Well, I reckon Katich was hard done by when Lehmann was picked in front of him for Brisbane. He'd already been dropped once after scoring a century and then he was dropped again after scoring 99!!!

Playing for Australia is often a matter of luck. I can understand Victorians being upset at people like Hodge, White and Elliott missing out but when it comes to Australia, we've got too many good players for the number of positions available and they don't tend to change a winning team.

Regarding Hopes, I remember watching a game on TV last season and Ian Healy was putting him forward then as a possible future Australian player. I know Healy's a Qlder so he's a bit biased, but I reckon he's not a bad judge. Anyway, ever since, I've been watching to see how Hopes has gone and he's been steadily improving.

One thing I'd like to know is how come Cricket reporter Robert Craddock always knows who's going to be in the team before it's announced? He tipped that Hopes would be in there today.