Rotation system helps work towards a long-term goal

A little over midway into the one-day series, there seems to be plenty of debate on our rotation system. By this system, all players get a chance to play and of course everybody gets a well-deserved break as well. It is something new at this level, but it's something we all believe in. Those criticizing the system are speaking with just the short-term in mind. However, the Australian team management is looking at the bigger picture at this stage. We feel that this system enables a larger group of players to get experience at the top, an important factor considering the World Cup is less than two years away. It is with this long-term goal in mind that we are testing new blood and new combinations.

Today's defeat at Indore had more to do with poor batting than us missing the presence of Matthew Hayden. A score of 300 is never easy to chase and while we were doing well at one stage, we put up a pretty ordinary show to lose five wickets in six overs. I think many of the batsmen went for one shot too many and that led to their downfall. For the Indians, Sachin Tendulkar's century was simply fantastic and his shot-making seemed effortless on a pitch that was not all that easy to bat on. Today's result was a reflection of the fact that he batted superbly while we batted poorly. Harbhajan Singh once again made a significant contribution with the ball. It did not help that a couple of our batsmen have not played him too much and were a bit unsure against him.

In Bangalore too, we lost because the Indians batted superbly to put up a 300-plus total. While it was a big target we did think we were in with a chance, especially when Hayden and Bevan were batting so well. However, a couple of things did not go our way and we fell short. On both days we were just not good enough to win the game.

Our opener Mark Waugh will not be playing the rest of the one-dayers because of a fractured finger. We will obviously miss a player of Mark's quality and experience. However, I think that we have enough players who will step in and take the opportunity to prove their talent. Besides, I think that we can win with any eleven players picked from the current squad.

This brings me back to the issue of the rotation system. We know that we have to win the next two games to win the series, and plan to continue with the system. This system helps players remain fresh and gives them a break. For instance, McGrath was not supposed to play in Indore, but he was included at the side at the last minute because Nathan Bracken was down with a flu. Hopefully we will be able to give him a well-deserved break in one of the next two games.