What is Australia's best possible batting line up.

[Beny]

With so much depth of talent in Australian domestic cricket, the Aussie batting line up has never been more difficult to pick.
Whilst the likes of Langer and Hayden are obviously still at the peak of their powers, younger players are knocking on the door in search of their spots. Phil Jaques is argualby the best batsmen in the Pura Cup at the momment and has been since late last year. Mark Cosgrove is on a roll- looking class, and Micheal Clarke will be looking to put on the baggy-green again soon.
Meanwhile there are the old dogs such as Mike Hussey and Brad Hodge, both of whom are deserving of their positions at the momment and have injected some much needed stability and class into the team. The likes of Katich and Andrew Symonds are also wanting to impress after failing to grasp the chances they've previously had. Damian Martyn can also lay claim to a spot many belive he should not have lost.

To give people an idea of what could happen here are a few top 7 orders.

Langer
Hayden
Ponting
Hodge
Hussey
Watson/Symonds
Gilly

Jaques
Hayden
Ponting
Clarke
Hussey
Hodge
Gilly

Langer
Hayden
Ponting
Jaques
Clarke
Hussey
Gilly

Jaques
Hussey
Ponting
Clarke
Hodge
Gilly
Cosgrove

[greg]

A lot will depend on how long Langer and Hayden continue for.Gilchrist has already hinted at retirement after the World cup and that is possibly the time that Australia will lose 4 or 5 of the senior players.Whether the selectors decide to phase one or two out before then is debatable but you would get away with it if Hussey and Hodge become proper test players as Clarke will return as well.

For now i'd stick with the same ones as they have gone with against West Indies.

Hayden
Langer
Ponting
Hodge
Hussey
Watson/Symonds
Gilchrist

After the World Cup who knows?
Hussey
Jaques
Ponting
Hodge
Clarke
Watson
???? Whoever as keeper

[smickel]

If you want to make the strongest possbile batting line up I think that Symonds/Watson would have to be dropped and perhaps put Katich, Martyn or Clarke (in my opinion Clarke) back in the team. Here's what I think could be one of the strongest possible batting line ups in Australia at the moment.

Hayden
Langer
Ponting
Clarke
Hodge
Hussey
Gilchrist

[Beny]

What about the young guys Greg? Surely Jaques will be in the team after 2007 and Cosgrove looks a winner too.

[Quagmire]

Hayden
Langer
Ponting
Hodge
Hussey
Gilchrist
Symonds

[Rachael]

i think you guys are over-complicating matters: Langer is a must... as is Ponting... and (looking to the future) as is Clarke. Of the rest... Hussey and Hodge are surely the most deserving. That leaves 2/7... and one of those has to be some sort of all-rounder - and for most of you that means Gilchrist even if many of us who watched him in England this summer reckon he's been found out as a player for sporting conditions.

That means the entire debate boils down to "who gets the other spot". Those of you obsessed with flat track bullying are always going to go for Hayden... but the sad truth remains that those of us who ain't into flat track bullying ain't clear as top who's the better bet. Dragging Steve Waugh out of retirement sounds the best bet... but what's really needed is another player in his mould: not someone who can score centuries on pitches where every tom, dick and harry can score centuries... but someone who'll be there at the end of the session in which all the others screw up.

Right now... Australia would be better served by a number 4 who, like Nasser Hussain, never managed a spectacular average but generally delivered when it mattered. Someone who plays the line of off stump with bat against pad and grinds out over after over without even worrying about middling the ball.

Sadly... no-one seems to break into 1st class cricket in Australia by playing that game... and I really do think that leaves the coach up a creek without a paddle. Until someone works out some better answer that suggest Hayden might as well get the spot: he showed a bit of application in the final Test of the Ashes.... and as yet... no-one else shows any greater promise.

of course... the obvious answer is to just play the strongest 6 batsmen and be content with a dodgy batting lineup that allos you a 5 man attack in which anyone having an off day has somewhere to hide.....

[greg]

Originally Posted by Beny

What about the young guys Greg? Surely Jaques will be in the team after 2007 and Cosgrove looks a winner too.

Don't really know enough about them so can't make a fair judgement.I'll leave that to you aussies as you will have more of an idea.

[Beny]

i think you guys are over-complicating matters: Langer is a must

Why? Langer has a worse record than Hayden and on top of that he's getting on in years-by that I mean his body is looking it too.

That leaves 2/7... and one of those has to be some sort of all-rounder - and for most of you that means Gilchrist even if many of us who watched him in England this summer reckon he's been found out as a player for sporting conditions.
That means the entire debate boils down to "who gets the other spot". Those of you obsessed with flat track bullying are always going to go for Hayden... but the sad truth remains that those of us who ain't into flat track bullying ain't clear as top who's the better bet.

This is just plain wrong. The form of Hayden and Gilly had been in question long before the Ashes series started and is still in question now as Gilly fails on home-grown pitches. Lets not forget that Hayden did make a ton in the last game, he did what all class batsmen have done and played himself into form. Aside from that he's had great sucsess on all pitches around the world including India, South africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.

Dragging Steve Waugh out of retirement sounds the best bet... but what's really needed is another player in his mould: not someone who can score centuries on pitches where every tom, dick and harry can score centuries... but someone who'll be there at the end of the session in which all the others screw up.

I think that's what Hussey is going to be. He has to be one of the most reliable batsmen in the world, never looks like he's going to get out and the way he played in England was just supurb.

Sadly... no-one seems to break into 1st class cricket in Australia by playing that game... and I really do think that leaves the coach up a creek without a paddle. Until someone works out some better answer that suggest Hayden might as well get the spot: he showed a bit of application in the final Test of the Ashes.... and as yet... no-one else shows any greater promise.

This is more a symptom of the way today's game is played, rather than a critism of domestic cricket. Players need to score quickly and the key to it all is haveing the ability to choose the balls to play and the concentation to play them cleanly... really, after Jaques' sucsess in England you can't say he's a flat track bully too.

[Quagmire]

Hmm I think that we have players who can do the hard yakka, Hodge and Hussey have done the hard yakka for over 10 years just to get into the side and there records prove that.

[Leafy Seadragon]

Originally Posted by Beny

Why? Langer has a worse record than Hayden and on top of that he's getting on in years-by that I mean his body is looking it too.

I think that both have contributed enormously to Australia's success, however I think that neither would want an extended injury spell. Australia's selectors have a few batsmen around at the moment that they will be wanting to blood soon. I think that there's very little to choose between the two over the past few years. Langer has generally tended to value his wicket more. However, whilst there may be an element of truth in Rachael's comments about Hayden being a 'flat-track bully', its a role that has suited Australia and the conditions well. I struggle to understand why he is criticised for it.

Originally Posted by Beny

The form of Hayden and Gilly had been in question long before the Ashes series started and is still in question now as Gilly fails on home-grown pitches.

Again, agree. Gilchrist is an 'eye' player, with possibly the most exquisite eye that I have seen. However, his keeping and batting of late suggest that he is dropping back to the land of the mere mortals. I don't think that he'll make it to the world cup. I think that he's done enough to perservere with for a while longer, but the Oz selectors have been ruthless in the past, so I'm not sure he'll be there beyond mid-2006 if he doesn't recover form soon. I think that comments prior to and following the Ashes tour that his average was over-inflated were just wrong. I saw many of the runs he made in accumulating that 'over-inflated' average, and they were well and truly deserved. I just think that there may be a tap on the shoulder coming soon...

Originally Posted by Beny

I think that's what Hussey is going to be.

Certainly early performances appear to support this. I'm less convinced about Hodge in the middle order, although he must be given a good run. I think that a place will need to be made for Clarke, who should come back a better player.

So if you throw Jaques into the mix, which the selectors have done, I think that the batting of late 2006/early 2007 could look something like:

Jaques
Hussey
Ponting
Hodge
Clarke
Watson (who I'm also uncertain about, but I think is worth an extended run to see if he is up to test class)

I would prefer to leave Hussey in the middle order to provide stability. If Cosgrove steps up, he is an obvious solution, with Hussey to drop back for either Hodge or Watson (if he doesn't work out). After that, I'm not sure about who the best keeping option is in Oz. I don't think it will be Gilchrist.

In the interim, I expect to see a change towards this lineup. Should Gilchrist fall, I think that Australia's batting may be vulnerable for a while, unless Watson steps up or White really is up to test class (at least he's a better captaincy option than Punter). There is still enormous potential in the lineup listed, but experience has been fundamental in maintaining Australia's dominance.

The funny thing is, that if this is the lineup in early 2007, then even after these wholesale changes, it may not be by the end of the year. Punter, Hussey and Hodge would then be about 33 and that is traditionally (current Oz tream aside) the watershed for test players