Test squad named for Sri Lanka

[Donny]

Warne in Test squad

Fox

SHANE Warne is poised to make a return to Test cricket after he was named in the Australian squad today for the series against Sri Lanka.


Warne, whose one-year drug suspension ended 11 days ago, was selected in a 15-man squad with fellow legspinner Stuart MacGill.

Queenslander wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe got the nod as reserve keeper, with the rest of the squad already in Sri Lanka.

Allrounder Andrew Symonds was also named for his first Test tour.

Warne, 34, played the last of his 107 Tests against England in Perth in December 2002.

He tested positive to banned diuretics last February and was subsequently suspended for 12 months.

But he has bowled well in three matches since his return and with turning pitches expected in Sri Lanka, is poised to add to his 491 wickets.

He will also get the chance to go head-to-head with Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (485) in the race to the 500-wicket mark.

MacGill was selected after an excellent 2003, in which he finished second on the list of world Test wicket-takers, with 57 scalps.

MacGill's selection means he and Warne could play in the same Test side for the first time since January 2002, in the third Test against South Africa in Sydney.

Lehmann, who has not played a Test since October because of an Achilles problem, sealed his selection with 237 against New South Wales in the Pura Cup match at the SCG today.

Lehmann, 34, was selected on his excellent recent form for Australia, with three centuries in his past six Tests.

Symonds also gets his chance after a brilliant year in the one-day game and could come into Test calculations given his ability to bowl both medium pace and right-arm off-spin.

Symonds and Seccombe are the only uncapped members of the squad.

The first of the three Tests against Sri Lanka will be played in Galle, starting March 8.

Australian Test squad: Ricky Ponting (capt), Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie, Matthew Hayden, Simon Katich, Michael Kasprowicz, Justin Langer, Brett Lee, Darren Lehmann, Stuart MacGill, Damien Martyn, Wade Seccombe, Andrew Symonds, Brad Williams, Shane Warne.

[JLC]

"Lehmann, 34, was selected on his excellent recent form for Australia, with three centuries in his past six Tests."

That is the funniest quote i have heard. Who were the opposition teams?? Was there ONE world class bowler in the attack??

jlc

[Donny]

No surprises, really. Well not for me.

I think Symmo was a good selection. He got the last spot ahead of a host of possibilities - Love, Hodge, both Husseys, Maher, Clarke, North, Elliott etc....

Seccombe also deserves his place as back up keeper.

The XI will be:

Hayden
Langer
Ponting
Martyn
Lehmann
Katich
Gilly
Warne
Gillespie
Lee
Williams, Symonds (bat at or MacGill

Or they may opt for Symmo at 7 with Gilly at 6 if they want the 3 quicks in or MacGill and 2 quicks. Versatile squad.

[JLC]

The squad is full of mystery in some ways.

No doubt Symonds has talent as he has developed over the last year. However if he is being picked on the same basis as Hodge, Elliott, White, Clarke etc you have to question his selection.

What has Symonds done in the Pura Cup that warrants his place in the team ?? The selectors obviously place a lot of emphasis on one day form for some strange reason. Bowling in a one day game is a lot different to bowling in a test match as is batting.

That being the case Clarke will get the nod ahead of Elliott and Hodge when the next vacancy appears.

So on that basis Pura Cup form doesnt really matter much when it comes to selecting the touring party. Not in the year when the Vics are on top of the table anyway.

jlc

[Donny]

JLC, it's not the only job for the selectors to pick the best team on form. They are also required to assess potential.

Bichel, Lehmann and Symonds' selections for the World Cup received criticism, especially from you, but all played vital roles in Australia's undefeated defence of the Cup and winning of the tournament.

Michael Slater was picked on potential for an Ashes tour. Hayden was considered 'past the post' to open with Taylor after Geoff Marsh's retirement but Slater played all 5 Tests and forged a very successful partnership with Taylor for years.

Warne was first selected on potential. Need I say more ?

[Donny]

Aussies' ace in the pack

By Robert Craddock - Fox

AFTER only one playing day of the Sri Lankan tour Andrew Symonds' Test selection is shaping as a gamble worth taking.

Hours after his selection in Australia's 15-man squad, Symonds smashed a cavalier 37 off 20 balls, including a six off the last ball of the innings, and then took 1-40 with the ball.

That doesn't make him a Test batsman or bowler, but it does say something about his state of mind.

Never mind that he averages only 36 for his state as a batsman or that he does not rate himself a front-line bowler.

He's hot. He's ready. He's hungry. If he put his hand in a lucky dip at the moment, he would pull out a gold bar.

One of the frustrations of the national selection panel is that they often don't get the chance to blood players when they are in red-hot form because there is no vacancy in a settled side.

But selectors have spotted a tiny opening for Symonds, pulled out their shoehorn, and taken a substantial leap of faith.

It might just work.

There is much to gain if it does and not much will be lost if it doesn't, for Michael Clarke almost certainly would not have played a Test had he come as the reserve batsman.

The likelihood that Stuart MacGill and Shane Warne will both play in the Tests will mean Australia will need a part-time seamer to bowl a handful of overs at first change, and Symonds could be the man, returning later to deliver some unpretentious but far from awful finger spin.

Australia must be realistic in its expectations of Symonds and avoid the trap of marking him by old-fashioned standards.

There is a long-held theory that for an allrounder to be worth his place in the team he must be worthy of being chosen for one skill alone.

Symonds does not pass this test. There is nothing in his interstate form that suggests he should be in the top six batsmen in the country and, by his own admission, he is a part-time bowler. But the sum of his parts will get him over the line if he can perform to his ability.

If he could average 35 with the bat and ball, and field to his customary high standard, he would have paid his way, even though neither set of numbers would be worthy of a specialist.

Great teams such as Australia don't need their allrounders to be match-winning champions, just handy types who can take pressure off the main men.

We are not talking about Richard Hadlee saving New Zealand or Kapil Dev inspiring India or Ian Botham proving a one-man show for England.

Symonds would have four men above him in the batting order with averages of about 50 or more and two of the most potent leg-spinners the game has seen bowling ahead of him in the order.

He doesn't have to be Keith Miller to get a pass mark, but his selection may prove the last man chosen for the team could have one of the most important roles to play.