Carlton Supporters Club

Some fair points Jim, I go with Whiteman at the top of the order.....Saffies attack isnt bad with Rabada and fellow quick Anrich Nortje who is express so I would expect making runs will be hard work but their batting is poor with only Elgar and Dekock as consistent players.
Pity Pattinson isnt fit as he would be my ideal Starc replacement although I am sure Starc will play, Lyon is a question mark player
for me, has a bowling average of 40 vs the Saffies and their grounds are not big. He probably starts 1st test but I'd have Swepson in the touring party as insurance.Like to see Labuschange get more overs, he bowls some rubbish but also bowls some decent stuff and you have to try and fiddle wickets every now and then and its an area Paine struggles to do.
Lot of pressure on Warner who has a good record vs the Saffies and of course Smith, you would expect flat hard wickets again in SA which suits their quicks and I think Warner can turn it around in this short series and be a match winner.
I like Carey but is only averaging 34 in 1st class cricket and thats not enough to demand a place IMO....if I was going a new keeper it would be Ingles from WA and Whiteman would be my reserve keeper.
Pucovski with his concussion issues is  going to be tested with the short stuff  and we will see what he is made of, Saffies play it tougher than most teams and with Nortje going at 156kmh in the IPL its going to be a barrage of bouncers IMO so I hope the umpires are of the neutral variety and not all from Saffie land.
I'll go Aus 2-1 as I expect the players under pressure like Warner and Starc to deliver, should be fun to watch too as the Saffie Crowds are a bit like Collingwood ferals and really give it to our blokes and I expect sandpaper sales to increase for the 1st test..😜

I'm not so worried about Carey's first class average. Often they can be lower. There's often reasons for that. They come in young, pitches are made for 4 days instead of 5 etc. I more look at current form. Michael Clarke only had an average of 34 when he played his first Test. We knew he was ready though. I look at current form more than anything.  Starc would have to improve alot. That was a very poor, series losing season for him. Jhye Richardson is the best of the bowlers outside of the one's in the side and he would be my first choice.

I'm a big believer in leadership and often the sides plays in the mould of the captain. Hence no way I go with Paine. Too many 5th days failure when under pressure. Plus he dropped catches and missed stumping, which cost us the series. Batting ok but he's there for his keeping, which has crashed. Happens at 36yo. Unfortunately for his captaincy too, which was something horrible. He's goes to the retirement.

Lyon is just in.  As you said, wouldn't want to struggle the First Test.

The fish rots at the head. Paine is a poor, panicky captain and the players played in that ,ould with great intent. What were his plans, field placings terrible, bowling plans, who knows. Worst captain since Yallop. On the other side Rahane drags a side very depleted, that's used 20 players, to a win they should never have had. That played with great want and intent and got rewarded. We essentially played with two bowlers and two batsmen, with a decent effort from Green. 1-0 up in the series, Paine has the best bowling attack in the world, India’s skipper goes home, they play 20 players, a lot of them no-names, Paine wins the toss three out of four, he stuffs up countless DRS reviews, he drops catches, he misses stumpings, he loses his cool with embarrassing sledging and ultimately he is in charge of a team that loses the unlosable series.

Need to go back to Smith for the SA Tour. Our choices are limited there right now so it's Smith. While never classified as a great captain, he was a good captain, had a ruthless edge good plans, bowlers with in partnerships with constant pressure. We could get the job done on the 5th day. This summer, by contrast, outside the constant use of the short ball how many time did we see consecutive ball in the same spot, a stock ball, building pressure with dots building pressure. What was with Sydney with that constant shot pitched bowling on a dead flat block of concrete. Just like the panicky debacle at Headingley, we were in a dominate position in the last 2 Tests for a draw and a loss against a depleted team. Paine can piss off. Because of Paine's leadership we are out of the top 2 on the WTC Table. top 2 play the final at Lord's. we need to beat SA 2-0. Can do it with Smith, no chance with Paine. Good leaders are everything.

First Test in SA...

Khawaja (short term until we find someone longer term)
Warner
Labuschagne
Smith (c)
Pucovski
Green
Carey
Cummins
Richardson
Lyon (just holds his spot)
Hazelwood

Left field,  but I'd pick Maxwell .........................

That's Cricket Victoria being straight out stupid, but then again, a lack of common sense and overt politicking have beset cricket at all levels for a long time.

If the news rags are accurate even Maxwell has given up on that dream ................ what is worse I've heard Maxwell and Finch have been told don't bother rolling up for Vic Shield cricket either! That's cutting them off at the source so that even if the weight of public opinion grows in their favour they'll have no basis for a claim.

This is how the cricket mafia works, it's tenticles cross all borders, even oceans.

Only two Vics in the test squad,  might be time to rebuild because that's rubbish for the second most populous state.