Danger UXD
Saturday, November 20, 2010 : The Ashes, England, Tests
Danger Unexploded Device. The Australians have dropped Nathan Hauritz and selected the Unknown Xavier Doherty.
After Nathan Hauritz’s horror show performance in the last Shield match where he bowled a solitary over and dropped two catches, including one to win the closely fought match, the Australian Selectors have chosen the little known Tasmanian Xavier Doherty. He joins Steve Smith as one of 2 spin options in the final 13-man squad but looks set to play.
This presents a problem for England, an unknown problem, one that goes against their months of careful planning. I’m sure Andy Flower and Co were quite happy dealing with Hauritz. Likewise Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood showed up Steve Smith’s leg spin for it’s lack of consistency and subsequent threat. Xavier Doherty however provides Australia with an X Factor (Cringe - see other Cricketing Journalistic Cliches)
Doherty joins a long list of post-Warne replacements, including his Tassie Tigers team rival Jason Krejza. UXD has played 50 over cricket for Australia but making your debut in the first Test of The Ashes is another step up.
One thing is likely, and maybe this is a big part of his selection, as a left-arm spinner KP is going to get out to him, again and again and again.
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