Hodge in form, out of favour

A ''FLABBERGASTED'' former Test batsman Dean Jones has savaged the
national selectors after the panel again overlooked Victoria's
run-scoring record-holder Brad Hodge for a one-day international against
England in Melbourne this weekend.

While the squad of 14 for Sunday's opening to the
limited-over series against England is only a one-off, chairman of
selectors Andrew Hilditch acknowledged in Adelaide yesterday that it
would form the basis of the side for the remaining six matches, plus the
World Cup on the subcontinent starting next month.

Hodge, 36, was in the original 30-man squad for the World
Cup but his chances must be rated as negligible now. Fifteen will go to
India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and the selectors will almost certainly
add Tim Paine as reserve wicketkeeper behind Brad Haddin, and Ricky
Ponting is expected to return from injury to captain the team.


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Nathan Hauritz is back in the Australian team. Photo: Dallas Kilponen





''He's not in their plans,'' said Jones, who was captain
of Victoria when Hodge broke into the Victorian team in 1993. ''If he
was, he would have been picked for the Twenty20 game. He knows it.''

Hodge's omission comes despite two stellar seasons at
domestic one-day level. He is the leading run-scorer in the competition
this season with 494 runs at 82.33 with three centuries and a strike
rate of 97.05. Teammate David Hussey, who was plucked by the selectors
for Sunday's game, has 143 runs at 23.83 in domestic one-dayers for
Victoria this season, although Hilditch argued that the selection panel
believed Hussey's mastery of subcontinental batting conditions was at
the heart of the choice.

Hodge, who has retired from Test and first-class cricket,
made the second-highest domestic tally in history last season, peeling
off 622 runs at 69.11 without moving the selectors, and Jones was less
than convinced. ''They can't say he's too old, because Brett Lee's in
the side and he's 34,'' he said.

''I've always been taught that batsmen win you one-dayers
and Twenty20 games, while bowlers win Tests. I'm not saying 'Bing'
(Lee) shouldn't be in the side. But what I am saying is that Brad Hodge
is the best one-day and Twenty20 batsman in Australia by the length of
the Flemington straight and I'm shocked that they haven't picked him.

''I've heard a rumour that it's because of his fielding,
but I've watched the last couple of games and they must be using a
different set of eyes. The way it looks, we don't even want to win the
World Cup. These selectors have got no idea what it takes to win a World
Cup in one-day cricket and it's not because Brad Hodge is a Victorian.
I'd say the same thing if he was from New South Wales or Queensland.''

Hussey, 33, returns to the team after missing the three
games against Sri Lanka earlier this season. The absence of Ponting
opened a door for the former Western Australian, and he beat the likes
of Hodge, South Australian Callum Ferguson and Warriors teammate Shaun
Marsh to the position.

Marsh, who had been touted as possible Test opener this
summer, has been plagued by inconsistency in the Ryobi One-Day Cup this
season, averaging 40.4 from five games with one century to his name,
despite ranking in the top five with 414 runs at 43.5 in the Sheffield
Shield competition.

The World Cup is in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh
starting next month, with Australia aiming for a fourth consecutive
title. The Australians won in 1999 in England, 2003 in South Africa and
2007 in the Caribbean.

While Hodge's record in 25 one-day internationals is
moderate (575 runs at 30.26, strike rate 87), his blistering
performances at domestic level that have fanned the push for his
elevation.

The World Cup squad of 15 will be named next Tuesday,
with Hilditch saying the panel wanted to look at ''certain players''
before finalising it.

Hilditch said the squad for the England series was
selected for one game only in order to look at certain players before
the 15-man squad for the remaining six games and the World Cup was
announced on January 19.

Among those back in favour are Tasmanian finger spinner
Xavier Doherty, brilliant in his debut against Sri Lanka late last year,
and New South Wales fast bowlers Doug Bollinger and Lee, who is in line
to play his first match in Australian colours since October, 2009.
South Australian quick Shaun Tait also gets another opportunity, as does
off-spinner Nathan Hauritz.

Bollinger returns after a turbulent summer in which his
conditioning was questioned after he broke down with a side strain in
India in October. ''Hopefully I'm closer than I think and go from there
and have a really good start to the one-dayer,'' Bollinger said
yesterday.