Australia Cricket / Ralph Ellis / 18 January 2011 /

Following his poor treatment at the hands of the selectors before the start of the Ashes, Nathan Hauritz is the surprise selection in Australia's World Cup squad, says Ralph Ellis.

It was one of the great stories of the Ashes winter. A bitter and resentful Nathan Hauritz, clearing out his house with a garage sale that included giving away all his Baggy Green gear and muttering the words: "I don't play for them anymore."

There's some dispute since about whether it actually happened. But hey-ho. If it didn't it should have done because Hauritz, the great spin bowling hope when Shane Warne was reaching the end of his stellar career, was so shabbily treated by the selectors he had every right to throw his toys - and his cricket whites - out of the pram. Axed before the start of the Ashes to give the hopeless Xavier Doherty a try, he promptly took five wickets in a state game but was still left on the sidelines as they turned instead to Michael Beer then Steve Smith. Three bowlers who hardly produced a decent over between them.

Hauritz will be - metaphorically - dashing round the neighbours trying to beg the sweaters back today. He's the surprise choice in Australia's squad for the World Cup in India and nothing better illustrates how the Aussies are still in a selection mess. Just as they didn't have a reliable spinner for the Test series so they still don't have anybody to trust when it comes to the One Day stuff. And guess what? The World Cup will be a spinners' paradise.

Who says so? Well the Indians, and if anybody should know then they should. Their squad is loaded with slow bowlers having added the surprise pick of leg spinner Piyush Chawla alongside Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin, as well as the part time offerings of Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Virender Sehwag. As chairman of selectors Kris Srikkanth says: "Don't forget you are playing in India. The spinners play a very major role on the turning wickets." Betfair punters take that into account too and make the home country the [4.5] favourites.

India, who were playing South Africa today in the third match of their ODI series, have emphasised the importance they place on bowling in their own conditions by picking a fairly slim batting line-up with just seven specialist batsmen. Their big worry is whether Sachin Tendulkar will be fit in time, but the gamble is that even if the little master is not ready for the start of the tournament he will play once the knockout stages begin at the end of March.

England, second favourites at [5.9], who name their squad tomorrow, will be boosted by the world class figure of Graeme Swann in their line-up. That leaves the Aussies, surprisingly among the second group at [6.8], at a big disadvantage unless they can suddenly make Warne ten years younger. The news coming from Down Under this morning that Mike Hussey has a serious hamstring injury is not good for the chances of the current World Cup holders either. And can Ricky Ponting seriously hope to rediscover his lost form after a long spell on the sidelines? Probably not.

Shane Watson's virtuoso innings at Melbourne on Sunday has made the Aussies [1.89] favourite for the second ODI against England in Hobart on Friday. That's one to lay, because they are still papering over the cracks of a once brilliant side that got old together. Bringing back Hauritz, not picked for this series but suddenly supposed to be the solution for a World Cup, only emphasises how much they are struggling to find a way forward.

Five things you might not know about Piyush Chawla

1. Born on Christmas Eve 1988, in the industrial city of Aligarh south east of New Delhi, his full name is Piyush Pramod Chawla

2. At the national cricket academy he refused to collect autographs and says he told the other boys: "just get me to sign, one day you will remember me."

3. He was a child prodigy playing for India's under 19 side at the age of 15. A year later he got Sachin Tendulkar out in a Challenger Trophy match

4. His nickname at home is Paras - a stone that turns anything it touches into gold

5. He collects sunglasses and has nearly 50 pairs. During the IPL series he carried around a box with his favourite 15.

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