QueenC

So I guess just being "Roy" is enough to get selected these days, as he has done bugger all else to deserve the nod....... Symonds will play against Kiwis I feel for both Krezja and Watson (fighting for the last spot apparently) who frankly deserved better coming out of India.

He's about 30'ish I think, and I think you will find that Kallis is a bit older.

I have spent the last couple of days in at the SCG watching the dismal Kiwis play against my beloved "baby" Blues and I have to say that while I know how poor the New Zealand side were (and they really were), it was genuinely great to see so many players who have yet to learn how to shave play well as they did. It was nice to see a glimpse of at least part of the future of Australian cricket. The other thing was that on the first day both Michael Clarke and Brett Lee (as was Doug Bollinger who suffered with the same virus as they did) were there, they looked better then they did in India, but have been on drips and antibiotics and both, especially Pup, looked like they had lost a lot of weight. They were however feeling better and confident of playing next Thursday. They were also very proud of the NSW kiddies they have helped step up.

Apropos....... Gilchrist called to explain: Tendulkar

Amen Rhino...... If there were any more eggshells everyone has to walk on it would make the actual playing of cricket impossible. I thought Tendulkar's actions and opinions last summer were some of the worst I have witnessed. To state that they should all take their bats and balls (if they exist) and go home if Singh was not found innocent of racial abuse was extremely incendiary and only made the matter far worse than it already was, and of course everyone buckled. He is a fine, brilliant player, but I am thrilled that someone has said something that I have thought for quite some time now.

You trying to get up my nose? Cause if so you're are doing remarkably well !!!

Sorry HT, I do tend to get a little defensive when it comes to Brett as I sincerely like the guy...... You are right what happened on the field was not a great sight for the team, but the blame goes both ways as I don't think Ponting's communication skills are as good as they can be, especially when dealing with something like this. And frankly no matter how poor Lees figures were (and they are bad, no argument) bowling Hussey before him when the runs are flowing pretty easily already (without Lee factoring into the run rate) seems insane. As for a "quality spinner" well as I said those aren't just going to drop from the sky (unfortunately), and maybe we need to realise that we are not going to get another Warne, he was a once in a generation type bowler, and the way I see it now we must simply work with what we have, and stop saying so-and-so is never going to be another Warne - no-one is, in fact we may never see another one in the next twenty years, if ever. What we do have a bunch of younger prospects that have to be looked at and worked on. I didn't think Cassen was to bad in the West Indies earlier in the year, despite their pitches doing bugger all for spinners, and I was genuinely surprised that he was left out in favour of Krezja. McGain deserved the nod given his figures, but injury (and his age to a point) may have robbed him of his opportunity. I have never seen White as the answer, which is pretty unfortunate since he could have been a genuine all-rounder if his bowling was more of a threat than it is. I think the reality is we are all going to have to come to terms with the rough ride we have in front of us, as the national team goes through a massive re-shape and rebuilds itself. You don't lose what we have lost and will continue to lose in the next year or so and simply bounce. It was a tough match in Mohali and one that plenty can be learned from and improved on and hopefully we will see that improvement in the next test. But I wouldn't be making knee jerk changes to the team, they just need to do everything better!!!

He is and it is genuinely sad to see..... I have a lot of time for Brett (I have known him a little for a while now) and it pains me to see him like this. He is struggling terribly off the field, with a wayward wife (upset at the distance created form his job) and her current threat of her moving his child interstate to Queensland, and it is fairly obvious that this is affecting the way he is playing and his temperament. I have never seen him blow up like that in years of watching. But to solely blame him for the troubles that we now find ourselves in is insane and a little moronic. On the sub-continent spin has always been king, and we have nothing of note at this point in time. That will change eventually, and it bares remembering that India tore Shane Warne apart in his opening games for Australia. And to me White is unfortunately not the answer to our spin problems and actually has worse figures than Lee (I think). But listening to Mark Waugh last night on Fox Sports he was absolutely scathing of our batting line up, not so much in the second innings (he praised Michael Clarke) say that the guys that fell yesterday should be not be held responsible for delaying the outcome which was inevitable, but in the first innings in which he said he saw as the end of the game and he was appalled that only 200'ish was scored on a relatively passive batting wicket. A lot of work needs to be done on improving individual skills, decision making (sounding familiar in here) and off field support. We'll just have to wait and see if the mental strength this team has shown in the past can come through. Just my opinion !!!

This is the part of that page that interested me.