Justo
U19 Debutant
I'd potentially look at blooding Burns if Ponting is injured. Looks to be one for the future(potential Ashes candidate as well) and is good against pace. Has the best form out of the likely candidates and the Gabba is his home ground as well. Can also slot in at 4.
For Watson it ultimately depends on whether you want to go with 5 bowling options or not. Could see McDonald or Maxwell getting the nod(whether they deserve it or not). Interestingly picking Maxwell might actually be a blessing in some ways since the selectors would then likely run with 4 front line quicks. If either were to be chosen I'd bat them at 7 and promote Wade to 4. If a pure batsmen were to be selected then I'd go with Burns again. In either situation Ponting would bat at 3.
If both are injured then we're in a bit of trouble. I'd definately run with 2 pure batsmen(no Maxwell or McDonald to get the strongest possible batting lineup) with 4 front line bowlers(one being Lyon) and would probably choose any of Hughes, Dussey, Khawaja, Quiney, Cosgrove or Burns as the batsmen. The loss of both Watson and Ponting would leave the top order quite low on experience(with Warner or Cowan not having been around for long) so I'd be potentially willing to bat Hughes at 3 and Dussey at 4 just to get more experience in the lineup. The top 3 being left handed could be a concern though. With Dussey's form though I could easily run with Hughes at 3 and Burns at 4.
I wouldn't move Clarke or Mussey up the order. Both have struggled there in the past and with such a lineup you'd want to get as much as you can out of them.
I personally wouldn't have Doolan anywhere near the Test team yet. While he's having a brilliant season he's hasn't done anywhere near as well in the past. Ferguson also shouldn't be anywhere near the frame either. Needs to maintain his current form across the entire season before being even remotely looked at. Bailey's another possible option(and probably someone the selectors are thinking about) but he's been pretty poor in the games he's had so far.
For Watson it ultimately depends on whether you want to go with 5 bowling options or not. Could see McDonald or Maxwell getting the nod(whether they deserve it or not). Interestingly picking Maxwell might actually be a blessing in some ways since the selectors would then likely run with 4 front line quicks. If either were to be chosen I'd bat them at 7 and promote Wade to 4. If a pure batsmen were to be selected then I'd go with Burns again. In either situation Ponting would bat at 3.
If both are injured then we're in a bit of trouble. I'd definately run with 2 pure batsmen(no Maxwell or McDonald to get the strongest possible batting lineup) with 4 front line bowlers(one being Lyon) and would probably choose any of Hughes, Dussey, Khawaja, Quiney, Cosgrove or Burns as the batsmen. The loss of both Watson and Ponting would leave the top order quite low on experience(with Warner or Cowan not having been around for long) so I'd be potentially willing to bat Hughes at 3 and Dussey at 4 just to get more experience in the lineup. The top 3 being left handed could be a concern though. With Dussey's form though I could easily run with Hughes at 3 and Burns at 4.
I wouldn't move Clarke or Mussey up the order. Both have struggled there in the past and with such a lineup you'd want to get as much as you can out of them.
I personally wouldn't have Doolan anywhere near the Test team yet. While he's having a brilliant season he's hasn't done anywhere near as well in the past. Ferguson also shouldn't be anywhere near the frame either. Needs to maintain his current form across the entire season before being even remotely looked at. Bailey's another possible option(and probably someone the selectors are thinking about) but he's been pretty poor in the games he's had so far.
