Four years later than should have been the case, Andrew Strauss will skipper England in Australia. English cricket has righted itself since the Flintoff and Pietersen debacles. For a spell one sensed that marketing considerations were influencing cricketing decisions. The great strength of the present Strauss-Flower regime is that it is, in the end, almost dull. No drama, no fuss and precious little intrigue either.
Australia, by contrast, are in some mild kind of flux. Where England picked their team before leaving home, Australia have been scrabbling to find players with sufficient form and fitness to justify inclusion. Xavier Doherty’s inclusion seems sensible but is based more on hope and hunch than any expectation that he’ll really make Kevin Pietersen his bunny. Similarly, which Mitchell Johnson will play? The man capable of devastating spells or the radarless slinger? Both, probably. Nor do the questions end there: does Michael Hussey (three centuries in his last 32 tests) have one last hurrah? Can Michael Clarke (averaging 58 in Australia) make it through the series? Will Marcus North feast or starve? Can Shane Watson’s reincarnation as a test opener survive this series?
And what about the skipper himself? Ricky Ponting has developed an unfortunate habit of wasting opportunities.
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