Who's safe and who isn't?

[Mister Wright]

Safe list:

Ricky Ponting: new captain and three double centuries last year.
Matthew Hayden: 1000+ runs for three years in a row speaks for itself.
Justin Langer: 2 centuries and a half century in recent series.
Jason Gillespie: Has been Australia's best bowler of the series, hopefully he can stay injury free.
Adam Gilchrist: The extended time keeping is effecting his batting and keeping for that matter, but is still playing well enough to stay in the team.

Apart from those players I can't see any others who can be guaranteed a place.

Un-safe list:

Brett Lee: Bowling like absolute crap and apart from his first season averaging 17 he has hardly been ripping through opposition batting line-ups.

Stuart MacGill: Bad time to be out of form and not another test until Sri Lanka and ultimately Warne's come back.

Damien Martyn: Plays some really good innings, but has been a while since he hit a real good one, probably would have got a ton if Steve Waugh had not declared in Brisbane, so maybe the form is a bit of an illusion, will need a big score to keep the next-in-lines of his ankles.

Simon Katich: Didn't look like getting a wicket in the first innings because he didn't bowl many full-tosses or half-trackers. A big innings in this last test could save him because he hasn't been making many runs.

Nathan Bracken: Should never have played test cricket for Australia and should never play again.

I'm not saying these players will be dropped immediately but with tough tours of Sri Lanka and India next year the heat could be on them.

 

[Tim]

Wholesale changes are no good for a team....Australia are striking what many other teams have gone through over the last 2 or 3 years.

There's no use complaining about the fact that Warne & McGrath are missing because there are other Countries who have gone through the same problems.

It may look concerning to Australians seeing Steve Waugh disappear with the team looking on the downward spiral but I wouldn't be surprised if they turn up to Sri Lanka & clean the house.
Form is temporary, Class is permanent.

 

[Sudeep]

I actually think that no one is un-safe. With Steve Waugh retiring, there is one more batsman spot. So Martyn is going to stay. And he is having a lean patch. Doesn't mean he ain't good. Everyone goes through a phase. Martyn is as classy as one gets... I love his batting.

Same applies to Katich. He's an OK player for me... And he seems perfectly fine at no. 6.

MacGill, well we all know... When Warne returns, he won't have a spot. But it doesn't mean he'll never play again. Aussies are good at rotating their players. So no one is un-safe in my point of view.

I personally like Bracken a lot. Maybe hes better for one days than Tests but... With 6 bowlers (gillespie, bichel, williams, mcgrath, lee and bracken) and 3 spots... everyone will get a chance, but no one is un-safe.

 

[Mister Wright]

Wholesale changes are no good for a team....Australia are striking what many other teams have gone through over the last 2 or 3 years.

There's no use complaining about the fact that Warne & McGrath are missing because there are other Countries who have gone through the same problems.

It may look concerning to Australians seeing Steve Waugh disappear with the team looking on the downward spiral but I wouldn't be surprised if they turn up to Sri Lanka & clean the house.
Form is temporary, Class is permanent.

For starters it wouldn't be wholesale changes - McGrath, Warne & Lehmann come back, that is eight players. Stick with Martyn that's nine, the other players are either established players who have got by with sub-standard performances while the team wins or fringe players.

 

[Tim]

Yeah well of course those 8 players + Martyn are safe and probably Lee aswell but do you think players like Bracken, Williams, Bichel, MacGill & Katich could become victims of this series?
I don't think that will happen...the Australian selectors will hopefully know better than to get rid of 4 or 5 players just because of a temporary blip in form.

 

[Craig]

You forgot about Brad Williams Kyle.

 

[Mister Wright]

You forgot about Brad Williams Kyle.

I was only really considering the XI from the Sydney test. Williams and Bichel will probably be saved from not playing in the Sydney test.

I really think Lee is not safe and Katich could go, but probably not.

Like I said they probably won't get dropped but another loss in Sri Lanka and who knows?

 

[Andre]

I'd say that Simon Katich and Damien Martyn are both as safe as houses.

It's the bowling attack that needs the cleanout, and Lee, MacGill and Bracken won't be sighted in a Test side for a while - if ever again.

For Sri Lanka, the bowling attack if I were a selector would be McGrath, Gillespie, Warne and either Tait, Bichel or Williams. My second spinner would be Hoggy, because he offers something differant.

MacGill is already on borrowed time.