They say that being captain of the Australian cricket is the hardest job in the country bar one, that of course being the Prime Minister.
However on this occasion as captain and sole selector it wasn't that hard, the only major decision was whether to play an all rounder at 6 or go with six bats. Went with the former, thinking that if we have to try and grind the opposition out, having that fifth bowler will make things easier, although if it's the reverse we could be in some strife.
The batting order really falls into place, looking for our specialist bat Nitrate to open up the innings well and lay a good platform.
Perhaps the only surprise is batting Rogers at four and myself at five, the captain should be up the order however I think it will compensate for the lower order and allows myself the room to tinkle with it later on during the tournament.
Three quicks and a leggie, self explanatory really. Keen to see what Dowd can if he bowls in the last innings, Old Trafford does tend to enjoy Australian leg spinners (ie. Shane Warne) so we'll see what's on offer. Keen to see how Richardson goes, can top 140km/h in real life and has already played a one day game for Western Australia.
Really interested to see how this plays out against Pakistan, we don't play enough test matches against them. Hoping for a solid performance and a good team win.