The Ashes: Phillip Hughes tweets dropping
The news from Phillip Hughes on his personal Twitter account is that he will not be playing in the 3rd Test, presumably with Shane Watson taking his place.
This comes as somewhat of a surprise. Hughes has had two mediocre Tests in this series, but it was only 4 Tests ago that he was the new Bradman after he spanked the South Africans for consecutive hundreds. It is unlike the Australians to change things so quickly, which suggests that either:
- Mitchell Johnson will play, so they have decided to bring Watson in to increase their bowling options to cover for their misfiring talisman.
- They are feeling the pressure after losing at Lord’s.
- Hughes has been figured out very quickly and the management have lost confidence.
- Shane Watson will swiftly turn into the Australian Andrew Flintoff, sweeping England away like so much dust.
A combination of the first two is the most likely. A fully firing Johnson represents Australia’s best way back into the series, so they will want to continue with him, but a four man bowling attack is no place to hide a bowler who is struggling so badly. However, Watson’s track record in Tests (batting average 19.76, bowling 35.57) shows just what a gamble they are having to take. The decision to not include a third specialist opener in their squad suddenly seems a bad one.
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