Man, have they stuffed up this team!

Compare the winning lineups to the losing ones, and the picture is fairly obvious. Gone: White, Simmons, Johnsons. In: Hodge, Hogg, Watson. Add a “can’t bowl” injury to M Clark and we go from an infinitely varied blowing atatck and brilliant in the field, to bog ordinary in both.

And is it just me, or has Hussey, ever since someone said “Beavan” been utterly ordinary? Without a functioning “stabliser” in the middle oreder, the aggressive top order is in trouble.

The Aussie ODI strategy, since the last world cup, has been to take early wickets with the three pace bowlers, to allow the bad bowlers some breathing room against batsmen more concerned with preserving their wicket than getting aftre the attack.

It has continued to work in most games, but when the English Middle order stayed in, read Paul Collingwood) Australia lost their way. Add in a failure to take middle to late innings wickets, and too many missed opportunities, unheard of just two weeks ago, and the middle overs have killed us.

The pace attack, without a second out and out quick like Johnson or Tait, simply lacks venom and bite, and the fifth bowler has gone from a varied, multiple option conglomerate of Simmons medium pace or off-sping, White’s Leggies and Clark’s left arm off spin to Hussey, who didn’t bowl at all previously.

So what needs to be done?

Australia need a four pronged pace attack, with two from Tait, Johnson and Lee, and two from S Clark, Bracken and McGrath. That gives us strike power all the way through, and has been Australia’s best lineup throughout the summer, and right back to the Champions Trophy.

We also need to seriously consider bringing White back, but as a specialist batsmen / late order hitter with the option for an over or two, as well as an excellent fielder, and no matter what, Simmons MUSt be picked. he is simply too valuable to not take a risk on.

With only 15 spots available, the best lineup would be 6 batsmen, Gilly, Hadden (a batsmen as well) and seven bowlers.

That would be:

1. Ponting (c)
2. Gilchrist (vc)
3. Hadden
4. Hayden
5. Clarke
6. Hussey
7. Hodge
8. Simmons
9. White
10. S Clark
11. McGrath
12. Lee
13. Tait
14. Johnson
15. Hogg