Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Michael Hussey, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Watson, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Shaun Tait, Mitchell Johnson.
It looks like a pretty good team, with 6 pacemen to choose from. Jason Gillespie has been dropped after making 201 not out in his last Test match in April – he won’t go and make that mistake again. So it’s really up to a choice between Johnson, Tait, and Clark for the third seamers position.
Tait has been told to show his stuff against the English when they play South Australia in a 3 day game starting today. His late swinging deliveries, at pace, make life rather difficult for the guy batting at the other end, and he could have a good game. Apparently he wants to hit 100mph, although I’d prefer to see him concentrate on a good line. He can be a little wayward, but as Peter Roebuck points out, this isn’t such a problem when you’ve got another 4 quality bowlers at your disposal.
Mitchell Johnson offers variety with his left arm swing, and has already shown that he can knock over England’s best. He’s a Queenslander, so he knows how to bowl at the Gabba, and his form at the Champions Trophy shows that he’s ready to bowl at the elite level. I like the look of Johnson, and I reckon he could really surprise the visitors with his variety, swing, and pace.
Then there’s Stuart Clark. He’s a quality bowler, though perhaps a bit too much like Glenn McGrath. His bowling average is terrific, at 18.76, but this was against South Africa and Bangladesh, who aren’t in the same class as England.
If Pigeon was out, then Clark would be first pick, but I’d probably favour the variety of Johnson or Tait ahead of the New South Welshman. Either of those blokes could make the final XI and could potentially win a game for Australia. Let’s see how Tait goes against the tourists in Adelaide and make a decision at the end of that game.
