West Indies - Here We Come

John Inverarity

John Inverarity's selectors - now with their own acronym (NSP) - have named the squads for the T20 and ODI section of the West Indies tour in March and April. There are few controversies in the constitution of the squads, with George Bailey, Nathan Lyon and Brad Haddin being added to the current CBA Series ODI squad and Shane Watson and Mike Hussey back into the T20's.

All have been including into touring squads which will lead to three Tests at the end of the tour, so it makes sense to have the likes of Haddin there and training with the ODI squad as a lead in to the Tests, where he will still be the first choice keeper. The same for Bailey, who wouldn't normally be included in the ODI squad but will captain the T20 team immediately after the five ODI's. Its a clever move, as is the move to have Mitchell Starc travel with the squads, without being part of the selected bunch. All of these moves are designed to have players in form and switched on in the squad atmosphere. Smart.

One point which could be contended is maintaining George Bailey as the T20 captain. Watson, the heir apparent in both ODI and Test format looks to have been the smarter bet but the selectors may be keeping a weather eye on the big blond's injuries and having Bailey as skipper removes the likelihood of disruption should his tissue issues resurface. The other interesting development comes in the nomination of source teams for the T20 players. State associations are ignored in favour of each player being named as sources from his Big Bash League franchise.

The other refreshing honesty from Inverarity at the press conference to announce the squads was the news that Shaun Marsh and Pat Cummins will not be considered for any of the Australian squads in the West Indies. Cummins is experiencing further problems with his heel but for Marsh, it was an instruction to get back to the basics, correct technique problems and find some form. Marsh turns 29 in July which is not to old for him to come back into contention in the next few years, given that the average age of these two squads is 28. The big problem will be other candidates taking his spot, especially Shane Watson who looks the short priced candidate to take the No 3 spot in the Test, creating further frustration for Usman Khawaja. He's been the best three in Australia for the past two seasons and can only get a gig when someone is injured. The frankness with players and the opening of this information to the media has been a modus operadi which has evolved over the summer. The new panel has bought a settled, calm feeling to their roles.

With the CBA series still to be finalised but Australia looking the goods, we have returned to our annual thumping of touring teams in ODI format but the main game on the horizon is the West Indies tour. In the Test part of the tour at least, Australia will be tested.