The Marsh quandary

Now that the Australians have flown in Shaun Marsh in for Phil Jaques, whom do they drop to accommodate him? Jaques was anyway not in the playing XI. Do you drop Hayden? Unthinkable. Ponting? Maybe, if he wasn't Captain of the side. (Something Kumble will perhaps identify with.) Hussey? He's Australia's top scorer in the series. Watson? Over his dead body. Michael Clarke? He's just run into some good form. Katich? He's scored more than Hayden in the last two Tests. A lot more. So then Australia won't play Shaun Marsh. Which, in my opinion, would be a defensive move. Something Australia can ill-afford after the hiding they suffered in empty Mohali. They need to come out firing at the Kotla. And for that, they'll need some good form and confidence right at the top of the order. Both of which Shaun Marsh has in abundance. So then Australia will play him. For, who else, Simon Katich. (That's ok, he's used to it.)

All this to say, start thinking about your Transfers. I've got 8 ... no, 7. (How many do you have?) I used one up the day I heard Shaun Marsh was being flown in. As far as I'm concerned, the choice to pick him or not is a no-brainer. So what if he made all those runs in 'only' the IPL. He looked a class apart. And utterly invulnerable. Not once in any of his visits to the crease was he in any sort of trouble. You can't argue with that kind of confidence. Especially not on tour. A difficult tour like this one.

Accumulators like Katich stand a lesser chance of succeeding on what promises to be a Kotla wicket literally tailormade for Kumble's 'shooters'. On that kind of surface and under the circumstances Australia find themselves in, they need in their ranks a player with sure footwork, positive attitude and a fresh approach. Put simply, pick Shaun Marsh. Just don't ask me whom to drop.