clontaago
First Grader
The issues of debate are clear.
The spinner
Australia made a grave mistake in not giving Hogg more games this summer.
Cameron White was given the early running with the thinking being he would surge past Hogg and become a World Cup certainty but his bowling was so poor Hogg has had to be tossed back to the frontline for the past few games.
Underdone and with his confidence flagging, Hogg understandably served up a mixed bag when called in and has now gone five matches without a wicket.
Many of the Caribbean pitches have been relaid and consequently are likely to take turn. Australia will need Hogg firing if it is to win the tournament.
Glenn McGrath
Not the bowler he was and has also faded in the field but his famed steadiness should get him through a World Cup - just - in an attack needing cool heads.
Started the limited-overs summer well before fading. A freshen-up will do him good after a long summer but he does not intimidate like he once did and must be prepared for some blood-and-thunder assaults in the Caribbean.
Dr Death
The search for Australia's "Dr Death" continues - a bowler who can keep the runs down in the dying overs.
Never has an Australia attack been treated with as much disdain as the current side over the past month.
The entire attack is bone-bare of confidence.
Lee is likely to miss the tournament, Nathan Bracken's form has wobbled, Mitchell Johnson's early-summer form has waned with a lack of match practice and Shaun Tait is still raw.
The pecking order of Australia's bowlers is so unclear that players could go from the bottom to the top of the list with one big game.
The all rounder
Shane Watson was never going to waltz in after three months on the sidelines and set the world alight in the dying stages of the summer.
His fluent half-century yesterday showed his batting is rich with potential. His bowling, while improving in patches, is still shedding rust and needs a lot of work.
It is five years since he was first chosen for Australia so he should be ready to make the leap from project player to assured performer.
The injuries
Lee looks unlikely to make the trip after wrenching his left ankle while training ahead of the Chappell-Hadlee series. That gives Stuart Clark the recall he was craving after falling from grace at the end of the summer.
Symonds should appear at some stage but Australia must be careful not to rush him. There are already concerns Australia will ask too much too soon from him.
More will be known about Hayden's broken toe today but with Australia already committed to the waiting game with Symonds, the selectors are reluctant to carry any more injured players.
The batting
Despite late-season wobbles, it is the least of Australia's problems.
Many of the batsmen were jaded by the summer's end and should be freshened by the time they reach the World Cup.
With Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Gilchrist to return, Australia has greater batting riches than any team in the tournament.
But with no bowlers to back them up, at this stage it counts for nothing.
The spinner
Australia made a grave mistake in not giving Hogg more games this summer.
Cameron White was given the early running with the thinking being he would surge past Hogg and become a World Cup certainty but his bowling was so poor Hogg has had to be tossed back to the frontline for the past few games.
Underdone and with his confidence flagging, Hogg understandably served up a mixed bag when called in and has now gone five matches without a wicket.
Many of the Caribbean pitches have been relaid and consequently are likely to take turn. Australia will need Hogg firing if it is to win the tournament.
Glenn McGrath
Not the bowler he was and has also faded in the field but his famed steadiness should get him through a World Cup - just - in an attack needing cool heads.
Started the limited-overs summer well before fading. A freshen-up will do him good after a long summer but he does not intimidate like he once did and must be prepared for some blood-and-thunder assaults in the Caribbean.
Dr Death
The search for Australia's "Dr Death" continues - a bowler who can keep the runs down in the dying overs.
Never has an Australia attack been treated with as much disdain as the current side over the past month.
The entire attack is bone-bare of confidence.
Lee is likely to miss the tournament, Nathan Bracken's form has wobbled, Mitchell Johnson's early-summer form has waned with a lack of match practice and Shaun Tait is still raw.
The pecking order of Australia's bowlers is so unclear that players could go from the bottom to the top of the list with one big game.
The all rounder
Shane Watson was never going to waltz in after three months on the sidelines and set the world alight in the dying stages of the summer.
His fluent half-century yesterday showed his batting is rich with potential. His bowling, while improving in patches, is still shedding rust and needs a lot of work.
It is five years since he was first chosen for Australia so he should be ready to make the leap from project player to assured performer.
The injuries
Lee looks unlikely to make the trip after wrenching his left ankle while training ahead of the Chappell-Hadlee series. That gives Stuart Clark the recall he was craving after falling from grace at the end of the summer.
Symonds should appear at some stage but Australia must be careful not to rush him. There are already concerns Australia will ask too much too soon from him.
More will be known about Hayden's broken toe today but with Australia already committed to the waiting game with Symonds, the selectors are reluctant to carry any more injured players.
The batting
Despite late-season wobbles, it is the least of Australia's problems.
Many of the batsmen were jaded by the summer's end and should be freshened by the time they reach the World Cup.
With Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Gilchrist to return, Australia has greater batting riches than any team in the tournament.
But with no bowlers to back them up, at this stage it counts for nothing.