Best test XI as of now?

[Bob Neil]

1. Warner
2. Cowan
3. Khawaja
4. Hussey
5. Clarke
6. Watson
7. Nevill
8. Pattinson
9. Siddle
10. Starc
11. Lyon

A team to take on the poms in the back-to-back Ashes series.

Warner and Cowan have shown enough to persist with and offer a nice blend together. Hope they can lock in for the next few years.

At least one of Ponting/Hussey had to go and I chose Ponting who I think is deteriorating quicker in terms of technique. I think his natural replacement at #3 is Khawaja who has a better temperament and technique than Marsh whose FC record would suggest he is not the solution.

Hussey moves up to fill the gap at 4 which allows Clarke to stay at 5 and for Watson to play as a genuine all-rounder at 6 bowling good overs and facing the 2nd new ball. All lefties in the top four is not ideal but not enough of a reason to change (unless you swapped Watson and Hussey).

I've picked Nevill as the keeper on the basis of ABH (anyone but Haddin) along with the fact that I think Paine is gone and Nevill's glovework is superior to Wade's (which must be the first criteria in picking your keeper).

Pattinson looks the goods to lead the attack for a long time and make handy lower order runs (like Broad for England). Siddle stays in the team with his new bowling approach and to provide experience and takes #9 which I think is his natural spot in the batting order notwithstanding his recent improvement.

I've opted for Starc ahead of other choices - Cummins (not yet ready), Harris (too injury prone), and Hilfenhaus (unlucky) - because I think his rate of improvement is massive and he adds balance to the attack as a left-hander.

Lyon is the spinner at 11 which again is based on his encouraging performances overall to date, scope for further improvement and team balance.

 

[eth-dog]

Cummins is more ready than Starc.

 

[Alexwce]

Surprised you would have named Starc over Harris and Hillfenhaus. Regardless of whether Harris is able to keep fit until the next ashes series, Hillfenhaus would surely be just about first picked. English conditions should suit him as well.

 

[mattymac]

would love it if starc got up to international standard one day, not least for the footmarks he'd give lyon to work with, but there is no way known he is in the best test XI as of now

 

[dan warna]

Surprised you would have named Starc over Harris and Hillfenhaus. Regardless of whether Harris is able to keep fit until the next ashes series, Hillfenhaus would surely be just about first picked. English conditions should suit him as well.

Concur. Starc is adequate compared to hilfenhaus, cutting, pattinson, siddle, cummins etc.

 

[nobbyiscool]

Surprised you would have named Starc over Harris and Hillfenhaus. Regardless of whether Harris is able to keep fit until the next ashes series, Hillfenhaus would surely be just about first picked. English conditions should suit him as well.

i would suggest there are a number of posters here with no sense of objectivity whatsoever, and their suggested line ups are not to be taken seriously.

two cases in point:

- we have an opening partnership functioning better than any opening partnership we've had for years, apart from isolated good showings from watson and katich, and people want to break them up, presumably because there are khawaja fanboys, or they just don't think a dour opener who is exactly what we need is fashionable. you could make an argument that heading to the Ashes there's only room for one of Ponting or Hussey. but at the moment we don't have anyone better. it's irrelevant anyway, the question is best XI now. replacing Marsh with Watson, and our top 6 picks itself for the first time since our golden age. i've said for years, since he dominated playing there for tassie, that shane watson is a natural number 3. he slots right in.

- the bloke who was always the bowler that we needed has finally learned to bowl in more unfavourable conditions and he's dominated the best batting line up in the world. you can argue over the third quick. you could even still make an argument that Siddle is a workhorse rather than a strike bowler (though he's still in our best 11 on current form). but hilfenhaus is first picked at the moment, there's no doubt he's in our line up.

the question of our best XI right now centres around the keeper and the third and fourth bowlers. i don't think there can be any doubt outside of that.

 

[Alexwce]

Anybody else wish to make a current best Test XI without including Ricky Ponting?

 

[courtjester]

Our best fully fit line up is...

Warner
Cowan
Watson
Ponting
Clarke
Hussey
Wade
Pattinson
Siddle
Hilfenhaus
Lyon

Hanging round...

Starc
Harris/Cummins
Khawaja

 

[CHIEF SMACKAHOE]

harris >> hilfenhaus

 

[courtjester]

harris >> hilfenhaus

Agree, if both were fully fit.

I like Harris, but he's prone to breaking down.

 

[nobbyiscool]

harris >> hilfenhaus

based on what?

that Harris takes less wickets? moves the ball less? breaks down constantly?

hilfenhaus >>> all our bowlers. he's first picked at the moment.

 

[CHIEF SMACKAHOE]

based on what?

that Harris takes less wickets? moves the ball less? breaks down constantly?

hilfenhaus >>> all our bowlers. he's first picked at the moment.

haha no. hilfenhaus is in the middle of a purple patch and he will get smashed around by the poms. harris is the better bowler by far.

 

[Alexwce]

haha no. hilfenhaus is in the middle of a purple patch and he will get smashed around by the poms. harris is the better bowler by far.

I'm a colossal fan of Harris, in fact consider him the best bowler in Australia. However he breaks down regularly and is nigh on standing on his last leg, another injury could well bury his international career. It's an indignity because he has potential to be the worlds best.

That being said, you cannot talk down Hillfenhaus. This "purple patch" makes him the presently the bowler Australia has. Hilf has changed his action drastically and become a lethal bowler. "Purple patch" or not he is largely responsible for the reason why Australia currently leads the serious 4-0. He is the in-form wicket-taking bowler and to argue against him being chosen first is silly.

Hilf should thrive in English conditions, the previous Ashes in England attested this. If Australia is to reclaim the Ashes in England, Hilf will play a pivotal role and it wouldn't be so farfetched in principle to say Hilf may be our most significant player when time comes.

Enough of the pessimism already

 

[courtjester]

I think Hilf and Harris are our best bowlers for English
Conditions, so I hope they're both fit.

 

[nobbyiscool]

haha no. hilfenhaus is in the middle of a purple patch and he will get smashed around by the poms. harris is the better bowler by far.

genius response. "haha no."

I won't expect a coherent response, just point out that you still haven't listed a single criteria on which Harris is a better bowler.

but then, I bet if I looked hard enough you were probably one of the Internet experts who wanted ponting dropped.

 

[Tazwegian]

Massive fan of Hilfy, but I wouldn't put him above Harris just yet. Give him a few more series and see if he keeps bowling as consistently before trying to judge exactly where he sits amongst our current line up. I would say he is a definite selection at the moment though, regardless of who is fit.

 

[Thommo 42]

they are both ideal for English conditions and both have serious knee issues, Harris moreso.

Ideally they will both be fit for the next tour, won't hold my breath on Harris he will be nealy 34 and his knee could be completely rooted by then.

 

[The Passenger]

time will tell whether hilfenhaus has found his feet at test level or whether this is a purple patch.

by for the time being you can't deny what has been a fantastic summer and he is a certain selectoin in australian team for the foreseable future...

 

[Thommo 42]

he's always been of this quality, knee tendonitis and the inability of the hierarchy to have the balls to rest him last summer were the problem.

 

[The Passenger]

he's always been of this quality,

he had been solid to good without being great in the few tests he had played. did his best work in england in a pretty high scoring series, but didn't rip through the poms.

i don't think even his strongest fans were expecting him to rip through the indians like this.

i would think he is the sort of bloke who get his average to hover around the 28-29 mark. pretty solid.

knee tendonitis and the inability of the hierarchy to have the balls to rest him last summer were the problem.

definately should've been left out considering it's been revealed he was injured. jason gillespie 2005 all over again. except only you didn't have to be in the australian doctor's room in 2005 to see that dizzy was playing injured during that tour.

 

[DeadlyAkkuret]

Everyone will get smashed by the poms, apparently. Ponting is playing well, but he'll be smashed by the poms. Ditto Warner, Hilfenhaus etc.

The only time they've smashed us was the during the last Ashes series and that was the worst Australian side I can remember. The previous two victories they had over us were very narrow. Has there ever been a more overrated team? They're the best of a pretty even bunch of teams, nothing more.

We've got the team to at least draw the next series and then win it back in Australia.

 

[dan warna]

Everyone will get smashed by the poms, apparently. Ponting is playing well, but he'll be smashed by the poms. Ditto Warner, Hilfenhaus etc.

The only time they've smashed us was the during the last Ashes series and that was the worst Australian side I can remember. The previous two victories they had over us were very narrow. Has there ever been a more overrated team? They're the best of a pretty even bunch of teams, nothing more.

We've got the team to at least draw the next series and then win it back in Australia.

I think if we can get our bowlers fit the that will our sword. Not convinced about a few of our batsmen.

McDermott has shown us the light!

 

[IanG]

Siddle has now unarguably moved ahead of Harris in the pecking order.

 

[catters rule]

1. Warner
2. Cowan
3. Watson
4. Ponting
5. Clarke
6. Hussey
7. Wade/Paine
8. Harris
9. Pattinson
10. Siddle
11. Hilfenhaus


Lyon may come in for the worst performing quick depending on conditions. Cummins is the next in line quick may overtake some of the others if he can get a lot of games together and can perform well. Khwajah and Marsh are the next in line batsmen.

 

[Ill Chicken]

Drop Haddin, give Hussey the gloves play an extra bat.