Wartezimmer » secure where Joe Burns had been skittish and Usman

A year ago, almost to the day, Australia played a dead Test against England at The Oval. The touring team had been through the darkest of midlands valleys in Birmingham and Nottingham, losing the Ashes in a pair of humiliating defeats that exposed the XI as wholly unsuited to the conditions.But with the urn gone and critics sharpening their caustic prose, the team responded with a far better display in that final Test. They were helped in part by the conditions - it is harder to green up the Oval wicket than those of Edgbaston or Trent Bridge - and also by the reduced intensity of a less consequential Test match.Nevertheless, an innings victory was nothing to be sniffed at, and a fitting farewell for the dual retirees Michael Clarke and Chris Rogers, who were soon to be joined on the sidelines by Shane Watson, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson in addition to the already retired Ryan Harris. A key member of the win was Peter Siddle, an older head ideally suited to English seamers yet somehow ignored until too late to make a difference to the series result.Twelve months on and Colombo seems about to bear witness to a similar sequence. The first two Tests have gone conclusively Sri Lankas way, and the pitch at the SSC is the series fairest if also its driest. Meanwhile, the inclusion of Shaun Marsh has added belated solidity to a batting line-up that could have done with his brand of batting when the destination of the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy was still up for debate.Many a cricket follower likes to poke fun at Marsh, he of the near binary home series against India a few years back, then a series-shaping hundred in South Africa followed immediately by a pair in the next Test and omission from the decider. Then there was the day he was run out for 99 chasing a first Test hundred in Australia - moments that have ensured few cricketers can polarise like him now that Watson in particular has retired from the national team.But at the same time, Marsh is the only member of this squad to have in his possession a Test hundred in Sri Lanka, on debut in Pallekele nearly five years ago. The next Test was played at the SSC, and it was Marshs ever-so-patient 81 that anchored an otherwise wobbly top order. Bizarrely, that match was Marshs last Test match in Asia until this week.The horrors of 2011-12 at home banished him from the Test team for quite some time, meaning he did not figure in the squads to go to India in 2013. He was set to go to the UAE in 2014, before an elbow injury sustained in the IPL necessitated surgery and a delayed start to the 2014-15 season. In both cases, Australian results on tour suggested they could have and indeed did do worse by not having Marsh available to use his mercurial talents in conditions where he was less likely to fall prey to bounce and seam.Marshs height and reach allow him a decent stretch forward. His power and timing allow him the ability to generate bat speed and scoring zones when he has little pace to work with. Equally, his vast experience in the IPL has given him a level of accomplishment in numerous attacking strokes to spin, and a courage to use them regardless of whether the ball is turning or not. In short, Marsh has a game that can work in this part of the world, a rare gift among contemporary Australian batsmen.One of the key findings of the Australian tour party on this trip is the fact that top six success at home is no sort of indicator for how batsmen will fare in Asia. Before this match, the coach Darren Lehmann contended that changing last summers combination pre-emptively would likely have met with a cold public response. If you have a look at our summer and the way our batters played, he asked, if we didnt take any of those batters, how would we be viewed in the press?Yet it should be among the first lessons learned by any selector that their job is not to curry public favour but to choose winning teams. Earlier in the same press conference, Lehmann had spoken of the importance of batsmen being proactive, not reactive when spinners have conditions in their favour, a maxim he lived by with great success. Selection for Colombo, also including Moises Henriques as a specialist batsman, was nothing if not reactive.As Marsh accumulated calmly on the second afternoon, looking so secure where Joe Burns had been skittish and Usman Khawaja stranded, it was hard to escape the sense that much like Siddle he had been ignored for too long on this tour. Whether or not Australia have other batsmen at home who may also be able to aid the next Asian assignment in India next year remains to be seen, but certainly Peter Handscomb will have his claims.Either way, Lehmann, Rod Marsh and the rest of the selection panel must start to show their proactive side as a matter of urgency. As former Test cricketers, all are conscious of the gravity of their roles, and of a responsibility not to be flippant. But to badly misquote Oscar Wilde: selecting one player too late may be regarded as a misfortune; to do it again starts to look like carelessness. Julio Urias Jersey . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. Hyun-Jin Ryu Jersey . 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Essendon are no closer to knowing whether Jobe Watson intends to play on next season.A scheduled meeting between Bombers chief executive Xavier Campbell and Watson this week didnt resolve the question of the banned skippers playing future.I think well know when Jobe knows ... were happy to give him that time, Essendon football boss Rob Kerr told ABC Grandstand on Sunday.Its been a big saga, hes clearly got things he wants to reconcile in his own mind and were happy to let him do that in his own time.So the conversation continues but wed very much like to see him come back.Jobes probably borne the largest load through this whole saga, being the captain of the club, and obviously the Brownlow is tied in with everything as well.My understanding is that hes not 100 per cent clear on what his decision is at the moment and if he needs more time were happy to give him that.Kerr added that a final decision wasnt necessarily required until several key AFL list lodgement dates in late November.Watson is the last of 12 current Essendon players serving doping bans for their part in the clubs ill-fated 2012 supplements program to make his intentions known.Tayte Pears has retired to pursue a career with the Metropolitan Fire Brigade and Michael Hibberd has been linked with a move to Melbourne after requesting a trade.But Cale Hooker, Dyson Heppell, Michael Hurley, Travis Colyer, David Myers, Brent Stanton, Ben Howlett, Heath Hocking and Tom Bellchambers all re-committed to the Bombers.Those players were allowed to return to the club for the first time since January on Wednesday this week, but must still comply with strict conditions of their ASADA bans that wont officially end until November.ddddddddddddKerr said that group would continue to train at their training base away from the club until the end of September under the care of former Essendon assistant coach Sean Wellman and ex-Collingwood performance manager David Buttifant.After a short break, they will then join the clubs first-to-fourth year players on modified training programs when they resume from the off-season break on November 7.Its been really pleasing to see the boys come back to the club its obviously been a long and difficult year for those players and also their teammates have missed them as well, Kerr said.With he exception of Jobe they were able to come and use the facilities and train this week but were actually getting them all back in next week for medicals.Just on first sight most of them look to be in pretty good condition ... certainly none of the players I ran into looked like they were carrying any extra weight.Watson was unable to return to the club this week because his ban was extended due to playing in last years International Rules series.The 34 past and present Essendon players suspended by ASADA are awaiting the outcome of their appeal to a Swiss court, which isnt expected until November. 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