MacGill a doubt for New Zealand tour

Despite his excellent performance in the Sydney Test, Stuart MacGill could find himself out of the squad for the tour to New Zealand. MacGill took 8 for 170 in the game and was named the Man of the Match in Australia's comprehensive nine-wicket win, but Ricky Ponting indicated in the post-match press conference that MacGill might not find himself on the flight to New Zealand.

"Going to New Zealand, the wickets will probably be flatter and won't turn as much as this one, so the event of playing two legspinners there will probably be unlikely. We'll probably go back to a more structured sort of line-up over there."

Ponting admitted, though, that MacGill and Shane Warne had shared an excellent rapport during the Test: "They work really closely in the nets leading up to games. They talk a lot out in the middle about how they're bowling, what they're trying to do and how they're trying to get batsmen out. At different times in this game, when they were on together, they were trying to work in a partnership, which is obviously as important with the ball as it is with the bat." Between them, McGill and Warne took 13 of the 20 Pakistani wickets.

If MacGill doesn't make it to New Zealand, he is likely to play an important role for New South Wales, his state team, who have important engagements coming up which coincide with the matches in New Zealand - the Blues, currently second in the table, play a Pura Cup game on March 10, the same day as the first Test begins in Christchurch, while the finals will start on March 18, the same day as the second Test in Wellington. Considering that New Zealand is only a three-hour flight, the selectors may feel that it's better for MacGill to keep playing state cricket and fly him for the Tests only if necessary.

However, MacGill has an excellent chance of making his first Ashes tour, given that the five Tests will be played late in the season in England when the pitches should have dried out and become more conducive to spin.