The McGill/Hogg debate has the Australian selectors in a spin

Australia Cricket / Paul Moon / 05 November 2007 / 1 Comments

Pablo Luna- Moonlighting for Betfair. Pablo tells us about his first-hand experience of dealing with... Stuart McGill

I think the forthcoming mini series between Australia and Sri Lanka will be fascinating for numerous reasons and I cannot wait for it to start.

Conspicuously, Australia will be without their pensioned idols Justin Langer, Shane Warne and Glen McGrath. They will be probably be replaced by left hander opening bat Phil Jaques, Stuart MacGill (leg spinner) and a choice between fast bowlers Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson. It might take a while for Jaques, Tait and Johnson to acclimatise to Test cricket but should MacGill get the vote over Brad Hogg I know exactly what he would bring to the festivities!

First he must prove he is fit after a recent knee operation and by his own admission needs to remove more than a few kilos. Shane Warne was quoted as saying recently that MacGill should replace him for the Gabba Test Match starting on Thursday 8 November 2007 which traditionally provides bounce and turn to slow bowlers.

I got to know Stuart very well when he played in Devon and shared more than a drink or two with him. He is almost certainly the most intense and extreme winner in the game of cricket. His temper tantrums are renown (he was recently fined by his own team-mates on the A tour to Pakistan). He can be the most unpleasant cricketer on the cricket landscape but I like him.

It is unfortunate that Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill were both around at the same time because he would be talked about as a 'great' bowler rather than a 'class' bowler. His 198 test match wickets have come in 40 matches and he has the best strike rate of any modern leg-spin bowler. I fondly remember him as the only Australian that refused to tour Zimbabwe in 2004 on moral grounds, that took some bottle I can tell you! He is now 36 and with his fitness a doubt, Hogg has been called up into the 13-man squad.

Captain Ricky Ponting declared a "bowl off" at training to decide whether Stuart MacGill or Brad Hogg plays in the first Test. It will also be interesting to see what Sri Lanka plots for MacGill, given their coach Trevor Bayliss was MacGill's mentor with the New South Wales team last summer.

Mild eccentric Hogg (I have a very funny story concerning him if anyone is interested?) is showing great form in domestic cricket and with his left arm 'chinaman', offers plenty to the selectors and he is pushing MacGill for selection. His exceptional 'wrong un' is the most under-rated ball in world cricket and it completely hoodwinks Mahela Jayawardene. Despite that, I expect Andrew Hilditch (Chairman of Selectors) to play safe and select MacGill in this daunting new era of Australian cricket.

After a stirring Australia A tour and a strong start to the domestic summer, British passport holder Phil Jacques was confirmed as Justin Langer's replacement at the top of the order. At 26 he is regarded as a long-term prospect and has proved he can handle green-top pitches in England and hard-baked pitches in Australia and Pakistan. It remains to be seen how successful he becomes and whether he can hit the dizzy heights of Langer.

Queenslander Mitchell Johnson is a very tall, fast and talented left arm bowler who is sending waves of excitement around Australia. This 26-year-old swings the ball and is still improving and delights in upsetting the batsman. It is expected that he may get the nod over Shaun Tait because he knows the pitch so well.

South Australian Tait, a fast right arm bowler is 24 and has a much different action than Johnson. He is now regarded as the fastest bowler in the country and is another player for the future. Will these new guns be able to replace McGrath - I somehow doubt it!

Both bowlers have a propensity for injuries and it will be enthralling to see how they cope with the demands of Test cricket also but it is unquestionably a new dawn in Australian cricket and I lick my lips in anticipation.

The Australians are obvious favourites to win the first test in Brisbane and are presently (1.53) with Betfair. There will not be a draw on this pitch, trading at (3.9), and if you fancy an improbable Sri Lankan victory (the only chance they have is to win the toss, bat first and bat well) then (10.5) is available with Betfair.

Comments (1)

1. Andy H | 05 November 2007

   Great article, really looking forward to this series. In any other era, MacGill would have been the main man, but I wonder how much longer he and Hogg will be fighting over the spinners spot for. It might not be long before Dan Cullen and Cullen Bailey break through.