Cricket Australia to repeat mistake of the past

Of all the glaring errors from Australia's Ashes humiliation in the summer of 2010-2011, the decision to turn the squad announcement into a major media event over a week before the first Test was one of the most heavily criticised.

Yet three years later, Cricket Australia is about to make the same mistake.

The squad for the first Test at the Gabba will be announced in Brisbane on Tuesday, nine days before the toss of the coin.

The announcement coincides with the unveiling of a $26 million upgrade to the Centre of Excellence, providing a worrying reminder of the made-for-television event that preceded the first Ashes Test three years ago.

Back then, a 17-man squad was announced on a rain-soaked day at Sydney's Circular Quay, ten days before the first Test.

The size of the squad exposed uncertainty and panic from the selection panel, which would eventually contribute to the embarrassing 3-1 series defeat.

The decision to name the squad so early was questioned in the 2011 Argus report, and also heavily criticised by then openers Simon Katich and Shane Watson.

Tuesday's announcement comes a day before the next round of Sheffield Shield matches begin, costing Test aspirants one final chance to push for selection.

While this squad is expected to be much smaller than the one picked in 2010, former Test skipper Allan Border doesn't understand why it needs to be announced so early.

"I don't see the point in doing that," Border said in an exclusive interview with Yahoo7 Sport.

"I don't see why you couldn't wait until the last night of those Shield games or the night before.

"There'd be a lot of guys who already know they'll be on the plane to Brisbane, but there is a few spots up for grabs.

"I don't know why you need to name it so early.

"Maybe it's a sign of confidence if they just name a squad of 12, but if they name 17 again I’d question that tactic."

The announcement of the squad comes two weeks after head selector John Inverarity said his panel had "well made up" their minds over who would be in the squad for the first Test.

George Bailey is set to be picked for the contentious No.6 spot, while spinner Nathan Lyon and opener David Warner are also expected to hold their places.

But with the late start to the Shield season and the Australia A match against England badly hampered by rain, Test hopefuls have had a maximum of two first-class matches to impress selectors.

On Monday, skipper Michael Clarke seemed to shrug off concerns about the timing of the announcement, re-iterating Inverarity's stance that the majority of the squad was already settled.

"I would imagine the majority of the places (in the Test team) have been picked for themselves," said Clarke, who is no longer a selector.

"If they are going to pick 12 players ... 11 are no brainers."

While Clarke seems happy with the certainty surrounding his squad, Victorian batsman Cameron White has questioned Inverarity's assured stance.

"It sounds like the team's already picked anyway, so it's pretty hard to get a game when it's already picked," White said last month when asked about his own Test aspirations.

The early announcement will take the sting out of the next round of Shield matches and England's tour match against an Invitational XI in Sydney this week.

Cricket Australia announced on Monday that the Invitational XI will include fringe batsmen Ed Cowan, Aaron Finch, Callum Ferguson and Adam Voges.

Fellow Ashes aspirants Alex Doolan, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh and Phillip Hughes are all expected to play for their respective states this week, but their performances will come too late to impact selection for the first Test.

Candidates racing to be the fourth seamer in the squad – a likely option to cover for injury – will also be deprived of one final chance to push their case.

Ben Cutting, Ben Hilfenhaus and Chad Sayers are all in contention, with Queenslander Cutting the favourite after performing well for Australia A.

Probable First Test XI
Chris Rogers, David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (c), Steve Smith, George Bailey, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon

Allan Border spoke to Yahoo7 Sport ahead of the XXXX GOLD Beach Cricket Trophy match on XXXX Island