Australia's cricket team drives with its foot to the floor at every opportunity, but their selectors have become disturbingly cagey in recent months. In the wake of Mark Waugh's retirement, they ignored the claims of Michael Clarke, a prodigiously talented 21-year-old from New South Wales, and reverted to the tried and trusted Darren Lehmann, who was once the most promising 17-year-old on the planet, but is now a slightly rusty 32. Now, following Shane Warne's freak injury, they have once again settled for the Volvo option when, sitting in the garage, is a barely-used 1971-reg Aston Martin. Brad Hogg is a reliable performer – like most Australian spinners, he has been guzzling English batsmen throughout this tour. He is also a great fielder and a useful batsmen. But for sheer va-va-voom, he surely cannot rival Stuart MacGill, who at 31 years and 10 months is actually three weeks younger than the man who has gazumped his spot. MacGill is the second most feared legspinner on the planet – if he and Warne are both absent from the World Cup, Australia's mantle of invincibility will have slipped just a fraction too far for their liking. Andrew Miller

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