Australia's spinners, the ugliness has been spread around.
Hogg 2 tests
We started with Hogg. Why? Because MacGill was injured and stroppy, and instead of trusting the most in-form spinner in the country, McGain, they went with the One Day spinner.
It was a mistake, if Yuvraj and Gunguly didn’t play, Hogg would have killed himself. Instead, he retired.
MacGill 2 tests
Then MacGill was ‘fit’, so he was rushed backed into the side. He was not fit, he was not motivated, and decided to give it up. The problem was the Australian selectors did not think this was a possibility. Instead of taking the next best spinner in the country, they took a project player.
Even MacGill has said McGain should have been taken. He wasn’t and Casson was given a test.
Beau Casson 1 test
Casson was nowhere in the Australian spinning horizon. I wrote about the best 7 or so spinners in shield cricket mid way through last year, and he wasn’t on it. I saw him bowl on the same pitch McGain took a five for, and he was ordinary. Victoria treated him like a part timer. I assumed he was playing as a batsman.
Then he took wickets in his last 3 or 4 matches, and he took a fair few, some of them were taken head to head against McGain in the shield final, a game where McGain was injured and Victoria had an impossible chase on the last day but they had a crack anyway and Casson cashed in.
This, and the fact that MacGill was fit, meant he got a ticket to the Windies, and then a test match, as flying McGain over for a dead test was never going to happen. He picked up 3 wickets and bowled average, then he was shafted. Now they look to have ruined his confidence forever.
Picking Hauritz before him was like getting his Grandmother to shit down his throat, after the rest of the family have had their turn. By the time he is feeling better, others will be ahead of him.
White 4 tests
Was picked under the "he can bat a bit and when he was younger he bowled ok" ruling for India. The selection never really made sense, and when Krejza came in and did well, it made even less sense.
White hardly bowled for Victoria in the previous season, and in general struggles to bowl to good players of spin. So picking him was their way of saying, the rest of you suck.
4 tests, can you believe it?
Krejza 1 test
According to Tim Neilson, was held back until he was ready. Lucky he wasn’t played a week earlier, that could have been disastrous. I thought he was the best spinner behind McGain, and that still looks correct, his 12 wickets are hard to really judge, but his bowling was good, and he stood under the pressure.
He would be pissed to miss the Gabba, and then Adelaide, especially being replaced by a club spinner, but will definitely play in Melbourne and Sydney.
Hauritz 1 test
Who the hell knows. Ricky seems to think he bowled ok, Jeremy Coney and Paul Allot gave him some stick on sky, I thought he was lucky to get a test and wickets.
I would have preferred Xavier Doherty or Aaron Heal really.
McGain, never mind