Feed Posted December 20, 2011 Posted December 20, 2011 More... Christian in frame for Test side: Arthur December 20, 2011 PHOTO: Dan Christian will feature for the Brisbane Heat on Tuesday night before joining the Test side's batting camp on Wednesday. (Getty Images: Mark Kolbe) Australia coach Mickey Arthur says all-rounder Dan Christian is making a strong case to be named in Australia's team for the Boxing Day Test against India. Arthur and his four co-selectors will name a squad on Wednesday which is likely to include top-order batsmen Shaun Marsh (back) and Shane Watson (hamstring), who are recovering from injuries. Christian has been in blazing form for South Australia, scoring 475 Sheffield Shield runs at 59.37 this season. Arthur said he was happy for Christian to play for Brisbane Heat in Tuesday night's Big Bash League game at the Gabba against Melbourne Stars before joining a batting camp at the MCG on Wednesday. The three-day batting camp, supervised by Arthur and batting coach Justin Langer, includes Michael Clarke, Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey, Brad Haddin, Marsh and Watson. Current Test batsmen Phil Hughes, Usman Khawaja and David Warner and Test hopeful Ed Cowan are playing for a Cricket Australia Chairman's XI in a three-day game against India in Canberra this week. While Watson is likely to be rushed back into the side at the expense of opener Hughes, uncertainty surrounds Watson's role. Amid speculation the star all-rounder will be moved to the middle order because of his bowling workload, Watson is no certainty to bowl in next week's Melbourne Test and may play as a batsman only. This could open the door for Christian to play the role of all-rounder and bat in the top six, at the expense of either Khawaja, Hussey or Ponting. Arthur expressed confidence in veterans Ponting and Hussey on Tuesday but added no one was guaranteed a game and they had to keep producing runs to be selected. Arthur said he was unsure on the fitness of Watson and Marsh and this would be established overnight before the squad was announced on Wednesday. "Our preference for balance of the team is always to try to have an all-rounder and if we've got one who we think is capable of doing the job, he will play," Arthur said. Arthur said playing back-to-back Tests in Melbourne (December 26-30) and Sydney (January 3-7) would be tough on a four-man bowling attack. "I see the spinner (Nathan Lyon) bowling a huge amount more and we need to be able to fiddle some overs from our batters," Arthur said. Arthur said his philosophy on picking a team included naming your best six batsmen, your best four bowlers then picking a keeper. "Dan Christian has done superbly well for South Australia. Stats will tell you that he could possibly be in our top six batters," Arthur said. "If you can get some overs out of your best six batsmen, then that's a bonus."
Pagalpanti Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 Australia's squad for 1st test | Watson, Ryan Harris out with injuries Ed Cowan, the Tasmania opening batsman, has barged his way into Australia's Boxing Day Test team to face India through weight of runs, and will be joined in the top three by Shaun Marsh provided the West Australian can prove his fitness in a Twenty20 match for the Perth Scorchers. Ben Hilfenhaus has also earned a recall, as the selectors sought an experienced head to help a young attack battle India's batsmen at the MCG. Cowan and Marsh replaced Phillip Hughes and Usman Khawaja from the XI that was ingloriously beaten by New Zealand in Hobart, with Shane Watson and Ryan Harris unable to be chosen due to continued fitness complaints. Watson aggravated a calf problem on day one of the team's batting camp in Melbourne, while Harris indicated he was short of the required conditioning after returning to cricket for the Brisbane Heat in last night's BBL match at the Gabba. Source Squad: Michael Clarke (capt), Ed Cowan, David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Daniel Christian, Brad Haddin, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon
Pagalpanti Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 Respite for Indians as Watson and Harris won't play. Hilfenhaus is an unexpected selection. And they've dropped Khawaja based on few tests. :O
tatters Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 No Watson is good news. They have a relatively inexperienced team and India should be confident.
cowboysfan Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 we may see a flat wicket this test,the aussies will be cautious.
Karan114 Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 Watson and Harris are both big misses, for sure.
bulbul Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 This is a weak team... Any thing less than a win for us is a shame
bulbul Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 Question is whether Hussey or Christian...they will leave out Starc anyway.
Clarke Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 Hilfy, Pattinson, Siddle & Lyon is the bowling attack .. strangely, the dropped batting pair were warming up in CAC's second innings.
saneindian Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 Hilfy with his outswing will be a real threat, watched him swing the ball admirably in a recent Big Bash match, was hitting good speeds and getting it to move both ways. Warner, Cowan, Marsh, Ponting, Clarke, Hussey, Haddin, Lyon, Siddle, Pattinson, Hilfy looks to be the likely squad.
Needforspeed Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 Good balanced squad. If they add Christian it will give them a real good option in batting and bowling. For that they would have to take the tough decision of dropping Ponting. May not happen in the first Test.
Raghav_12 Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 Final Line Up would read like this Cowan Warner Marsh Ponting Clarke Hussey Haddin Siddle Hiffy Pattinson Lyon Not bad..
saneindian Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 With that bowling lineup, if we can safely see off the new ball, our batting will pile on the runs. Thats a huge IF though. Hope Sehwag doesn't repeat the mistakes of SA, gifting his wicket in trying to attack the new ball.
CG Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 With that bowling lineup' date=' if we can safely see off the new ball, our batting will pile on the runs. Thats a huge IF though. Hope Sehwag doesn't repeat the mistakes of SA, gifting his wicket in trying to attack the new ball.[/quote'] Wickets in sa had much more juice compared to australia,But mcg is a sticky wicket most times and indian have performed bad there.
ganeshran Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 Why did they select Christian in the side? He isnt a genuine all rounder - more like a bits and pieces cricketer who is a valuable asset in LOIs. In tests such players rarely work in the long term.
G_B_ Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 starc will play watson is a huge blow for them harris was confirmed out Marsh is the surprise inclusion.
jusarrived Posted December 21, 2011 Posted December 21, 2011 Hilfenhaus can cause us problems . Very underrated bowler & we tend to struggle against his type of bowling
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