da pinup bet： Andrew Hilditch, the selector accompanying the Australian team in KualaLumpur, lavished praise on Mitchell Johnson after his stunning four-wicket burst against India
da 888casino： Dileep Premachandran in Kuala Lumpur17-Sep-2006
‘Mitchell’s seizing his opportunities. His progress over the last six months has been quiteamazing’ – Andrew Hilditch © Getty Images
Andrew Hilditch, the selector accompanying the Australian team in KualaLumpur, lavished praise on Mitchell Johnson after his stunning four-wicketburst against India, but insisted there were no second thoughts overthe decision to send him home midway through thetournament. With two league matches left, Australia are set to relyon more experienced hands, with the likes of Matthew Hayden, AndrewSymonds and Brett Lee coming back into the XI.”We made a decision at the start of the tournament to bring a larger groupthan normal,” said Hilditch. “We brought 18 players. We’ve got long- andshort-term goals for Australian cricket, and we took the opportunity tohave a look at some very exciting young players. The tour group is toolarge and we told them in advance that they’d be playing only the firsttwo games.”We’re thrilled with how they’ve gone. Obviously, Mitchell Johnson’sperformance last night was fantastic, a big moment for Australian cricketand for him. But now we get on with the rest of the tour. We’ve got Haydos[Hayden] coming back, which is exciting for us and for him.Michael Hussey will captain tomorrow, and Symonds and Lee come back intothe team.”When it was suggested that the move might halt Johnson’s momentum,Hilditch disagreed. “There’s a much bigger picture. He was told what hehad to do, and he’s taken his chance. That’s all you can do in cricket.This tournament is pretty unique in that we’ve not had any internationalcricket for about five months. We planned pretty carefully to get the bestout of it for the players and Australian cricket. It’s probably a one-off,but there were a lot of players we wanted to see exposed to internationalcricket.”After the Ashes last year, there was an opinion that the Australian teamwas past its best, and too dependent on an ageing core. The decision toblood youngsters was a conscious one, done to ensure that there would beno downswing similar to that caused by the exits of Greg Chappell, DennisLillee and Rodney Marsh in 1983-84.”The Australian side’s been a great side for a long period of time,” saidHilditch. “Some of the players that are going to leave Australian cricketare legends. Part of the process is to get these younger players aroundthe senior players and learning from them.”The biggest concern following the Ashes defeat had centred on the paceattack, and how it would cope in Glenn McGrath’s absence. The emergence ofJohnson, and the return from injury of Shaun Tait now gives the selectorsenviable options ahead of the Ashes. “I think we’ve made a fair bit ofprogress,” said Hilditch. “We’ve got a lot of good fast bowlers still notin the squad. Jason Gillespie’s there, one of the greatest bowlersAustralia’s produced with over 250 Test wickets. He’s going to push hardfor the Ashes. Tait’s an exciting prospect, and Mitchell’s seizing hisopportunities. His progress over the last six months has been quiteamazing. And we have Stuart Clark, who played really well in SouthAfrica.”He said that Tait had been close to selection for this tour, but “he’sstill got a bit of a shoulder issue that stops him throwing fulldistance”. And while appreciative of the variety that Johnson gave theattack, Hilditch wasn’t of the view that being a left-arm bowler gave himany special status. “I think the Australian cricket team’s at its bestwhen it’s got its best players on the paddock, whether they’re left orright-handed,” he said. “Left-handers obviously have certain advantages,if they can swing it. But if a right-hander swings the ball, he’s gotadvantages too.”He paid tribute to the system that nurtures talent – “We’ve got a verygood identification programme, a very good academy, and we’ve been followingMitchell’s progress for five years really” – and he reckoned that sterlingperformances from young players didn’t necessarily upset the selectionaims. “If a young player takes an opportunity, it doesn’t complicatethings, it’s just good,” he said. On Saturday’s evidence – Shane Watsonsmashed 79 from 74 balls, before Johnson stole the show – it was hard toargue with such an assessment.
