It starts tomorrow, I think. 

Sure does DC. Finally something other than pyjama cricket for we purists. It promises to be a fascinating series. India has their biggest chance since they became an independent nation to smack our bums on our own soil. That is 11 consecutive failures . Steve Waugh called defeating India in India was "the last frontier". India vanquishing us at home is akin to finding "the Holy Grail".

Dec 6-10: First Test, Adelaide Oval:  Dec 14-18: Second Test, Perth Stadium:  Dec 26-30:Third Test, MCG    Jan 3-7:Fourth Test, SCG. 

 Australia squad: Tim Paine (c, wk), Josh Hazlewood (vc), Mitch Marsh (vc), Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Chris Tremain

India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ravi Ashwin, Ravi Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Much has been written and said about Fox Cricket's commentary team. Little about the Seven Network. Legend Ricky Ponting leads the team, which comprises Tim Lane, James Brayshaw, Allison Mitchell, Lisa Sthalekar, Jason Gillespie, Greg Blewett, Glenn McGrath, Simon Katich, Damien Fleming and Brad Hodge. Sports broadcast icon Bruce McAvaney will be one of the hosts...

Langer all but confirms Harris will play and the final decision is Handscomb or Mitch Marsh. Thats a crazy one surely Handscomb plays over Head?

Mitch Marsh vying for one position surprises me. Give him the first two tests to at least prove himself.. The toss up should be between Harris and Handscomb. He gets my vote as he breaks up the sequence of lefties and is a good player of spin.

I like Khawaja at 3 so what happens with no Harris unless you open with Shaun Marsh and Finch?

We will have to wait and see which way the selectors go. Either way the loss of Smith is humongous.

Team has come thru on the wire. Harris to debut. Mitch Marsh the surprise omission.

This should be the lineup:
Finch
Harris
Khawaja
 Marsh
Handscomb
Head
 Paine
Starc
Cummins,
Lyon,
Hazlewood.  

12th Tremain.

Finch has to attack the bowling..ala Warner. 

Well well well. The Australian selectors have left out Mitchell Marsh. Here's the full selected team:

Finch
Harris
Khawaja
S. Marsh
Handscomb
Head
Paine
Cummins
Starc
Lyon
Hazelwood

12th: Mitchell Marsh

Edit: apologies for the double post 

My thoughts:

The Selectors have interestingly decided that they don't need a 5th bowler in Adelaide and would rather have the extra batsman. That probably means either they think the pitch is going to be good for bowling (very unlikely) or our batting lineup is weak and needs the extra specialist batsman (more likely). 

It should be noted that Finch and Travis head can both bowl some part time spin if they need to give the rest of the bowlers a break. 

I just read too that Mitchell Marsh will go back to Western Australia to play Shield cricket. There will only be one more round of it before the Big Bash though, so be better get some runs and wickets if he wants to come back. 

 No worries. Mitch wont be 12th. CA is sending him back to the Shield.

I am heading towards the pitch being good for bowling so Mitch's pace backup wont be needed. Head is the best bet as back up spinner tho? Rather have someone like Labu with his quickish leggies. He snared us vital wickets in the UAE.  Got a ruff deal from selectors imho.

I just read too that Mitchell Marsh will go back to Western Australia to play Shield cricket. There will only be one more round of it before the Big Bash though, so be better get some runs and wickets if he wants to come back.
Interesting what Paine said about Mitch. 

"As this series wears on and you get to places where the wicket is a bit flatter and conditions a bit warmer and bowlers a little more tired, he (Mitch) might have more of a role to play"

Timmy is not exactly oozing confidence in his all rounder.

I think its probably a combination of pitch and wanting 6 batsmen. Just sums up the team at the moment that youre vice captain one game and out the next. 

India have named a 12 man side with 6 the only point of contention. 
KL Rahul
Vijay
Pujara
Kohli
Rahane
Vihari/Rohit Sharma
Pant
Ashwin
Sharma
Shami
Bumrah

For all the talk Kohli gets, Pujara and Rahane are absolutely world class players. India bat deep too Its a lineup full of class. Openers out of form and 6 the question. 

I think India missed a trick putting in Ishant Sharma ahead of Bhuvuneshwar Kumar. 

I'd also have Rohit Sharma in ahead of Vihari. He was seeing the ball like a watermelon at the T20 the other night.

India 14/15:  Rahane 399 @57..  I rate Vijay over Pujara.. 482 @ 60. Pujara lagging well behind those two 201 @33.5. 

Ishant is better for roads than BK. BK needs sportiing pitches like SA or Eng to show case his swing skills.  With a Kookaburra and an Aussie road - BK ain't going to do that in Australia.

I would have had BK ahead of Ashwin with Vihari at 6 as the allrounder.

Now that Ashwin is in the team - I don't really care if India goes Vihari or Rohit. Rohit is fun to watch, Vihali is the more likely to have longer career outside of Australian pitches which Rohit likes...

I look forward to the day Indian and Bangladeshi fans judge and rate the entire history of Australian cricketers based on how they did in India or Bangladesh. :P

Seriously - its overdue and going to happen...

"Nah Ponting was crap - never scored a run on a Nagpur or Delhi dustbowl..."

Or Bangladesh fans on Steve Smith

"Mate.... he didn't even average 30 here..." 

Weatherzone is predicting 39C tomorrow in Adelaide..37C Friday. Not what our quicks wanted to hear.

I was replying to a member. I will list the rest if you wish. Their Oz records are an embarrassment. I dont have a problem posting our Indian records. These blokes should feel humiliated.

For the record.. Smithy averages @60 in India.

Ricky sucked in India.@26. Steve Waugh a surprising @47.  6 percentage points better than his brother who was a superior player of spin. Gilly comes in at a modest  @29. The pick of our past greats is Matthew Hayden with a superb @51. By comparison, his little mate Langer comes in at a below par @30.

That means nothing to a Bangladeshi - India is to Bangladesh what Aus to NZ - just doesn't count...

How many not outs for Steve "I don't hit out with the tail as I protect my batting average at 5 and 6" Waugh...

Sorry - Chappelli talks about two things, batting 3 as a captain and Steve Waugh's playing for average...

His finer commentary in some ways :P

Okay - I'm done trolling you for the night...

I rate Ponting - he just sucked in India... Owned the pace men... 

I don't rate Gilly that much... Michael Clarke's dog Jerry could have batted 7 in that team and managed to average higher than Gilly - like 50 :P

I rate Hussey... 

That comment on Gilly makes me chuckle. (or was in a troll?) You dont rate arguably the best batting keeper the game has seen?  He changed the way a keeper plays. All keepers want to emulate Gilly. Doubt any will. Backing up this is his batting record @47. His 416 dismissals. The passion he displayed when he put on the Baggy Green cap.

Gilly's keeping record stacks up with the best in Australian cricket too. 

I also rate Hussey.

The defence of the Border/Gavaskar Trophy goes on the line in just over 2 hours.  As a huge devotee of the purest form of our game I get so excited by the first Test of the summer. 
Many pundits are saying India will win the trophy for the first time ever on Australian soil. They have attempted 11 times and failed every time. They have won a mere 6 matches in that time (stand corrected). That is huge mental pressure to bear even before the first ball is bowled or first run hit.  I am holding firm with the Baggy Greens. 2-1.
comments.

It certainly isn't.

It is going to be a similar temperature to  the UAE.

He isn't.

i don't have much confidence in his brother, Shaun, either. 

I've seen him fail too much overseas.

This series is dependent on the first test and the toss. If Aussies win the toss put some runs on the board and win the first team I think theyll have the confidence to win one of the next 3 and not lose the series (maybe win it 3-1 or 2-1). However, lose the toss and have India pile on the runs and I think it could be a very long series with India winning it 3-0.