Ponting aside, Oz tour selectors face batting order debate

VADODARA - On the eve of the first limited overs match against India here, Australia’s selectors know that while do not have to think about captain Ricky Ponting walking out at No.3, the shape of the rest of the batting order is open to debate.

Tim Paine, Shaun Marsh and Shane Watson are all vying for the top two spots after Mitchell Johnson added to the logjam by stating he too would like to open in one-day cricket.

There is also a tantalising hole in the middle order due to Callum Ferguson’s cruel loss to a knee reconstruction. There is a possibility of either Adam Voges or Paine filling that vacant spot.

Pressure will also come from the three New South Welshmen - Brett Lee, Nathan Hauritz and Doug Bollinger, who join the team on Saturday after the Blues’ victory over Trinidad and Tobago in the Twenty20 Champions League final.

Australian coach Tim Nielsen would be keen to ensure that with the long summer ahead, the energy levels of Lee and Hauritz remain high and proven.

“Just because of the turnaround and the time between games we’ll have to really manage them, and make sure we’re careful,” Nielsen said.

“It’s about knowing that we have the depth of talent there to ensure if we do find players are tired or sore or have niggles, that we don’t find ourselves short of players and having to use the ones that are sore and hurt them for a long-term injury,” he added.

Squads

India: MS Dhoni (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Sudeep Tyagi, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Tim Paine, Shane Watson, Michael Hussey, Adam Voges, Cameron White, Shaun Marsh, James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle, Jon Holland, Ben Hilfenhaus, Doug Bollinger. (ANI)