Hilditch does an encore with no Oz selector present during Australia’s warm up game

MELBOURNE - Australia’s chief selector Andrew Hilditch is at the centre of another controversy, with no selector being present to watch a pre-Ashes “bowl-off”.

No selector was there to watch comeback pacers Brett Lee and Stuart Clark waiting to make their bids for Ashes spots in the four-day match against county side Sussex.

Hilditch will not arrive in Britain until the day before Australia’s second and last pre-Ashes tour match, against the England Lions starting on July 1 in Worcester, The Herald Sun reports.

Team officials said there had never been a plan for Hilditch to be at the Sussex game, and he would be receiving regular reports from skipper Ricky Ponting and coach Tim Nielsen.

But with selector David Boon heading home after Australia’s ill-fated Twenty20 World Cup campaign, Lee and his fellow bowlers would have hardly been delighted they had to push their claims without a selector on duty.

Hilditch came under heavy fire in the summer when he was photographed walking his dog on an Adelaide beach as Matthew Hayden was fighting to save his career in the SCG Test against South Africa.

Hilditch, who earns a hefty Cricket Australia retainer for his part-time role, is coming under increasing scrutiny, with Cricket Australia’s board recently recommending the appointment of a full-time chairman to the national panel.

It means Hilditch may be forced to choose between his job as an Adelaide solicitor and the selection role, the paper reports. (ANI)