Whats wrong with Australia?

Consider this

• Four players get suspended from a test match because they did not submit their homework. 
• An ex-player held back the news of his retirement because he was afraid that he might be dropped.
• An official speaks openly about one of the Famous Four - stating that he is not a 'team player'. The player in question responds saying that the official didnt know him well enough.

Remember Simon Katich and his bust-up with the captain?

Whatever be the reason for the open fight, it is unprecedented in the history of cricket. Other countries who are notoriously famous for their internal team rivalries will be chuckling away to glory. This is the ultimate test therefore for the players in the playing eleven at Mohali - after Day 1, it looks like some of the reinforcements (Smith and Haddin) have done well. The skipper is obviously not happy as he promoted to No.3 and got stumped the very first ball!

The previous Oz captains used to be tough on the opponents (Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and co) while enjoying great relationships internally. But, now, the aggression has swapped sides - the Aussie team members seem to have good relations with the Indian cricketers while internally, they seem to be in a mess! 

Is the new mantra of the team to be "nice"on the field? 

Is there a problem with the coach? Many questions to be answered in the middle of a test series overseas. Really tough!

Ashes series - Australia prune their squad

The Australian selectors dropped four players from their original squad of 17 with one surprise. Nathan Hauritz, the spinner they have preferred for quite some time now, has been dropped in favor of Xavier Doherty. The left-arm spinner has come out of nowhere in recent times into the squad and will fight with Steven Smith for the spinner's slot.

Are the Aussie selectors hoping to target Kevin Pietersen with the left-arm spinner? KP fell to a left-armer in the warm-up match - continuing his failures against left-arm spinners all around the world. If this was the reason for the Oz selectors, then I feel it is probably a short-sighted selection. Hauritz has gained by his experience and would have probably done a better job - though one must admit that in the spin department, England has the better bowler.

No other surprises in the squad though one wonders what option the Oz will go if Simon Katich is injured for the test match. Shane Watson is a converted opener and an injury to Katich against the formidable English opening pack will mean disaster. Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, Doug Bollinger will fight out for two slots to partner Mitchell Johnson with the new ball.

After their strong performances in the warm-up matches, the English team must be very confident of the series that starts this week. The Australian team must feel the pressure but they still have the game to turnaround. This series will truly be a memorable one to follow.

Related articles

• The Ashes 2010: Shane Warne blasts Australia selectors for omitting Nathan Hauritz from 13-man Test squad (telegraph.co.uk)
• Hussey retain but Hauritz cut (mirror.co.uk)