I like the idea of an all-rounder being selected, we need to have the option of playing five bowlers, whether that's including two spinners or not, so we need a player capable of bowling a few overs and coming in at seven. They have to be better than a fill-in bowler though, and I would favour Stokes over Woakes or Bopara. I have made my love for Ravi the batsman clear, but his bowling isn't good enough for me to be effective in Tests in Oz, and he's had a distinctly average CC season with the bat anyway.
I've thought a lot about this squad and am still not 100% certain who I'd include. I think Panesar is clearly the second best spinner we have, but with his off-field problems that he's had this season I would be hesitant about asking him to carry drinks for another tour. Tredwell is always a good touring option, but he's been poor in the CC this year. Kerrigan must get another gig with the Development side.
The back-up batsman for me has to be Nick Compton. He can cover the top three spots and if required we can slip Root into the middle order.
As for the back-up keeper, I wouldn't fancy going into a Test, if Prior is injured, with a Bairstow or a Buttler behind the sticks. Think Bairstow is good to have should Prior get injured during a game, but as Paul Nixon suggested in his article in the Cricket Paper, it wouldn't be the worse thing to tell a James Foster to keep his diary free and expect a call to get on a plane to Oz should Prior pick up an injury.