Ricky Ponting remains vital to the development of Australia's Test side but cannot keep earning a place in the team based on his reputation, according to the coach Mickey Arthur. As Australia's batsmen began their batting camp in Melbourne on Tuesday ahead of the Boxing Day Test against India, the selectors were faced with some tough decisions over the make-up of the squad.
The batting order was especially fluid, with questions over whether Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh would return from injury, whether Daniel Christian would be squeezed in as an allrounder, and whether the irresistible form of the opener Ed Cowan could be ignored. And while Ponting is expected to play at the MCG, Arthur said nobody was a certainty to take on the Indians.
"I don't think anybody is guaranteed a start," Arthur said. "Ricky Ponting is really vital to where we want to take this team so we're really hoping he finds his form and hopefully his form is just around the corner. We'll discuss that again tonight and make sure we've got all our bases covered in terms of selection."
No comments:
Post a Comment