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Loyalty won't influence selectors - Hilditch

Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, has increased the pressure on Australia's band of returning veterans by insisting loyalty will play no role in the Ashes squad selection process

Alex Brown
Alex Brown
13-Mar-2009

Andrew Symonds will face stiff competition from Marcus North and Andrew McDonald for the allrounder's spot © Getty Images
 
Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, has increased the pressure on Australia's band of returning veterans by insisting loyalty will play no role in the Ashes squad selection process. Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson have all been among Australia's first-picked cricketers in recent seasons, but injuries over the summer have resulted in them yielding their places to young, motivated replacements.
It has been those replacements who have propelled Australia to three consecutive victories over South Africa and they are now firmly in the mix for Ashes consideration. Australia's rookie bowlers have achieved what their seniors could not of late, taking 20 wickets with regularity and limiting opponents' scoring-rates. In attempting to choose from a suddenly broad field of candidates, Hilditch said winning potential, not sentimentality, would be his panel's primary objective when naming the Ashes squad.
"When we sit down to decide on the squad, quite a few names will be coming up and there will be pressure on some spots," Hilditch said. "We will pick what we think is the best squad. It will not be a matter of loyalty. We will mix factors such as form and what players contribute to the side generally when we choose the squad, but loyalty will not be a consideration."
Australia's selectors will not be afforded the luxury of seeing Lee or Clark in four-day action before meeting to decide upon the Ashes squad. They will instead be guided by medical staff assessments as to the pair's fitness, and determine how they will be accommodated in an incumbent fast bowling group that contains the in-form trio of Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus.
Hilditch hinted strongly that both would be on the England touring party, but did so with the sizeable caveat that they be "at their best". "Brett and Stuart at their best have been great bowlers for Australian cricket," Hilditch said. "To have them back at their best and putting pressure on spots is a very healthy situation for the team to be in. Brett had a difficult season for all kinds of reasons, and those are a six months I'm sure he would like to forget. He'll be champing at the bit to get back out there, I'd imagine.
"If Stuart Clark and Brett Lee are back at their best, then they will obviously come under heavy consideration. The [incumbents] are probably not feeling it at the moment, but if those guys are back and trying to force their way in, it will bring the best out of everyone.
"It's up to us and the medical staff to assess the condition levels of those guys. It's not a matter of us needing to see Brett play four-day cricket. We will have a good idea of where he is from the testing we will carry out. I'm not sure exactly what Stuart's road is from here, although I hear county cricket is an option, but rest assured that anybody who is selected for the Ashes squad will need to be in good condition."
The battle will be equally intense for the allrounder positions. Marcus North, in particular, and Andrew McDonald have justified their selections in South Africa with strong performances in Johannesburg and Durban. Both will face strong challenges from Symonds and Watson who, until recently, were considered integral members of the national squad.
Symonds appears most in danger of losing his spot, approaching 34 and with a long line of behavioural infractions to his name. He has a prime opportunity to impress selectors with a strong performance for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield final, and his three wickets on the first day against Victoria served as a timely reminder of his allround potency.
"What we've looked for since 2005 is someone in the top six who can also provide us with quality overs," Hilditch said. "Marcus North has done a very good job for us in that role and he will be strongly in the reckoning for the Ashes. Andrew McDonald has been in a slightly different position in that he has pretty much been picked as a fourth quick in South Africa. He has done that job well and taken important wickets for us at times.
"Shane Watson is back playing although not yet bowling. It will be interesting to see how he progresses from here with his recovery. Andrew Symonds is mid-way through a Sheffield Shield final, and he will obviously be looking for runs. Again, there will be pressure on spots."
The identity of Australia's primary spin bowler remains a source of mystery, although Hilditch gave the strong indication Bryce McGain would receive his first Test hit-out in Cape Town this week. Hilditch also provided incentive for North to continue improving his finger spin, suggesting the Western Australian could come under consideration as a frontline spinner, as well as a top-six batsman, in future.
"Maybe we need to redefine the way we look at the specialist spinner spot," he said. "If Marcus North is the best spinner in the country, then he should not then be viewed as a part-timer. Marcus was one of the best-performed spinners in first class cricket. He will always make any side as a batsman first, but he has been able to contribute great things with the ball.
"With Bryce McGain, it is not ideal that he has not yet bowled in the Tests in South Africa. We would like to see how he goes, but we've also gone on that tour with the very strong intention to beat South Africa. We went into the series pretty confident that the first two pitches would be seamer-friendly, and that's pretty much how it turned out. Our expectation was also that Cape Town would suit the spinners more, and that might have been somewhere we would look to play one. That was a line of thinking from a few weeks ago, and we've been right so far, but it will obviously be up to the people over there on the ground to make the final call."

Alex Brown is deputy editor of Cricinfo