Limited overs squads announced for UAE Tour

Less than a week after posting an article looking at the dynamics of our limited overs squad, the National Selection Panel announced the ODI and T20 squads for the UAE tour in August. They've addressed serious matters of urgency following the horrid UK tour and I am pleased with the balance we have the in side which was evidently a concern.

Without further to do, here's the squads.

ODI squad:
David Warner, Matthew Wade (wk), Michael Clarke (captain), George Bailey, Callum Ferguson, Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Daniel Christian, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Johnson, Xavier Doherty, James Pattinson, Clint McKay, Mitchell Starc.

T20 squad:
David Warner, Shane Watson, Matthew Wade (wk), David Hussey, Michael Hussey, George Bailey (captain), Cameron White, Daniel Christian, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Hogg, Xavier Doherty, Clint McKay, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Ben Hilfenhaus.

The big news is the return of Callum Ferguson. The Baggy Green Blog has become a supportive domain for Fergal and it is with great relief that the selectors have recalled one of our best suited players who has experience at the elite level and has the ability to emulate Michael Hussey's middle order brilliance in limited overs cricket.

He rotates the strike well and gets on with the job, showing innovation within his approach during the death overs of an innings. After his Ryobi campaign last season for the Redbacks he deserves it. At long last.

It is great to see Michael Hussey's name back in the limited overs side as well. May limit Fergal's appearances but always good to see Huss' name in any side.

Daniel Christian has been called into the limited overs side again. A big reason behind this is because Shane Watson will be rested for the ODI matches - along with Ben Hilfenhaus - and Dan is one of our better all-rounders in the system.

Joining the all-rounders department is Glenn Maxwell. I am sure you caught a fair bit of him in the Big Bash League. He scored me some good points in the Fox Sports Fantasy League as well. He can certainly contribute where the side needs him and I am really pleased to see him get selected for our T20 side.

His ODI call-up? In all honesty I did not see him getting into the limited overs side but he is a damn good hitter of the ball and certainly struck me as a bloke who'd find his way into the international setup. If anything I thought maybe Cameron White would have been given an opportunity again in ODI cricket but the selectors have opted for Maxwell in both squads. All the best to the young man! May his role be clear from day 1, unlike poor young Steven Smith.

After the last article I posted, which was a look at the ODI team balance, I am really glad to know that David Warner and Matt Wade will be given another chance to open the batting. I strongly believe in their duo for the shorter format of the game and with Shane Watson being rested this is the ideal chance to give it another test.

The bowling units? With the retirement of Brett Lee (hard to believe it) the bowling unit will be as follows for the ODIs - Mitchell Johnson, Xavier Doherty, James Pattinson, Clint McKay, Mitchell Starc. Dan Christian, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell and David Hussey can also contribute to the bowling. All in all the options are well stacked and it will simply be a case of having the right men for the job out on the park.

As mentioned, for the Twenty20 side both Shane Watson and Ben Hilfenhaus have been included but will not take part in the ODI series due to player rotation. Patty Cummins, Brad Hogg and Cameron White are the other three players who will only play in the T20 leg of the UAE Tour.

Brad Hogg! I am a big supporter of the man and his enthusiasm is contagious. Hope he stacks up some Paki wickets. Hoggy is also strongly in the mix for the ICC World T20.

Regarding Cameron White,  the Australian Cricketers Association made it clear in a Tweet:

@CameronWhite152's T20 form lead him to his Australian recall. Deccan: 479 runs @ 43.54, HS 78. Northants: 228 runs @ 57.00, HS 62*

No need to question Cameron's form and deserved recall. I hope he can regain a place in our limited overs squad down the road as well. He seems to have recaptured his natural game after seeming lost for quite some time as to how he should go about his game (attack or defend) and time will tell of the adjustment upon returning to International cricket.

It is a step in the right direction and this side immediately appears to be a more competitive team. There is a far better balance in terms of temperament, ability, form and experience with the batting, while the bowling offers good variety in offering.

A big aspect of this tour will be the batting department. The UAE tracks are often tough to graft on and definitely provoke a demand for concentration and focus in extreme conditions. For this reason I think the selection of Mike Hussey and Callum Ferguson is ideal. Concentration hasn't appeared to be our strong point in limited overs cricket.

If our batsmen can also perform collectively - usual story - and should the dynamics pay off with selection I really, really hope for our bowlers sake that they pile on the runs. Our bowlers can only defend so many below par totals before they lose their confidence and get the label of "average".

With the extreme heat in the UAE, the more runs on the board to defend, the better it will be for them and I am sure our batsmen would return the favour in hoping to chase down some low totals.

Your thoughts?

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Australian performances at the 2012 IPL

 The Indian Premier League has been concluded.

Admittedly I am rather annoyed that the Chennai Super Kings lost the final but well done the Kolkata Knight Riders for chasing down a mammoth total. Certainly made for an entertaining final which was vital given a few controversies that were sparked during the event.

I still maintain that as a domestic league with a few International stars, the tournament is WAY too long.

Most importantly for our sake, here's a look at how the top Australian players went:

Batting:

Cameron White: 13 innings, 479 runs, HS 78, Average 43.54, x5 fifties, x20 sixes
David Hussey: 15 innings, 396 runs, HS 68*, Average 33.00, x2 fifties, x17 sixes
Steven Smith: 14 innings, 362 runs, HS 47*, Average 40.22, x14 sixes
Shaun Marsh: 13 innings, 336 runs, HS 68*, Average 30.54, x2 fifties, x7 sixes
Michael Hussey: 8 innings, 261 runs, HS 56, Average 32.62, x2 fifties, x8 sixes
David Warner: 8 innings, 256 runs, HS 109*, Average 36.57, x1 century, x1 fifty, x14 sixes
Shane Watson: 11 innings, 255 runs, HS 90*, Average 42.50, x2 fifties, x14 sixes
Brad Hodge: 12 innings, 245 runs, HS 48*, Average 30.62, x9 sixes

Bowling:

Ben Hilfenhaus: 9 games, 14 wickets at 16.64.
Brad Hogg: 9 games, 10 wickets at 25.30.
Ryan Harris: 5 games, 8 wickets at 16.25.
Doug Bollinger: 6 games, 8 wickets at 19.62.
Dan Christian: 7 games, 8 wickets at 29.12.

The performances alongside the Big Bash League certainly gives the National Selection Panel the perfect situation to decide upon the players they wish to select for the 2012 ICC World T20.

It was very good to see Shaun Marsh and Cameron White regain their confidence and it was even better to see them play their natural games, despite it being Twenty20 cricket. Their natural temperaments came to the forefront and they looked focused, in control and seemed to really enjoy themselves. Sometimes that is all it takes! Well done boys.

The Hussey brothers delivered the goods for their respective teams and our big hitters Shane Watson and David Warner were able to provide a few firework displays during the tournament. The NSP definitely have a few tough decisions to make on the batting front!

The Big Bash boasted some excellent bowling performances, especially for Brad Hogg. He is eying a comeback into the Australian side for a major ICC event. Since the Big Bash League he has played a T20i against India in Australia and his performances in the IPL - from what I saw on the tele - were good enough to suggest we should give the bloke a go out there. He still has the enthusiasm and no shortage of energy!

Ben Hilfenhaus made a wonderful impact and it's amazing to think that the Big Bash League played a relatively significant role to put him back on the Australian fanatics radar just before getting the recall to the Test side. He will be well aware that he needs to work on his death bowling but the subtle variations to his bowling have FINALLY arrived for the T20 format.

Otherwise Ryan Harris would be my pick but in Ryano's case a lot depends on his fitness. Was also good to see Douggie Bollinger getting some game time.

The bowling will be a tough one for the NSP but they have enough to bring in a good variation of players, especially taking note of the most important Twenty20 event of the season being the Big Bash League.

What's your ideal 14 man squad for the ICC World T20?

Hope you're all surviving the cricket drought!

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