Evaluation of the Ashes Squad

The Ashes Squad has been announced:

Michael Clarke (c)
Brad Haddin (vc)
Jackson Bird
Ed Cowan
James Faulkner
Ryan Harris
Phil Hughes
Usman Khawaja
Nathan Lyon
James Pattinson
Chris Rogers
Peter Siddle
Mitchell Starc
Matthew Wade
David Warner
Shane Watson

Some good points and bad points about this squad. I suppose Brad Haddin is a decent choice as vice-captain - he is just as experienced as Shane Watson (slightly more, in fact, with 44 Tests under his belt compared to Watson's 41), so he certainly has the experience needed for the leadership role. But he wouldn't have been my first choice for wicket-keeper: he's 35 for goodness' sake; five Ashes Tests, four first-class tour matches and three Australia A matches will be a great demand on the fellow's strength and endurance.

The bowling attack is good. Since Shane Watson will be bowling that gives us seven pace bowlers (Bird, Faulkner, Harris, Starc, Siddle, Pattinson, Watson) and one spinner (Lyon). I'm pleased with the inclusion of Jackson Bird in the squad; he's a very talented up-and-coming bowler whose ability to swing the ball will be a great asset in England. I'm a bit disappointed with the exclusion of Mitchell Johnson, though, who apparently "narrowly missed selection"; despite his performance in India (not that he was given much of a chance) he can be very dangerous when he is in form.

The inclusion of Usman Khawaja is reassuring, but will he be chosen for a Test? How many times has Khawaja been chosen for a squad before and not been selected for a single Test? I genuinely hope this is not one of those times, as he will be very useful against England in English conditions.

What is really disheartening about this squad is the inclusion of Phil Hughes. I cannot stress this enough: he is rubbish. He can't play against spin - his performance in India proved that. Here are his figures for the entire Indian tour: 6 and 0, 19 and 0, 2 and 69, 45 and 6. That's a total of 147 runs over four Tests at an average of 18.38. In five of his eight innings he didn't pass 10 runs. Swann and Panesar will tear him apart. It seems like the selectors are just continuing to trot him out because they don't have the courage to drop him and try someone else (hint: Shaun Marsh). That may sound harsh but if Australia wants to climb back to the no.1 position, something the selectors apparently regard as rather important, we need to stop trotting out shoddy players like Hughes. Send him back to Sheffield Shield and when he's shown he's improved, then we can give him another shot in the national side.

What is even more disheartening about Hughes' inclusion is the absence of Steve Smith in his place. He performed better than any Australian batsman in India apart from Michael Clarke. Better than Warner and Cowan, better than Watson, better than Wade, and a bloody lot better than Hughes. I can see him as a permanent fixture of the Australian side, even a future captain, yet the selectors have seen fit to sideline him in favour of the "established" rubbish batsmen. That said, it is encouraging that he was made vice-captain of the Australia A squad, but why make him VC of the Second XI over a whole host of players who are in the Ashes squad, if not to include him in the Ashes squad itself? And why, for the last time, was Hughes included but not Smith???

Finally, turning to Shane Watson, it is a good thing that he is to be bowling again and re-assuming the all-rounder role, but I suppose this means he won't be opening the batting, as I had hoped. The inclusion of both Warner and Cowan (and Hughes) seems to confirm this. Despite criticism (some of it very unfair to my mind) of his recent form, I still have confidence in him. He is still the second best batsman on the Australian side. He made a hundred in the IPL just yesterday, if that is any show of his batting abilities. I very much hope that my faith in Watson will be vindicated in the Ashes and prove his detractors wrong. I am confident he will rise to the occasion. Just you watch.

What I take away from this squad overall is that the selectors have the right ideas for the Ashes, but still lack the courage to take bold steps with Australia's future in mind. The inclusion of Hughes and the absence of Smith is a case in point (although the total exclusion of Glenn Maxwell is slightly reassuring). It is a good squad, but could be better. We certainly have a chance of winning back the Ashes with this squad, or at least of avoiding by a good margin another devestating series defeat as in India - but every player must meet the challenge. It's going to be a tough one.