takes wickets and actually turns the ball. Can bat a bit too. I am starting to warm to Harris. Made a few Australian batsman look like beach cricketers.

The series has been decided because South Africa are streets ahead of Australia in this series in all facets. You would need about 15 bad decisions in Australia's favour to even it. We at risk of losing the series 3-0. If he is not fit to bowl then he would not have been selected as an all rounder. From comments on ABC cricket he was selected to bat six only. He was not required much against NZ. And the skipper bowled Krejza to force a result in Perth. And you are right the captain can only direct the cattle he has on the park and he did not bowl Symonds and therefore I cant see how Symonds has necessarily failed with the ball.

Absolutely. The sooner these regrettable human errors are erased from the game the better. I cant wait till a Test Match/ Series is "decided" by a dubious disasterous decision.

Isn't up to the Captain to bowl him? You can only take wickets if you are given the ball to bowl? Just dealing in the facts....... 17 wickets in India 14 wickets against NZ. 12 wickets so far against SA BTW, I reckon Siddle has the making of a good fast bowler.

I was thinking the 80's against NZ. I think if Symonds fails today then Sydney might be his last Test.....if he get another one.

SK - 8/10 (6) since india (batted well but yet to make a big score) . Agree MH - 1/10 (8) since india, unlikely to see sydney.Agree RP - 5/10 (10) struggled since india. Just made a ton in the first innings but has struggled otherwise. Captaincy has been suspect. MC - 6/10 (8) given his wicket away too often since india, showed a bit on the 1st day MCG. Scores over the past twelve months would suggest he has performed credibly. AS - 2/10 (7) as above, no impact with ball. Agree but a harsh rating number. Has not bowled that much so unlikely to have impact MH - 2/10 (9) out of sorts. If AS is a 2 then Hussey hardly gets a 1! BH - 7/10 (5) serviceable. Once finding his feet he has been outstanding with bat and gloves. If he continues this form he could almost cover Gilly. BL - 1/10 (8) has struggled, maybe injured since before india? He is accountable for his performances. At 33 and injured, I think it might be over for him MJ - 6/10 (6) one great spell and has not had the impact outside of this. Leading wicket taker in India, leading wicket taker against NZ, Leading wicket taker against SA..... NH - 3/10 (4) taken a few but no real impact. Limited to containment and wont tear through batting line ups. PS - 3/10 (4) no impact in perth but better in melbourne. Third test at 24 and he has broken through. Good future.

Absolutely agree. The fifth day in Perth may have been the shot across the bow, yesterday was the direct hit. I think there are issues running from top to bottom from selectors, captaincy and players. Twelve months ago there was some hope that the post Warne - McGrath- Langer -Gilly era could be managed successfully. Hayden, Ponting, Hussey lead the batting and Symonds was there to monster the advantage. Lee backed by Clarke bolstered the attack. Its unravelled quickly and for some sportsman quicker than they or their fans imagined. In regard to a couple of players: Hayden - he either makes a big score today (a big 100) and retires at Sydney or is finished after this test. Hughes/Klinger may get a look in for the Sydney test. Lee- Stress fractures in the foot are not good and not easy to overcome. Either way he is out of the Test side. Injury makes it less severe than being dropped. I think it might be the end for Lee. Bring in the bowler the selectors believes will ultimately do well in the Ashes. Either Bollinger or Hilfenhaus. We need to get Stuart Clark back fit as soon as possible. Symonds - Completely agree with Graz. Needed to make an impact with the bat. Gets the start then throws it away. Needs a big innings today or its over. His injury does not help either. Watson does not excite as his bowling and batting is wooden and his fitness is a real concern. Hussey - Will probably get a Test in Sydney because they will already be changing two positions already. However, if he fails in Sydney I would select him for the SA tour. Full marks to the efforts of Haddin, Clarke, Johnson, Katich and Siddle for stepping up under pressure. Hauritz will keep it tight but will never run through a side on the last day unless the planets line up. Ponting is coming up to 5 years as Australian captain and I think that time is as long as anyone would want in the hot seat. Selectors should be seeking to groom a transition to Clarke within the next six to 12 months. FWIW, since McGrath Warne retired captaincy became a far far harder job. If ever a young player wanted an opportunity to wear a baggy green cap, then now is the time to show some form.

Pretty sure it was same deadpan wicket that reduces most bowling attacks to mediocre and can batting sides elevate batting sides above their true standard. You are never going to get a confessional at a press conference. Agree. Perth has always been a problem. The standard of the wickets dont help either.

Siddle's short of a length bowling was in breach of the team plan. He did bowl too short all test. Siddle is young and will have further opportunities. Symonds med pace relies on swing to take wickets. There was no sideways swing so I am not sure what he offers there. Given we have a full time off spinner I am not sure what bowling more off spin would have done. Ponting backed Krejza and that's fine. Krejza is not up to scratch at the moment and even more trounbling is there is no other real contenders. Krejza bats better than Hussey at the moment. Hayden may not survive another Test after Melb. His lose of form is real blow to Australia as he has set the tempo of the innings for us for so long. I dont think his dismissal is one thing or the other. He was in trouble at any point with Steyn and the new ball. His first innings dismissal was poor.

No just missing the point. You need 20 wickets to win a Test. We took 14 wickets with one bowler taking 11 wickets. Despite the issues with the batting, we still set them 414 to win. A hard chase by historical standards. It proved not so for a batting line up that put its head down. Symonds made 57 and 37 in the last Test and has averaged 60 in the over the past 3 years. His batting is up to it. But we do need more from him. Watson is no where near Symonds calibre with the bat and for bowling think Brett Lee's current penetration less 5 to 10kms. Watson is not good enough at either skill and Australia cant carry nice to have Agree about Clarke. I dont think this team suffers from "arrogance". It suffers from not being good enough. I agree that the batting needs to work harder and they wont make big changes yet. I think the issue with the batting was that we won the toss and at no time were we able to set the standard of the game. We should have got 400+ in the first dig to close the SAs out. A lead of 150+ in the first innings was crucial to have them under the hammer. At no time in the Test did we have our foot squarely on their necks. Gee you have turned on Siddle, your new ball choice. I think they will drop Siddle. I think they will go for Hilfenhaus or Bollinger. Hayden will survive just. But if we lose the Melbourne Test and Hayden fails then he wont see Sydney.

WANTED: AUSTRALIAN CRICKET TEAM THAT CAN TAKE 20 WICKETS OVER 5 DAYS Well done SA you have exposed the now major flaws in the Australian line up. Congratulations to Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin. Johnson is head and shoulders above the other bowlers and has been our strike bowler for the past 3 series. Haddin is really stepping up to the plate. But hell, its disturbing that three bowlers only took three wickets over the whole Test. While Lee bowled a good spell on the 4th day, he is really fodder for an inform batsman. I still think he has the series to turn things around but he does not want another 1-132 again. He needs wickets in Melbourne otherwise he is in trouble. Australia was comprehensively flogged yesterday and our attack (sans Johnsons) was pedestrian. A strike bowler that does not strike is a liability. Unfortunately past record does not count for much if you cant get the wickets. I am still not beyond thinking that Krejza got the planets lined up on debut. A captain just cant implement a strategy when a bowlers leaks at 4 runs per over. Australia were always in trouble setting South Africa less than 450 in the fourth innings. And to think Australia batted too long in the 2005 Perth Test when they set SA 491 to win. Fancy that. While negating responsibility for the outcome where it sits, the ACB should take the Perth test away from the WACA if they continue to serve up questionable wickets that overly favour the batsman and blunt the bowlers. People should forget about Perth being a fast bowlers wicket. It has not been that for 20 years.

Johnson's main weapon is move the ball away (conventionally and old ball) away from the right hander. He does not naturally bring it back in. If he could get that going he could even more potent. McKenzie, Kallis will be cursing their judgement. There is a huge monkey on a couple of the backs of the SA bats now. Ponting should be congratulated for making the change to bring Johnson on. I agree on Krezja and Hayden. Langer and Hogg on ABC radio thought Krezja bowled a little short and flat in the afternoon session. And yes he does not dry the runs. However, he was a ball magnet in the field. Michael Bevan....Enough said.

Most definitely

Awesome Awesome Awesome. After looking set and had they lasted the next half hour then SA were in the box seat at 3/260+. On a good batting pitch late in the day with a hint of reverse swing, Mitchell Johnson put together one of the most devastating spells of old ball swing bowling at 140+kph. Swung the Test match and made his mark on the series If the signs were there before, then there in big lights....This guy is something special and the big thing in quick bowling. Great stuff

A bit of luck and I'm left handed too.

Lets not over do the accolades. This test is in Perth and Johnson has proven dangerous is more likely to get the new ball than Siddle IMO. Anyway he will be exhausted after his marathon 23!!!!!

At 9/365 with batsman 6 to 11 getting a dozen or more runs each suggests that if the SA batsman knuckle down and the Aust bowlers are not at their best this could be difficult to get a result. The absence of Stuart Clarkes height and bounce could really hurt us. The pitch is belter to bat on and with Siddle and Krejza (now allrounders ) in just their 2nd tests then Australia could be tested with the ball.

Jacques in injured and I doubt Rogers will get a look in if we win this Test. Maybe Symonds got back in because he actually scored heavily at Test level over the past 2 to 3 years. And the rule you apply to Clarke should equally stand for Symonds.

If you look at the number of changes in the Australian Test team over the past 18 months then it makes a mockery of that statement. Bevan did have his chances and blew them. At the top level he is not in either categories class. Hayden is probably one of our greatest opening batsman and Symonds has averaged 60 with the bat over the past two years. Bevans' position was taken by other (better) players. Bevan and others of his ilk suffered from playing at time of high quality cricketers

I thought one of Johnsons strengths is the ball he swings to slips against the right hander. I agree about Lee. And yes you would start Clark into the breeze on opening.