Schedule for rest of Australian summer revealed

The limited overs portion of England's tour down under later this year was revealed a few weeks back with 5 ODI's and 3 T20I's to be played. It is the fewest amount of ODI's to be played in an Australian summer in around 34 years. I reckon its a good move, as the attendances to ODI's have diminished substantially over the last 5 years and they have been more of an afterthought of the summer. Hopefully reducing it back to 5 will result in it being seen as more of a showcase. In saying that, the 2014/15 summer will feature a plethora of ODI's in preparation of the World Cup to be hosted by Australia and New Zealand in March 2015.

On the flipside, there will be a 3 T20I match series which makes it the longest bilateral T20I series to be played on international soil. These matches will be held at the conclusion of the summer, which is in fact the last Australian summer in over 30 years with only one side to visit. There is only 33 days of international cricket to be played this summer which is one of the lowest tallies in years.

With Cricket Australia saying that the Big Bash League will be shortened, and won't start until mid-late December, it means that the Sheffield Shield will be played up until the third test match.

In regards to venues, the five mainland capital cities are the beneficiaries, hosting one test and an ODI each. Hobart on the other hand is the major loser as Bellerive Oval will not host a test or an ODI. Perhaps it's a warning from Cricket Australia about their poor crowds in the past few years at international matches, especially with the possibility of the renovated Manuka Oval getting more and more matches.

It should be an an exciting Ashes summer, which comes on the back of a Ashes series in England in the middle of this year.

Full Fixtures

31st  October - 2nd November: Western Australia v England XI @ WACA, Perth
6th November - 9th November: Australia A v England XI @ Bellerive Oval, Hobart
13th November - 16th November: New South Wales VS England XI @ SCG, Sydney
21st November - 25th November: 1st Test - Australia v England @ Gabba, Brisbane
29th November - 30th November: Cricket Australia Chairman's XI v England XI, Traeger Park, Alice Springs
5th December - 9th December: 2nd Test - Australia v England @ Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
13th December - 17th December: 3rd Test - Australia v England @ WACA, Perth
26th December - 30th December: 4th Test - Australia v England @ MCG, Melbourne
3rd January - 7th January: 5th Test - Australia v England @ SCG, Sydney
12th January: 1st ODI: Australia v England @ MCG, Melbourne
14th January: Prime Minister's XI v England XI @ Manuka Oval, Canberra
17th January: 2nd ODI - Australia v England @ Gabba, Brisbane
19th January: 3rd ODI - Australia v England @ SCG, Sydney
24th January: 4th ODI - Australia v England @ WACA, Perth
26th January: 5th ODI - Australia v England @ Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
29th January: 1st T20I - Australia v England @ Bellerive Oval, Hobart
31st January: 2nd T20I - Australia v England @ MCG, Melbourne
2nd February: 3rd T20I - Australia v England @ ANZ Stadium, Sydney

World Cricket Live Update

Pakistan 230/8 (48.4 overs) defeated Ireland 229/9 (50.0 overs) by 2 wickets
The ODI Series between Ireland and Pakistan came to a thrilling conclusion last Sunday as Kamran Akmal and tail-ender Wahab Riaz won the match for Pakistan. The visitors were in dire straits at 17/4, and also 133/7, but the wicket-keeper and fast bowler put on a show scoring around 90 off the last 10-12 overs. Ireland had earlier managed 229/9 on the back of Ed Joyce who became only the second player behind Eoin Morgan to score an ODI century for two different countries. Ireland's score was definitely under-par, however they more than made up for it with the ball, as Trent Johnston and Tim Murtagh ran through the top order. Unfortunately for the Irish they couldn't capitalize and they will be kicking themselves after a great chance for the first ODI series win by an associate against a full member nation.

England (354 and 287/5dec) defeated New Zealand (174 and 220) by 247 runs
After matching England for three of four innings in the first match, New Zealand had high hopes to remain competitive and perhaps pinch a win in the second test. They failed to do this though as England finetuned their Ashes preparations with a convincing 247 run win. Joe Root scored his maiden test century, while Alistair Cook made 130 in the second innings. Their bowlers were superb with Graeme Swann picking up 10 wickets for the match. New Zealand, on the other hand, were quite disappointing in the batting department, scoring lower than both England's totals in their innings. Their first innings of 174 was incredibly disappointing with no.10 and 11 Wagner and Boult scoring nearly a third of the runs.

The teams play a short three match ODI series in preparation for the Champions Trophy tournament which starts next week. I will post a preview of what will be the last ever edition of this tournament sometime in the next coming days.

Netherlands v South Africa @ Amstelveen
The single ODI between Netherlands and South Africa has just started with South Africa winning the toss and batting. They lost two early wickets but have now steadied to be 67/2 after 14 overs. Colin Ingram is unbeaten on 21, while JP Duminy is on 14. Mudassar Bukhari picked up the breakthrough of Petersen, while debutant Paul van Meekeren dismissed Hamish Amla. Hopefully the Dutch can continue to fight and make a match of this.

New Zealand look to draw the series

After a fourth innings collapse of dramatic proportions led to New Zealand being bowled out for 68 in less than two hours, they will be looking to bounce back in the second and final test starting today at Headingley.

Dan Vettori has been ruled out to replace injured Bruce Martin which means the visitors will play a four man pace attack. Doug Bracewell comes in, while Martin Guptill has also been drafted in to lengthen the batting order at the expense of BJ Watling. Captain Brendon McCullum will don the gloves.

New Zealand put up a massive fight in the first test so England will need to be on their game from the first day this time, in what is their last test match before the Ashes later in the summer.

Cricket to leave Channel 9?

There are rumours swirling around in Australia that Channel 9 may lose the cricket rights to Channel 10 who have made a bid of around $450 million over five years according to reports. Channel 9 have been the home of cricket since Kerry Packer bought the rights, however the network's current financial problems mean it will be hard to secure the cash for the rights.

It is believed that Channel 10 have already won the rights to the Big Bash League which will ensure the domestic T20 competition in Australia will get bigger and bigger. I'm not sure though whether Channel 10 broadcasting the cricket will be good news though. Yes, Channel 9 have become stale over recent years with annoying commentators ruining the viewer's enjoyment. Nonetheless this aside their coverage has been satisfactory. Channel 10 would need to bring across some commentators (hopefully not Ian Healy) from Channel 9, as well as across from Fox Sports, such as Brendan Julian, Allan Border or Mark Waugh.

The report below states that Channel 9 have until the 3rd of June to match Ten's bid; so until then we await with interest.

Reports below

TV Tonight
http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2013/05/nine-torn-on-cricket-rights-seven-scores-soccer-matches.html

The Australian 
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/seven-wins-rights-for-top-soccer-matches-as-nine-and-ten-pad-up/story-e6frg996-1226649532996

Kevin O'Brien and Paul Stirling secure thrilling tie against Pakistan

Irish World Cup hero Kevin O'Brien and the man who scored a breathtaking century two years ago against the same opposition have led Ireland to a tie in the 1st One Day International overnight. In a rain-affected match, Ireland were chasing a D/L revised target of 276 in 47 overs. Opener Paul Stirling repeated his feats of two years ago with another century - a run a ball 103 which featured 12 fours and a six. It was Kevin O'Brien though who gave the chase some momentum with a rapid 84* off only 47 balls. Ireland needed 13 runs off the final three balls with O'Brien hitting a six, a two, before a four off the final delivery of the match tied the scores.

Earlier, Pakistan's innings was constantly interrupted with rain, however kudos to the ground-staff for their great work in ensuring that hardly any play was lost. Nasir Jamshed retired hurt after a back injury, while fellow opener Imran Farhat made a scratchy 9 off 34 balls before being dismissed by Alex Cusack. Mohammad Hafeez and Asad Shafiq wrestled the momentum back from Ireland with a stand of 188, before Shafiq gave Cusack his second scalp. Hafeez continued on though scoring an unbeaten 122* at more than a run a ball. In the end though it will be the innings of O'Brien which will be remembered from this match which secured Ireland their first positive result (tie/loss) against a full member on Irish soil.

The second ODI which is now the series decider is to be played on Sunday.

Pakistan move onto Ireland

After rain forced the abandonment of the second ODI against Scotland, Pakistan have moved onto Ireland for another two match series. Pakistan won that first ODI against Scotland, however it wasn't without a scare after they were 115/5 and also in the second innings when Scotland were 52/1 chasing 231. Their bowlers eventually did manage to get on top running through the Scottish line-up bowling them out for 135 to seal a 96 run win.

Ireland will no doubt offer a much bigger challenge, so Pakistan would want to be on top of their game to avoid a second loss to the Ireland side. Weather hopefully holds up with the farcial circumstances last year in the Ireland and Australia match.

Good news for world-wide cricket fans with Google and Cricket Ireland teaming up to provide a live stream via Youtube of the match. This is excellent news to try and showcase the Ireland cricket team on an international scale.

Link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsRRHwOHuK4

ODI Rankings Update

There has been a brief respite in ODI cricket lately due to the IPL with only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe playing a series. This all changes though as the Champions Trophy is to be played for the last time next month in England. Despite being in the shadow of the Cricket World Cup, it has been a pivotal tournament for limited overs cricket and produced some entertaining cricket over the years. Australia is the only multiple winner of the tournament with both wins being the last times the tournament has been played. With the advent of T20, it hasn't been played since 2009, and its removal is probably necessary for a more functional and efficient international cricket calendar.

Before that though, Pakistan play matches against Scotland and Ireland, South Africa and the Netherlands will meet up, while there is a short 3 match series between England and New Zealand to be played.

The ICC ODI Rankings tell and interesting story with places being quite tight at the top. With only the top eight countries automatically qualifying for the 2019 World Cup, the rankings are becoming more and more important and relevant in international cricket. Here are how the rankings stand at the moment. Under each team I'll discuss their recent results and fixtures for the rest of the year.

1st                      India                         119
India lead the rankings despite not really playing too much ODI cricket recently. Their last assignment was a home series against England in January. They played well to seal a 3-2 series win which enabled them to top the rankings. Their only relevant form before that was a 1-2 defeat to Pakistan. I'm not sure how they will fare in the Champions Trophy in the English conditions and it will prove a challenge to them. The match against Pakistan may prove critical to who progresses to the semi-finals behind the likely South Africa. After that they head to the West Indies for an ODI Tri-Series with Sri Lanka. With news that their tour to Zimbabwe will be postponed, at this stage there are no more series scheduled until Australia in October.

2nd                      England                     117
England are placed fractionally behind India, although they will fancy themselves to retain the no.1 mantle quite soon. They face New Zealand before the Champions Trophy and should be able to get a series win, while with the home advantage, they are one of the favourites to take home the Champions Trophy. They played New Zealand earlier in the year and won 2-1, after losing the first match, while as mentioned above they lost to India in a close series. The rest of England's 2013 and 2013/14 season features 10 matches against Australia on the back of respective Ashes series, as well as their traditional match against Ireland.

3rd                      Australia                     116
Despite Australia's test misfortunes, they still possess quite a formidable one-day outfit. They will be more accustomed to English conditions, than the subcontinent nations, so would be hopeful of putting up a good performance at the Champions Trophy. They haven't played any ODI's since their home summer when they smashed the West Indies 5-0, while squared the series against Sri Lanka 2-2. The Aussies face England in 10 ODI's next season,  as well as playing a match against Scotland. In between of the two encounters with England they head to back to India later this year for the limited overs portion of their tour, although I don't think a full strength side will be selected.

4th                      South Africa                113
South Africa have slipped a bit in the ODI rankings but have the chance to get back into contention for top spot with an impressive Champions Trophy. Them along with England will be the teams to beat. They have also organised an ODI against the Netherlands in preparation for the tournament. South Africa beat Pakistan 3-2 in a close fought series in March, although were upset by New Zealand earlier this year 1-2. They drew 2-2 with England last September so will be hoping to improve on that form next month. Following the Champions Trophy, they head to Sri Lanka for 5 ODI's, and are also scheduled to play Pakistan and India at the beginning of the 2013/14 season.

5th                      Sri Lanka                    108
Sri Lanka were disappointing in their last series, only able to draw 1-1 at home against Bangladesh. They did though play well against the Australians in January to earn a 2-2 series draw, and beat New Zealand 3-0 at home in November. Sri Lanka always bring their best to global one-day tournaments and they will be hoping to knock off the hosts in the Champions Trophy. Sri Lanka have quite a busy end to the 2013 season with a Tri Series in the West Indies, before a series at home against South Africa. The South Africa matches will prove crucial if Sri Lanka hold any hope of making some gains on the top 4 in the rankings. They are also scheduled to play Zimbabwe and New Zealand later this year.

6th                      Pakistan                      106
Pakistan are always a dangerous ODI side. On their day they have the potential to beat any side. The challenge for them is to do this more consistently. They fell short in South Africa, although they did manage two victories, while at the beginning of the year they beat India 2-1 in their first bilateral contest in years. Pakistan are not messing around with their preparation for the Champions Trophy having organised 2 matches each against Scotland and Ireland (kudos to Pakistan for this!). They will be hoping to acclimitise to conditions before their Champions Trophy campaign. Pakistan will be looking to improve their rankings with potential series against South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe later this year.

7th                      West Indies                   86
I think it is time for the West Indies to push up the table back to where they belong. After being in a decade of despair, they won their first limited overs trophy since 1979 in the form of the T20 World Cup last year. As of yet their T20 ability has yet to translate to the 50-over game. Although they smashed Zimbabwe recently, their series losses to Bangladesh and Australia were disappointing. The loss to Bangladesh was especially worriesome, as Bangladesh are creeping up on the West Indies in the rankings. The 'windies' are in a tough group in England and will need to play at their best of their ability to be able to progress to the semi-finals. After that they will be hoping to impress their supporters in the Tri-Series against India and Sri Lanka and the series against Pakistan.

8th                      New Zealand                         82
New Zealand are the team most likely to be nervous about impeding World Cup qualification for 2019. At times over the past few years they have dropped to 9th, so will need sustained improvement to ensure safe qualification for 2019. Their form recently has shown this needed improvement with an upset win over South Africa away from home. They also got a win in their home series in India. The kiwis have one of the best records in one-day tournaments and will  be hoping to prove this again this year. After their matches in England, they have a break before travelling to Bangladesh in October which is shaping up to be a massive series.

9th                      Bangladesh                         78
Bangladesh have played really well as of late and have in fact won 6 of their past 11 matches against the eight major full members. This incorporated falling just short of a maiden Asia Cup title, a 3-2 series win over West Indies, as well as a 1-1 draw against Sri Lanka. Unfortunately their form away from home has let them down, with a recent 1-2 defeat to Zimbabwe. This dashed their chances of overtaking New Zealand into 9th position. Bangladesh don't play many matches so they need to take the most of their opportunities. Case in point is only having 3 ODI's scheduled for the rest of the year (against New Zealand) which are critical for the tigers.

10th                      Zimbabwe                         51
Zimbabwe had been starved of international cricket before their West Indies tour, having not played for over 12 months. It was no surprise then that they were completely outplayed by the West Indies. Their performance against Bangladesh though showed that if they can get their off-field matters sorted out (a big if, I know) they have the potential to be a decent side, particularly at home. This will be put to the test later this year with home series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Although Ireland, Netherlands and Kenya form the rest of the table, it seems pointless to even mention them in this capacity due to their near impossible chances of making any substantial gains in the ranking system. The associates though are in the middle of a three-year World Cup qualifying campaign. Ireland and Netherlands are currently on top and would be favourites to stay there by the end of the year.

There are some matches against the full members though planned this year for the associates. (Not many, and lets hope that in future more countries play them as well)
17th May: 1st ODI - Scotland v Pakistan @ Grange Cricket Club, Edinburgh, Scotland
19th May: 2nd ODI - Scotland v Pakistan @ Grange Cricket Club, Edinburgh, Scotland
23rd May: 1st ODI - Ireland v Pakistan @ Clontarf Cricket Club, Dublin, Ireland
26th May: 2nd ODI - Ireland v Pakistan @ Clontarf Cricket Club, Dublin, Ireland
31st May: Only ODI - Netherlands v South Africa @ VRA Ground, Amstelveen, Netherlands
3rd September: Only ODI - Ireland v England @ Malahide, Dublin, Ireland
3rd September: Only ODI - Scotland v Australia @ The Grange, Edinburgh, Scotland

Brief summary of full members fixtures for the near future:
June: 3 match series between England and New Zealand (England)
June: ICC Champions Trophy (England)
July: Tri-Series between West Indies, India and Sri Lanka (West Indies)
July: 5 match series between Sri Lanka and South Africa (Sri Lanka)
July/August: 5 match series between West Indies and Pakistan (West Indies)
September: 5 match series between England and Australia (England)
October: 3* match series between Bangladesh and New Zealand (Bangladesh)
October: 3* match series between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka (Zimbabwe)
October: 5* match series between India and Australia (India)
October/November: 5* match series between Pakistan and South Africa (UAE?)

*Zimbabwe's series against India of 3 ODI's has been apparently postponed. Zimbabwe and Pakistan are looking to play their series this year though.

What a great four or five month period we have set for ODI cricket. The last Champions Trophy will obviously be the highlight, however there some enticing clashes to be played such as Sri Lanka and South Africa, England and Australia, and Bangladesh and New Zealand. With the 2015 Cricket World Cup less than 2 years away, every country will be looking to build up some winning form.  

Pakistan's European tour about to begin

Pakistan's short tour of Scotland and Ireland is set to begin tonight. Pakistan organised 2 ODI's each against Scotland and Ireland as preparation for an assault on the Champsions Trophy to be played in England in June. Pakistan has probably been the country most willing to play the associates, so kudos must be go to them for playing these matches.

Pakistan will be a formidable opponent for the European associates. Scotland may struggle, however Ireland will be hoping to spring an upset. With their campaign to get test status by 2020, they will be hoping to remind the ICC powerbrokers just how good a team they are.

Full Fixtures:

17th May: 1st ODI - Scotland v Pakistan @ Grange Cricket Club, Edinburgh, Scotland
19th May: 2nd ODI - Scotland v Ireland @ Grange Cricket Club, Edinburgh, Scotland

23rd May: 1st ODI - Ireland v Pakistan @ Clontarf Cricket Club, Dublin, Ireland
26th May: 2nd ODI - Ireland v Pakistan @ Clontarf Cricket Club, Dublin, Ireland

Back to the real cricket!

With the IPL extravaganza finally getting closer to a conclusion, some good and proper cricket starts tonight with the beginning of the two match test series between England and New Zealand. This series comes only a couple of months after an incredible 0-0 draw in New Zealand, where the English were lucky to escape with a drawn series. New Zealand pushed them hard, however it will be much tougher in England.

New Zealand have had a reasonable amount of time to prepare with two warm-up matches being played. The fact that their IPL players Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor were able to arrive in England earlier than expected.They found it tough in their match against the England Lions though as the New Zealanders were bowled out for 285, with Hamish Rutherford the only one who scored anything of note - 126. Their bowlers struggled as the lions racked up 444/7 with Joe Root scoring 179.

In relation to the Test rankings, England are in 2nd narrowly ahead of India and Australia, and a mile behind runaway leaders South Africa. New Zealand are in 8th on 83 points and will be looking to spring an upset in order to catch up to 7th placed West Indies who are on 92 points.

Despite New Zealand's improved performances earlier this year against the same opposition, I'm predicting England to bounce back with some strong performances. They will want to get in some good form before the Ashes assignment later in the summer.

Squads
England (1st Test): A.Cook (c), J.Anderson, J.Bairstow, I.Bell, T.Bresnan, S.Broad, N.Compton, S.Finn, M.Prior, J.Root, G.Swann,  J.Trott
New Zealand: B. McCullum, T.Boult, D.Bracewell, D.Brownlie, P.Fulton, M.Gillespie, M.Guptill, T.Latham, B.Martin, H.Rutherford, T.Southee, R.Taylor, N.Wagner, BJ Watling, K.Williamson

Fixtures
16th May - 20th May: 1st Test @ Lord's, London
24th - 28th May: 2nd Test @ Headingley, Leeds

*Thought I better add - no disrespect intended to Bangladesh and Zimbabwe who just completed a series, but unfortunately the majority of cricket fans (not me) would have struggled to just know that series was on at all.

Breaking News: Spot-fixing at IPL?

There has been breaking news about three Rajasthan Royals players have been arrested with allegations of spot fixing. The three players are believed to be Ajit Chandila, Ankeet Chavan and test player Shanthakumaran Sreesanth. 

With all the money going around in the IPL, there is no surprise that there would be the possibilities of spot fixing. If these players are found guilty, you'd hope they would be punished severely.

Stay tuned for more news 

Nepal and Uganda progress to the World Cup Qualifier

Nepal and Uganda have qualified for the final stage of the qualification process for the 2015 Cricket World Cup. They have both secured their spots in the World Cup Qualifier to be played in New Zealand early next year, on the back of their 1st and 2nd finishing in the WCL Division 3 tournament that finished yesterday.

Nepal won the final by beating Uganda by five wickets. Nepal's path just to get to the final was immense, as they lost their first two matches of the tournament to their final opponents and the USA. This left them with a near impossible task, which also opened up a tantalizing day of the final preliminary matches.

Uganda had already secured their spot in the final, however USA, Bermuda and Nepal were still in the race. Nepal needed to smash Italy in order to gain two points and also boost their net run rate. As well as this, they needed Bermuda to spring an upset on the USA and beat them by enough so that USA's NRR fell behind Nepal's, but by not too much, as otherwise Bermuda would progress. Amazingly, all the luck fell in Nepal's favour as they destroyed Italy by eight wickets, after chasing down a target of 128 in less than 15 overs. Even then, the Nepal team had to wait and endure some nervous moments before Bermuda prevailed in an upset over their region rivals by five wickets.

Nepal were in most people's eyes the pre-tournament favourites (including mine), so it was a big surprise that they nearly failed to make the final. The strength showed by Nepal to fight back was pleasing and will hold them in good stead for the crucial Qualifier in New Zealand.

The World Cup Qualifier will feature 10 teams including the bottom six of the WCL Championship, Division 2 teams Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea, as well as the newly promoted Nepal and Uganda. In a round-robin format, with some improved teams playing, it should be a ripping tournament.

I have updated the current one-day rankings to reflect this tournament with Nepal being the big mover (4 places), while USA venture closer to the top 20. Bermuda have fallen but still remain in Division 3, whereas Oman and Italy have all fallen by two places but have also been relegated to Division 4. Finalists Uganda have dropped slightly however have the chance for a big rankings jump in the World Cup Qualifier early next year. Take a look at the rankings now to see where 43 nations are ranked in one-day cricket.
  
Final Standings from WCL Division 3:
Champions: Nepal
Runners-Up: Uganda
3rd: United States of America (USA)
4th: Bermuda
5th: Oman
6th: Italy

Zimbabwe and Bangladesh Tour update

In the midst of an international cricket quiet period, the minnows of the full member nations are battling it out in a bottom of the table clash.

After Zimbabwe won the first test match by 335 runs, Bangladesh retaliated by winning the second by 143 runs, and thus drawing the series.

The ODI series began a couple of days ago, which is extremely pivotal for these two sides. Bangladesh who have played well of late with a 1-2 defeat to Sri Lanka, and a 3-2 win over the West Indies, come in as heavy favourites. Zimbabwe were thoroughly outplayed by the West Indies, but should put up more of a fight in home conditions.If Bangladesh win all three matches they will overtake New Zealand into 8th place in the ICC ODI Rankings. Anything other than a cleansweep will mean they will remain in 9th. Zimbabwe on the other hand languish in 10th, and although they will still be 10th at the end of this series, they have a lot to play for. Ireland lurk in 11th, and Zimbabwe will want to prove they deserve to be ahead of the associate nation.

As I said, the first match was played a couple of days ago and it was Bangladesh coming out on top by 121 runs. The second match is underway at the moment.

Scores in brief

2nd ODI (in progress)
Zimbabwe 167/4 off 34.3 overs
Bangladesh 252/9 off 50.0 overs
Zimbabwe need 86 runs with 6 wickets in hand and 15.3 overs (5.54 req. run rate)

1st ODI 
Bangladesh (269/8 off 50.0 overs) defeated Zimbabwe (148 off 32.1 overs) by 121 runs

2nd Test
Bangladesh (391 and 291/9dec.) defeated Zimbabwe (282 and 257) by 143 runs

1st Test
Zimbabwe (389 and 227/7dec.) defeated Bangladesh (134 and 147) by 335 runs

Australia squads update

For all passionate Australian supporters, as well as passionate cricket fans, last week came a big announcement from Cricket Australia. The squad for the Ashes tour of 2013 was announced. There were plenty of queries about players after the disastrous tour of India. In the lead-up to the announcement, there was further intrigue with Shane Watson stepping down from his vice-captain role.

Along with this the squad for the Australia Tour of Ireland, Scotland and England was announced, and a few days later, the 15 man squad for the ICC Champions Trophy.

Obviously, with all these teams, I want to complete a full analysis, however due to limited time, for the moment, I will just list below the squads. At a later date, I will post analyses of the three Australian squads. So stay tuned.

Test Squad for Ashes Tour
Michael Clarke (c)
Brad Haddin (vc,wk)
Jackson Bird
Ed Cowan
James Faulkner
Ryan Harris
Phil Hughes
Usman Khawaja
Nathan Lyon
Chris Rogers
James Pattinson
Peter Siddle
Mitchell Starc
Matthew Wade (wk)
David Warner
Shane Watson
  
Australia A Squad (First Class)
Brad Haddin (c, wk)
Steve Smith
Ashton Agar
Jackson Bird
Alex Doolan
Ryan Harris
Moises Henriques
Usman Khawaja
Nathan Lyon
Nic Maddinson
James Pattinson
Chadd Sayers
Peter Siddle
Jordan Silk

Australia squad for ICC Champions Trophy
Michael Clarke (c)
George Bailey (vc)
Nathan Coulter-Nile
Xavier Doherty
James Faulkner
Phillip Hughes
Mitchell Johnson
Mitchell Marsh
Glen Maxwell
Clint McKay
Mitchell Starc
Adam Voges
Matthew Wade (wk)
David Warner
Shane Watson