Ed Cowan's selection for the Boxing Day Test is a victory for intellect and common sense

Whilst it is sad to see the axe fall on Phillip Hughes after all the hilarity he has provided over the last 12 months, we very much welcome the call-up of Ed Cowan to the Australian squad for the Boxing Day Test against India at the MCG.

Cowan provides a much needed cerebral dimension to an otherwise illiterate (sorry, is that too strong?) Australian XI.

As his book ‘In The Firing Line’ ably demonstrates, Cowan really thinks about his sport and his own game in equal measure. He is one of the few cricketers playing the game today whose thoughts on the game provide a revealing and vivid insight into what it is to play cricket at first-class level. His book, which you can purchase by clicking on the link below, puts all the endless and tiresome ghost-written autobiographies of current players to shame.

His selection is a victory for the underdog and comes at a time when he is in the form of his life: in his last six first-class innings he has scored 134*, 145, 10, 65, 145* and 109 in the first innings of the tour match against the Indians. That’s 608 runs at 152. Unlike the rest of the Australian top-order, Cowan is also competent against the moving ball – surely a pre-requisite for a Test match opener?

The chairman of the Australian selection committee – John Inverarity  - shares Cowan’s cerebral nature and intellect. Perhaps this increased IQ and sensible selection policy could be dangerous? At this rate Australia might manage to make the back-to-back Ashes contests in 2013 a close fight.

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Comments

[Ian]

Now I know about Ed Cowan's literary credentials, I am a die-hard fan of his! It's always reassuring and in some way a compliment to the game we follow, to hear of someone who brings more than cricketing ability to the wider cricketing audience. There are, of course, two other Aussie test players, both greats, who have graced both the game and the page: 'Tiger' O'Reilly and Jack Fingleton, but I am sure that there are others that I'd be interested to hear about (can you help, someone? - test players only, please). I wish Ed all success in his late-flowering cricketing career and trust that he continues to write about cricket and whatever else gives expression to his talent.

By the way, I have always contended that no other ball game has the literary pedigree of cricket, although great literature is to be found about the sporting activities of sailing and mountaineering. Is this indicative of cricket's cerebral appeal, above and beyond any other game we care to mention, I wonder?

[Vacation Rentals in Seattle]

There are some encouraging signs that Australia is starting to build an impressive team – Cowan and Warner balance each other nicely as openers, Clarke is turning out to be a very good captain, and there is an exciting bunch of bowlers starting to make their mark.