Cricket Australia have come out with their schedule for this summer.

Pakistan have been allotted the 2 most important test matches that Australia hosts during their cricket summer.

The Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and the New Year's Test in Sydney.

What's more, Pakistan will also play a 3rd test.

So its not just a 2-test series. Thank heavens for that!

There are 5 ODIs and a Twenty20 in the itinerary as well.

And here we thought we were being isolated.

Is this Australia paying us back for all the cancelled tours?

It looks like I was wrong.

Andrew McDonald makes the Ashes squad and Andrew Symonds doesn't!

How in the world does that happen?

I wasn't the only one who was wrong.

I am already waiting for the Jrod to wake up from his slumber and do a piece on how McDonald made it, but Symonds didn't.

Maybe Dirk Nannes only agreed to wake McDonald up if it was to tell him that he was going to England.

All the other usual suspects and Graham Manou are in.

At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter who the Aussies pick or not.

Its not like England will win because of a few players in it and a few out of it.

The Australian squad for the Ashes is going to be announced tomorrow and apparently the Australians are nervous.

Really?

What is there to be nervous about?

For one, I'm not even sure if they are nervous. Cricinfo claims they are with the headline, "Australians face nervous wait".

So who exactly is waiting nervously?

Again, Cricinfo's sub-headlines are:

"Watson closes in on Ashes call-up"

"Ponting backs Symonds"

"Nervy Hughes awaits call-up"

"McDonald sweats"

They have got to be kidding me. I mean seriously.

Shane Watson closed in on his Ashes call-up as soon as he hit that 40 odd in his 1st hit against Pakistan.

Don't tell me the Aussie selectors had not shoed him in right then - the sight of Watson scoring gets them off, we all know that by now. And that century in the final hit would have sealed his spot.

Ricky Ponting doesn't need to back Symonds. Its quite obvious the selectors are going to pick him as well.

The 50 against Pakistan in the 2nd ODI and the subsequent appearance at the press conference with Micheal Clarke to sort of seek redemption at the hands of the media and talk up an Ashes spot made it quicte obvious that Symonds had one foot on the plane.

The oddest one is about Phil Hughes.

Why in the world is he nervy?

Does he, or Cricinfo, actually think that after scoring centuries and 150s in his debut test series against South Africa, and then knocking ton after ton at Middlesex is going to keep him out of the Australian test team?

Even the one about McDonald amused me.

He has no reason to sweat. He should just chill out and a book a summer holiday to some part of the world.

Obviously with Symonds and Watson on that plane to England, McDonald is not going anywhere.

So who is nervous? and why are they?

The Australian fans surely aren't. They're pretty sure the Ashes are coming home.

So are the English for that matter.

There are a lot of things regarding the upcoming Pakistan-Australia series that the Dubai public is excited about.

Watching a match in the ring of fire for the first time ever.

Watching the first ever 20-20 to be played on UAE soil.

Watching David Warner in action.

Most of the people I spoke to are looking forward to witnessing Warner, more than any other player, in action.

Ricky Ponting and Mitchell Johnson were the other 2 favorites on the must-watch list of the Dubai fans.

But Cricket Australia has robbed Dubai of the chance of witnessing Ponting and Johnson in action.

The squad they announced is very much a 2nd string side and one that is a comback trail for Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson, and Shaun Marsh.

No Ponting.

No Johnson.

No Mike Hussey.

No Siddle.

No Cameron White.

I'm not sure if this squad will remain the same for the 20-20, but if it is, then we have also been robbed of the David Warner spectacle!

Well maybe we'll witness Pakistan win a few matches this way.

There's a bigger story out there than the fact that Pakistan is playing its first test in 14 months and hosting its first for 16.

Even bigger than Umar Gul's wicket in the first over of the series.

It is the two umpires standing in this test match.

Its two AUSTRALIANS!!!

Simon Taufel and Steve Davis.

My my how did Cricket Australia and the ICC allow that? Or even that player's association that Tim May runs?

And what exactly is the message that these "authorities" are giving here?

To me it says that the lives of Simon Taufel and Steve Davis are not as valuable as those of the Australian international cricketers.

Why else would neither the Australian Government, nor its cricket board, nor its cricketers association have a problem with two Australian umpires visiting a country with "severe security issues".

What's more is that I don't think Taufel or Davis even had an issue with this.

Maybe the Australian cricketers need to learn a thing or two from these men.

His petition landed David Hussey a position in Australia's ODI team.

This morning his favourite Victorian, Bryce McGain, was announced in Australia's 15 man squad for India.

Uncle J Rod of Cricket with Balls has been going on about Bryce McGain for a year now, which is as long as Cricket with Balls has been up on air.

And finally a year later Cricket Australia selectors have bowed down to his demands.

I'm sure Uncle J is over the moon over McGain's selection and we at Well Pitched are happy for him and for McGain and also at the prospect of seeing yet another leg spinner from Victoria.

If McGain is even half as exciting as the last Victorian leg spinner to play test cricket, it'll make the Australia v India test series even more interesting than it already is.

Its a shame that Symonds isn't going as it would have been quite a watch to see the Indian public take a dig at him.

Nonethless it should be one entertaining test series. Can't wait for some cricket to start.

ICC: Good morning members. I hope the traffic wasn't a killer and you guys got here easily. Now that we are done with exploring the summer sales in Dubai buying half priced Boss and Gucci suits, lets get down to business.

I know some of you went around buying property and horses yesterday, but here we are gathered to discuss other types of business. Cricket. Lets talk cricket.

Lets start with the BCCI.

BCCI: Good morning boys. We want Zimbabwe to remain a part of the ICC, but we want the ICL and its players to remain in exile.

ECB: The laws in England don't allow us to ban ICL players from playing in counties and they don't allow us to hold the World T20 next year with the inclusion of Zimbabwe. So we have to disagree BCCI.

PCB: ECB, we can reach a solution if you change the result of the Oval test to a draw.

CA: No way, we don't want Zimbabwe. We don't mind the ICL but we can't completely go against the BCCI. And what is this nonsense of changing test results?

BCCI: Its not nonsense. Once this is done we will look at Sydney in the next meeting.

NZC: We will do as Australia says.

SLC: And we will do whatever India says. They run our cricket board after all.

WICB: Why doesn't India start runnings ours as well. We need the money.

ZC: We want more money than anyone else. We don't have nothing.

CBSA: No way, we don't want Zimbabwe. We don't mind the ICL but we can't completely go against the BCCI. And what is this nonsense of changing test results?

BCB: We will do whatever India and Pakistan tell us to do.

ICC: Right then, the PCB seems to be the only one who has a solution on board. What do you suggest PCB?

PCB: Change the result of the Oval Test to a draw, grant us entry into the 20-20 Champions League instead of England, and England can get to host the World T20 without Zimbabwe.

ZCA: What have we done wrong? Why are you suggesting to leave us out of a World tournament?

PCB: You will get money ZCA. This is how we do business in Pakistan. Everyone gets what they want and who is requested to stay quiet gets the money.

ICC: PCB, Are you suggesting bribing ZC?

ZC: I like the idea.

BCCI: Its only a token of appreciation for ZC. Its not bribing. We've run cricket for 2 decades using these tokens.

ECB: It makes sense. We'll get to host the World T20 and not lose out on 10 million pounds, we still have the $5 million stanford deals, so its quite ok if we don't play the Champions League. That way we won't piss off the BCCI and the ICL county players will also retain their jobs.

ICC: This seems like an amicable solution, but who will pay ZCA?

BCCI: You will ofcourse.

ICC: But where will we get the money from?

CA: From us the member nations, like it always has.

ICC: But there's no extra money to be made. All this goes into our pockets and the development fund.

PCB: Oh leave the development fund for later. Zimbabwe needs the development right now.

ICC: Oh alright.

So CA, you need to make the announcement that ICL players will not be allowed to play in the Champions League so that the BCCI does not appear as the bully.

ECB, you make the announcement that the Oval test result has been changed to a draw so it seems as if it was your decision and you were not bullied into it.

ZC, you should announce that you will not take part in the World T20 so it doesn't seem like you were thrown out.

BCCI, you stay quiet so no one feels that you bullied everyone here through the PCB.

And PCB, you can announce that 2 of your teams have been invited to the Champions League o you can get to keep your word.

And we will let everyone know that ZC will be compensated and remain a full member of the ICC.

Does that make everyone happy?

SLC: Yes!

WICB: Yes!

CBSA: Yes!

BCB: Yes!

NZC: Yes!

ICC: Alright then. Thank you for gathering here gentlemen. You are free now to continue your shopping for suits, properties, and horses.

Aren't we glad to be in Dubai and not London.

Micheal Clarke captained Australia to a 211 run mauling in a practice match against the University of the West Indies Vice Chancellor's XI.

There was no Hayden and Gilchrist at the top. Instead it was the IPL stars - Shaun Marsh and Shane Watson.

Brothers Micheal Hussey and David Hussey were part of the middle order. There was no Ricky Ponting.

Allrounders Cameron White and James Hopes, followed by wicket keeper Luke Ronchi made up the late order.

The pace attack was made up of Bracken, Johnson, and Clark.

With Symonds playing instead of either White or Hopes, and Lee instead of Clark, this could very well be the Aussie ODI side that we get accustomed to seeing over the next few years.

Yes I do believe that Ricky Ponting will be replaced as ODI captain sooner rather than later and that Hayden will hang up his boots sooner rather than later.

Ronchi / Haddin is a 50-50 though.

Australia's future then?

Not the drug, he wants a crack at England next summer.

While KP decided he doesn't want to talk about next year's Ashes yet, his "good friend", Shane Warne has come out and said that if Australia and Ricky Ponting need him, he will be there. Or at least think about it.

That'll be something.

The last time Warne went there, he looked like the only Aussie playing the Ashes taking some 40 wickets and scoring 290 odd runs.

Will Warne get another crack at the English?

He said that he would do it if there was no one else around to fill the spinner's role in the team and Ponting asked him to.

Well the news is that there isn't. Warne knows that, Ponting knows that, and I'm sure CA knows that.

Thats like filling in Wasim Akram's spot in the Pakistan line up. Its not possible.

Mcgill, Casson, Hauritz, Bailey, and even Cricket with Balls' very own Bryce McGain don't have it. Or atleast don't have it yet.

McGill and Casson are in the Windies currently and McGill's taken some wickets in the side game and he may even take heaps of wickets in the tests but who knows if he'll be fit enough come next English Summer.

There is another Australian state season to be played before the next Ashes and the above names would be out there knocking on the doors. But I hear that Hauritz and Bailey don't get state games anymore, and McGain isn't getting any younger.

Warne's chances don't look that bad then.

I say if Warne is willing, you don't need to look elsewhere.

What say Punter? Willing to punt on the master?

And whats next? McGrath and Gilchrist offering their services as well for the next Ashes?

I am quite amused by this whole merry go round created by the Australians.

Ricky Ponting left the Kolkata Knight Riders to captain his country.

KKR roped in Brad Hodge from Lancashire for 5 weeks to replace Ponting.

Lancashire called up Mohammad Yousuf for 5 weeks to fill in for Hodge.

Micheal Clarke got Bingled and decided not to tour the Windies.

Cricket Australia announced Hodge as his replacement.

Lancashire want to thank CA for taking Hodge away for longer than the 5 weeks as Yousuf is a much better batsman and will probably score more than Hodge would have.

KKR also want to thank CA who called in both Ponting ad Hodge for national duty as neither scored a run during the IPL.

PCB also want to thank CA as this merry go round has provided opportunities for their cricketers - Yousuf for Hodge at Lancashire and Salman Butt for Hodge at KKR.

Brad Hodge will also be thanking CA for the call up.

Hodge first replaced the Australian captain and now he replaces the Australian Vice Captain. For a small man, those are some big shoes to fill.

Finally Well Pitched would like to thank CA for giving us something to write about.

Shaun Marsh, son of the Aussie opener Goeff Marsh, has just been signed up by Priety Zinta's Mohali franchise for the IPL.

Its been quite a week for the young Aussie - after being named in the ODI squad for the Windies tour, earlier today he received his first contract from Cricket Australia.

Whats interesting is that Shaun Marsh joins Luke Pomersbach in the Mohali team - the 2 Western Australians were suspended earlier this season for a late night drinking binge by WA. One can expect some late nights then in and around Punjab once the IPL kicks off.

Marsh and Pomersbach will have to be wary though as Mohali is coached by Western Australia coach Tom Moody who has Trevor Penney as his assistant, also his assistant at WA.

Dominic Thornely, another successful Australian domestic cricketer, was also lapped up today by the Mumbai Indians, who had earlier signed on the Western Australian wicket keeper Luke Ronchi.

Glenn McGrath is one of the first international cricketers to arrive in India for the IPL and has already started training with the Delhi Daredevils. Delhi's coach, the Victorian Greg Shipperd, has also arrived in India and held the team's first training session yesterday.

Aussies have definitely taken the IPL by storm.

• Shane Warne is the only non-Indian captain the IPL has.
  
• 4 of the 8 IPL coaches are Australian - John Buchanan, Tom Moody, Greg Shipperd, and Shane Warne.
  
• Australia is the only country from where the largest pool of domestic cricketers have signed on with the IPL - those mentioned above along with the Victorians David Hussey and Cameron White. There are a couple of others that I'm forgetting right now.

Despite such an Aussie dominance in the IPL, Uncle J Rod refuses to believe that it will be a success. Forget Aussie dominance Uncle J, they've got Victorians here as well.


The IPL kicks off in 9 days.

The teams are ready; they've all got their names, their captains, their coaches, their players, their multi colored uniforms; the players have started arriving, training sessions have started, the schedule is in place, and arragements for the opening ceremony are being finalised !!

It sure will be quite an extravaganza !!!

About a month and a half back Uncle J of Cricket with Balls started a petition to get David Hussey into the Australian cricket team.

The arguements were all strong since Hussey Jr. was blasting away in the domestic matches, while the Aussie's international batsmen were struggling against an overgrown Adam's apple (referring to Uncle J's reference to Ishant Sharma).

That petition attracted some 130 signatures on Uncle J's blog. The petition was also added onto a facebook group and then it was said to be doing the rounds of the streets of Australia.

I don't have the total count of how many people actually signed the petition but Cricket Australia selectors probably got hold of it and realised that they had to bow down to the demands of the Aussie public.

This morning when CA announced the squad for Australia's tour to the Windies in May, David Hussey was part of the 14 man ODI line up.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Uncle J on all his efforts to get David Hussey into Office! Your work has paid off Uncle J. I know you are mighty pissed at Bryce McGain being ignored but savour this moment of glory - David Hussey is in the team because of you.

In another expected announcement, Micheal Clarke took over as the Vice Captain of the team following Adam Gilchrist's retirement and Brad Haddin replaced him as the #1 wicket keeper.

The Aussies have been going through a transformation of sorts since the heavy load of retirements during last and this season. And this is another step within the tranformation phase.

Will they hold on to their status as the #1 team in the world? Only time will tell.

Uncle J - now I suggest a petition for the inclusion of your very own Bryce McGain.

Over at Cricket with Balls I read an open letter to the PCB written by Uncle J. Since Uncle J is playing the CA administracrat, I decided to play the one from PCB. Here is my response.

Dear Cricket Australia Administracrat,

It is very unfortunate to hear about Australia cancelling their tour to Pakistan. We were looking forward to a sound thrashing by the Aussies, especially after the kind our beloved neighbours gave your team.

We were thinking that Ponting, Symonds, and Hayden who were below par in the CB Series would have looked forward to a tour of Pakistan to get back into form. I am sure you are aware that we have the knack of providing out of form batsmen with many opportunities to score big.

I understand that a tour of India for ODIs would generate more money for you but the Pakistan cricket team is also sponsored by Pepsi, so you should definitey consider our proposal to reconsider the cancellation.

Here is what we are willing to provide:

1. Top presidential level security including a bodyguard for each player. 2 for symonds.
2. Assurance that the tour will end before April 16th thus ensurng that all the Pakistani and Australian IPL signatories recieve their fill price from the Indian franchises.
3. Matches held only in areas where bombs do not blow up every week.
4. Dead tracks to ensure that all your batsman will be batted back into form.
5. Private parties at Shoaib Akhtar's farm house to ensure that Symonds & Co. are entertained during the nights. In order to understand what goes on during these parties, please contact your A team and the U19 team that toured last year.

I hope that these points will make your team consider touring Pakistan.

Last but not least, I can also assure you that all the bombers and terrorists living in Pakistan have cabe television and will be watching the matches keenly. Thus they will have no time to plan any sort of bombings while the Australians are here. There is nothing to worry about.

If you still have apprehensions please contact our coach Geoff Lawson, who is also an Australian and has been living in Lahore for the last 6 months without any problems. He is well taken care of and so will be the Australians that tour.

The show must go on.

Cheers.

PCB Administracrat.

My fellow Australian bloggers have reflected on the lost CB Series and moved on to commenting on the England vs New Zealand matches. On the other hand, the Indian bloggers are still basking under the glory of their first ever victory in the annual Australian tri-series. In the meantime, I have been away on conferences and have been wondering what went wrong for Australia?

I'd be a fool to call this the end of the Australia supremacy - when I did that last year after their consecutive losses to England and New Zealand, they went on to win the World Cup without losing a match.

But doing some scrutiny never does any harm.

The Australian bowling has been beautifully led by Lee and was outstanding. Bracken, Johnson, and Clark were all good with the ball and Hopes looked better with every game.

The batting was the obvious downfall for the Aussies:

• None of their batsmen averaged over 50 compared to 4 of them who did against India in the September series.
  
• Ponting and Symonds averaged below 20 in their 10 innings.
  
• Apart from Gilchrist no batsmen played more than 3 significant innings in the 10 matches.
  
• Even Gilchrist managed only 4.

Was Ishant Sharma the only difference? Or has Dhoni grown as a captain since his first ODI series as captain in September? Or did Sachin time his return to form to perfection? Were Australia bogged down by the IPL hype and their stand-off with CA? Or were they too sucked into a prolonged Gilchrist farewell? Or did Dhoni, Bhajji, and the rest really get under their skin like no one before?

It was in the end a combination of all of the above I think.

Or maybe the bookies had a hand in this. Nah I doubt it.

Ponting's form is definitely a worry. Sure he scored that 100 but apart from that there was nothing from his bat. The last time an out of form Australian captain lost a home tri-series, he was sacked from the ODI captaincy. That too a year and a half after leading them to a World Cup victory!

Will Ponting go Waugh's way? Will CA tow BCCI's line, the way they have been in all other issues, in following a youth policy? Some people have been calling for it, but is Micheal Clarke ready? Moreso is Australia ready to deal with an ODI team without Gilly and Ponting?

A shift to youth also means leaving out an ageing Hayden. Both his test and ODI partners have hung up their boots and it shouldn't be long before Hayden does as well. Next Australian summer? probably. Next World Cup? Definitely not.

Even Ponting is unlikely to be around the ODI team come World Cup 2011. So maybe the CA should in fact tow the BCCI and build a team that they view as the one to defend their title in 2011.

I did say I'd be a fool to call an end to their supremacy but I do feel that Australia have a lot of questions to answer, particularly regarding their batting.

Where do they go from here? Hopefully Pakistan!

Before I close, a word on Adam Gilchrist. A glowing career has come to an end and the man who defined the role of wicketkeepers as it is known today has hung up his gloves. He will definitely be missed - both by Australia and the fans. Shane Warne ended his career after a 5-0 thumping Ashes victory. Glen McGrath did so after a 3rd World Cup triumph. Gilchrist probably deserved better than both, but then not everything in life is perfect. Thanks to the IPL, we haven't seen the last of him.

Australia have become weaker but I'm still not questioning their supremacy, just wondering what the future holds for them.

Team: Lahore Badshahs (Translation: Lahore Kings)
Coach: Moin Khan
Captain: Inzamam Ul Haq

The Squad
Openers: Imran Farhat, Imran Nazir, Taufiq Umar
Middle Order: Inzamam, Naveed Latif, Hasan Raza
Allrounders: Azhar Mahmood, Abdul Razzak
Wicketkeeper: Humayun Farhat
Fast Bowlers: Mohammad Sami, Rana Naveed Ul Hasan, Shabbir Ahmed, Riaz Afridi, Shahid Nazir
Spinners: Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq, Arshad Khan

Reading those names as part of a Pakistani squad would seem that a Pakistan A side is touring for a series of matches. This is not Pakistan A, its the Lahore Badshahs team taking part in the 2nd edition of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) that gets underway in a weeks time.

Apart from the 6 teams that participated in the 1st edition of the ICL, the 2nd edition, "ICL 20s Grand Championship" will feature another 2 teams: Lahore Baadshahs and Ahmedabad Rockets.
In the last 2 days Osman Samiuddin, Ian Chappell, and Asif Iqbal have raised their concerns regarding the bans placed on the cricketers joining the ICL. I did the same a few weeks back demanding the rule of the free economy in cricket - Read here and here.

There is a clear distinction between the IPL and the ICL - the former boasts of current international stars, while the other of retired or ignored ones. Then why are these national boards depriving these cricketers of their livelihood?

Moreover, the ICL 20s Grand Championship will run from 9th March to 7th April, thus concluding over a week before the IPL gets underway. ICL has smartly scheduled its competition so it doesn't clash with the IPL and even then the BCCI seems to have a problem with it. They have left no stone unturned in trying to block it with barriers of all forms -including support from the ICC and other national boards.

As has been mentioned in the articles I linked above, the key question here is what are the ICC and the national cricket boards getting out of this? The IPL benefits only the BCCI, the franchisees, and the auctioned cricketers - the other cricket boards get nothing out of it and neither does the ICC.

This just makes the BCCI the big bully monopoly earning billions and the ICC, PCB, CA, ECB, etc its partners in crime who get what?

Intriguing I think.