Play five batsmen - Border

Allan Border, the former selector, wants to know if Australia can cope with using only five batsmen, which would allow the luxury of picking another bowler. Border believes the second Test against the struggling West Indies at Hobart next week offers the ideal opportunity to retain Adam Gilchrist at No. 6 and include the legspinner Stuart MacGill.

"It's a bit of an experiment - maybe it's time to see whether we can cope," Border said in The Courier-Mail. "We are getting more runs out of Brett Lee and Shane Warne, and [Nathan] Bracken is batting quite well. So maybe it's time to give that line-up a bit of a run and see how it performs."

Australia have been reluctant to change from the traditional six batsmen and four specialist bowlers, but the flexibility provided by Shane Watson, the allrounder who suffered a shoulder injury in the first Test, has prompted calls for the extra risk. "I think it will do well against West Indies, whether it's a team we would field if we were playing England next week in Hobart ... it's an interesting situation," he said on Inside Cricket. "You know it's a pretty good batsman-friendly wicket at Bellerive so back the batsmen to score enough runs for you and then that gives you a lot more options."

However, the changes would create greater pressure on an order with fresh faces already struggling to impose themselves. Mike Hussey is expected to play his second Test after Justin Langer was ruled out and Michael Clarke and Simon Katich are battling for runs.

Watson had arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder in Melbourne last night and was suffering ligament and joint damage after the dislocation while fielding in Brisbane. Dr Trefor James, the Cricket Australia medical officer, said Watson's arm would be in a sling for four weeks before he could begin a rehabilitation program.

"The speed of recovery in this more intensive phase can vary, so we have not set a time-frame for Shane's return, but it is fair to say he is unlikely to be back before the end of the international summer," he said. "We are mindful of the long term and will not take any unnecessary risks."