Macca

Watto opens the batting ... And they open with 2 'offies' . Ball is turning big time - good luck Aussies

asap ! And then get him on a big bird - straight to India

I'll admit that Zaheer is coming to the end but don't be surprised if he bobs up in the next test or 2. His record is very good when you consider he's played a large percentage of his Tests on spinning tracks. Under rated bowler in my eyes. Bresnan is still only 27 years old and I really rate him (especially on seaming decks) He's got an injury issue right now but that is the domain of fast bowlers - they generally all get injured at some stage of their careers. Plus, he can bat. Anyway ...... I reckon most of us would agree that South Africa are the best team in the world right now. But they are not the perfect team. Their spinner (Robin Peterson) is ok but no world beater. Kleinvelt, Alviro Petersen, Elgar, du Plessis and Abbott are just starting out and are not superstars of the game by any stretch of the imagination. (both Morkel and Kallis didn't play in the just completed Test, but that still leaves 4 players who aren't 'great' players) And South Africa are clearly the no.1 team in the world in my opinion. I believe that all our teams are very good. It was always going to be impossible to have 11 top liners. 6, 7 or 8 really good players is the best that any of us could have hoped for. To highlight the worst 3 or 4 players in a team is not the way I'd look at it. If your team is going to be a great team it will depend on your best 7 or 8 players. The matchwinners. Smith, Amla, Kallis, AB de Villiers, Steyn, Morkel and Philander are all very good/great players. Sounds harsh, but the rest of their team pales in comparison. du Plessis looks the goods but it's still early doors with that bloke.

Mate, I reckon you'd find fault with Scarlett Johansson. Do you worry about getting worried? Had no idea we were playing for a sheep station. You're the same bloke who genuinely thought the Australian team would only win 1 gold medal at the London Olympics! How's that battery of fast bowlers working out for you in India by the way? But seriously, all the teams have some weaknesses. Your team included. All things considered, I reckon all the participants have done exceedingly well. There's 88 players in the pool so there is going to be question marks over at least 20 or 30 players - stands to reason. Your revisionist stuff is all too predictable - you're not telling us anything we didn't already know. By the way, you've critiqued my side but have highlighted the perceived weaknesses whilst conveniently downplaying my strengths. A one-sided view with the aim of pumping up your own tyres. I'd critique your team but I'd have to be more fair minded. (though how you can compare your 'newboy' spinners with my 2 is beyond comprehension) One gold medal ! Now there's a bit of 'group think' gone horribly wrong

Yep, I reckon we can expect 3 more tracks like the one we're playing on. I know it's patently obvious but their strength is their spin bowling and their batsman's ability to play spin. Our weaknesses are the opposite of their strengths. We don't play spin all that well and our spin bowling is not good. It's gonna be a tough tour. We might have to play Doherty in the next Tests - I wish him well if that's the case. As pointed out by Gavaskar and Shastri - Lyon bowled too short. Their batsmen just picked him off down backward of square on a constant basis. He wasn't able to keep their batsmen on strike. Hopefully he'll learn a lot from today. Warnie's up in the commentary box - maybe they can ask him if he brought his 'whites'

First and foremost, I would like to congratulate everyone else on their teams. It's going to be a tough job for Nasher to decide the best team. All the teams have strengths in different areas. Well played gentlemen and may the better team win. Also, thanks to H_T for running the comp. It's been a lot of fun and I hope we do it again. The time it took never bothered me and in fact, it gave me a bit more time to reflect on the make up of all the teams. Now, to my team ... this eleven I have selected would be hard to beat in all conditions. Plenty of variation in the bowling and my team bats deep with Vettori and Bresnan at 8 and 9 reflecting this. On a spinning deck my team would be hard to handle. With 2 frontliners (Ajmal and Vettori) and 2 back-up spinners I challenge any of the other teams to rack up a decent score against my 'Spin Wizards'. On a seaming deck I have 2 quality fast medium bowlers (Zaheer and Bresnan) with good back up from Watson and Pollard. I have the arguably the best Captain in World cricket in Graeme Smith with Daniel Vettori as his able lieutenant. To accompany Smith at the top of the order I have Shane Watson. Watto is best suited as an opening batsman and I do like a left and right hand combination to start the innings. My no.3 batsman (Amla) is the best in World cricket. Samaraweera gives me good depth in the top order coming in at no.4 (averages 48.76) . I have a hard hitting middle order with Yuvraj able to turn a game on it's head and Pollard would be under instruction to 'go for it' ! My 7, 8 and 9 is a 'Dreamteam' tail. Prior is good enough to bat at 6 and Vettori has made 6 Test centuries and 23 fifty's. Bresnan has got a very good technique for a no.9 and averages over 30 with the bat. My team in batting order ... 1 Graeme Smith (Capt) 8748 runs @ 48.87 ... 157 catches 2 Shane Watson 2482 runs @ 37.02 ... 62 wickets @ 30.06 ... 25 catches 3 Hashim Amla 5693 runs @ 51.75 ... 58 catches 4 Thilan Samaraweera 5462 runs @ 48.76 ... 15 wckts @ 45.93 (right arm off-breaks) ... 45 catches 5 Yuvraj Singh 1900 runs @ 33.92 ... 9 wckts @ 60.77 (slow left arm orthodox) ... 31 catches 6 Kieron Pollard (yet to play Test cricket) 7 Matt Prior 3326 runs @ 43.19 ... 173 catches, 13 stumpings 8 Daniel Vettori (Vice-Capt) 4516 runs @ 30.10 ... 360 wckts @ 34.42 ... 58 catches 9 Tim Bresnan 438 runs @ 31.28 ... 57 wckts @ 32.54 ... 7 catches 10 Zaheer Khan 295 wckts @ 32.35 ... 1146 runs @ 11.81 ... 19 catches 11 Saeed Ajmal 133 wckts @ 27.03 ... 287 runs @ 11.03 ... 8 catches

Now we're gonna have to bat to save the game. 6 lefties in the top 6. Ashwin and Harby will be itching to get at us. This has been some sort of knock from Dhoni

This track is stone dead. Although you wouldn't want to be facing any sort of bowling on this pitch when the match gets into it's 5th day. Ball is grubbing a bit. The ball is barely reaching Wade on the full from the quicks. Clarke's bowling could be handy today and Lyon needs to get amongst it. As ya said, we just need one wicket. Edit : we got that wicket but it's been India's session so far.

Interesting words from Pattinson overnight. I have no real issue with what he said.(though he wouldn't want to do it all the time) He's an aggressive, young fast bowler who is just speaking his mind. In another article he mentioned that he wanted to bowl more (yesterday). For what it's worth, I like the way that Clarke is keeping Pattinson fresh. It's no good having all your bowlers spent as the innings progresses. These Test matches in India are nearly always 'marathon affairs'. ... Should have bounced Sachin, says Pattinson

Pup's handling your bloke well. Keeping the big gun fresh . Patto bowls his 3rd victim.

I don't mind . It'll give half my blokes a chance to either regain some form or overcome injury. Pollard could make his Test debut, Watto will be rolling his arm over and Zaheer and Yuvraj will be back in the Indian team !!! Do you wanna make that a couple of months, Django ?!!

Big Patto gets things going ... good pace Need to get Sehwag early.

Good point re the Windies 'TD'. Suppose with Johnno and Bird waiting in the wings we can just let the quicks go for it. I wonder if they've gone through the process of working out their attack's for all the Tests? If they've done this they will need to factor in a bit of flexibility. Remembering that the 2nd Test follows on from this Test after just a 3 day break. Looking forward to today's play. Tactically, the Tests played in India are fascinating. I don't mind 'turning' tracks at all. Brings so many other aspects of the game into play - none the least being the ability of batsmen to use their feet. Clarke looked terrific late last night with his feet movement. Lyon has a real opportunity to make a mark in these Tests. We need him to play a part. I remember Michael Kasprovich played a strong role in 2 tours of India. Big lion hearted bowler who kept charging in - Siddle and Patto are in that mould. Starc provides good variation and has a bit of x factor.

Had forgotten about Ryder ... he can certainly hit the ball. The last 2 rounds hasn't been as tricky as I thought. With so much cricket being played over the 3 forms of the game, there is a reasonable amount of depth I've had my eye on Pollard for quite some time. The depth in batting in my tail allowed me to have a bit of freedom with the no.6 bat. Plus, you've got to have the bowling capacity to get 20 wickets and Pollard is more than handy with the ball. Think I've got 8 bowlers in my side

Need a hard hitting no.6 who can bowl decent medium fast. Someone with a touch of 'Grinter' about himself The bloke I'm picking can have a 'licence to thrill' as my tail bats deep (Prior, Vettori, Bresnan). This fella is only 25 years old and is a very good outfielder who (arguably) took the catch of the summer. Hasn't played Test cricket yet but according to that doyen of cricket writers, Tony Cosier, it's "Time to check Pollard's red-ball value" Round 11, pick 85 Kieron Pollard (West Indies)

Didn't get to see much either but heard that Clarke was in complete control again. His batting has gone into overdrive since he assumed the captaincy. Great to see. From what little I saw, Henriques didn't look out of place and he spoke very well and succinctly after the days play. I can see him snaring a wicket or 2 when he gets the ball in hand. He's a confident young bloke! Evenly poised but we need to get to 400+ to give ourselves a reasonable chance. Hoping that 'TD's forecast of our quicks coming through with the goods happens. Pup's spin could be handy as well (to back up Lyon) . That is of course if his back holds up.

Yep, excellent debut by Moises. We were in a precarious position and it's been a great fightback by the boys. Pup is just outstanding. N.B ... I've got to learn to post quicker - lost 2 wickets typing this - sheesh

The Lakers paid a great tribute today with a terrific win over Boston. Jerry Buss had a huge positive influence over the League, over a lengthy period of time. The Lakers won 10 Championships under his ownership - phenomenal. Nice pre-game words by Kobe as well. Game highlights ... Boston @ the Lakers Had a listen to the last half of the Houston/OKC game today. The Rockets came back from a 14 pt deficit with just over 7 minutes to go. Harden went silly with 46 points - he's good to watch when he's 'On' . Jeremy Lin had 29 pts. Here are some highlights ... OKC @ Houston

Well done to Moises Henriques and 'all the best' if, as expected, he makes his Test debut on Friday. He's probably dreamt of this moment all his life. Congratulations and good luck !

Fair enough 'dl' ... For those without cable or at work there is still not any news on whether ABC radio are covering the Test matches from India - not looking good There might be audio commentary of the games online by Test Match Sofa (click for online audio) As I'm typing this, they are 'calling' the New Zealand / England ODI. Here is there 'Wiki' page. But beware, the commentary takes a bit of an irreverent or flippant view of the games with a heavy anti Aussie slant. They are an English outfit who I believe commentate the game from a 'live' TV feed (from an 'unknown' location in London) They do have the official rights so it's not a dodgy link. Edit : Test Match Sofa are covering the Tests but probably not the 1st session of most or all of the days.

Anyway, enough about rotations ... How 'bout this for a catch .... most of you would have seen it but it's worth another look ...

One thing is for sure HT, the rotation policy will remain controversial for some time. As stated before, I can see the merit in it, though I'm not sure how they can implement it without causing other issues. I tend to think that over time, more and more people will warm to it. It must have been a big decision to go down this path. My reasoning is that it might be best to get the new policy as 'right' as possible - then evaluate it. Part of the opposition to it is that it is a vastly different policy that has gone on before. People don't like change but one thing is true, nearly all Test series these days are crammed into a shorter time frame. T20 comps all around the World are extremely lucrative so many of the Fast Bowlers aren't getting the 'down time' that they once used to get. It's difficult to tell players to resist the big money on offer in t20 cricket. It's a 12 months a year sport like never before. I still believe you've got to have your best combination playing whenever possible. But how you do that is quite complex. Take the Indian series. We are playing 4 Tests (20 days) over 33 days. It's always hot, the wickets are more suited to spin bowling and outfields can often be rock hard and tough on the legs. Apart from this series in India, the IPL is then on. After that we go to England for the Ashes and a series of ODI's. We've then got the Shield season before we go to India for 7 ODI's in October/November. Then England is here for the Ashes and more ODI's. The Big Bash is on again before we go to South Africa for 3 Tests and more ODI's . There is no let up ..... In an ideal world we wouldn't have 'back to back' Test matches. Many of our front line bowlers are often 'unavailable' for Shield games (in other words, 'rested' for Shield games) That practice been going on for a number of years now. I remember when there was outcry over that 'new' policy. It's now regarded as accepted practice.

I heard Starc's comments prior to the Boxing day Test but didn't think it was any huge drama. I can't remember seeing your comments HT - I'll have a squiz back when I get a chance. I generally tend to ignore that kind of stuff from a fast bowler. It's water off a ducks back to me. 'Quicks' tend to shoot from the hip - isn't that just a fast bowlers way? There is an undercurrent of opposition to the 'rotation' policy. Many of our retired greats have been questioning the policy. He's just a young bloke and may have just got caught up. I'm happy to give him the benefit of the doubt. Anyway he seemed to have changed his tune on December 30 ... ‘Disappointed’ Starc says dropping him for Boxing Day Test ‘right’ for team

I haven't heard too many comments from Starc, 'dl'. He showed a bit of disappointment about being 'rotated' after the Hobart Test. These blokes are competitive beast and want to play. I've made comments about the rotation policy in earlier posts so won't repeat myself too much. An overview of the 'rotation policy' is if they're going to do it, do it right. That includes sitting down with the players and explaining their motives and reasoning. Many times at top level sport you either get picked or you don't. There's not always a soft landing. With 'rotations' there would need to be a fair bit of dialogue. Let's see what they do in India. Tests 1 and 2 are back to back. They get a break then Tests 3 and 4 are back to back. Edit : Had a read of the rest of your edited post. You make some good points. Last night on 'Inside Cricket' there were some observations made that we've got a lot of 'openers' in the squad. I'd rather that than the other way round so it may not be a huge problem. Replacing 'Mr Cricket' is gonna be tough though. Hussey brought so much to the table. One more point on rotations in India - it's vital that we have a fresh, talented attack ready to go for the 4th Test. That Test could easily be the series decider. It's almost like they have to work backwards in rotation policy rather than the other way round. If you were to bite the bullet, you'd want your best attack in the 1st and 4th Tests. We're still largely in unknown territory with this new way of selecting teams.

The South Africans won their 6th series in a row after beating Pakistan overnight. Pakistan had their chances and 'My Man' Saeed Ajmal had match figures of 10 for 147 Aussies are 'following on' in the tour match. The Indian spinners took 9 wickets between them. He might have been exaggerating but I once heard Mark Waugh say that India always have about 30 or 40 class spinners in their ranks. It's any wonder that they rarely produce grassy wickets. I hope you're right re our quicks 'TD' My series prediction is done with a 'largish' optimistic hat !! We'll need to bat really well. Watson has opened the batting in both innings of this tour match. Got 84 in the 1st dig and is currently 17 not out in the 2nd innings. Reckon he's best suited to opening but he's also needed in the middle order. Warner is still trying to overcome a thumb fracture and may be unavailable for the 1st Test. The Kiwi's will take it up to England and we know they can be 'feisty' customers. Series win to England though.