Goodwin eligible in 7 months.

[Donny]

Western Warriors batsman, Murray Goodwin has thrown his hat into the ring to be included amongst the hopefuls for a baggy green cap.

Darren Lehmann, Michael Bevan and Martin Love already have theirs but are not in the Test eleven at the moment.

They top a growing list of prospective replacements for Steve Waugh's position when he retires after the Sydney Test.

The favourite is Lehmann but Love, Bevan, Clarke and Hodge all have credentials with Hussey and Goodwin probably next in line.
---------------------------

Murray Goodwin harbours Australian ambitions

Wisden Cricinfo staff

Murray Goodwin has said that he would love to play for Australia when he becomes eligible to do so in seven months.

Goodwin was born in Harare, but moved to Australia when he was 13, only returning to Zimbabwe in 1997 to pursue an international career in which he played 19 Tests and 71 ODIs. But at the end of Zimbabwe's tour of England in 2000 he announced that he was quitting international cricket and he moved back to Perth, resuming a career with Western Australia which had started in 1996-97.

Under International Cricket Council rules, a player cannot be selected by a country if he has represented another nation in the preceding four years. Goodwin's last appearance for Zimbabwe was the NatWest Series final against England at Lord's on July 22, 2000.

"The thought of playing international cricket again keeps me going," Goodwin told the Western Australian newspaper. "I set myself pretty high standards and if I can keep performing well for WA, who knows down the line? It would be great to play for Australia. All I can do is just make runs and leave it up to the selectors.

"Playing for Australia is a way off. Even though I'm a naturalised Australian I can't play until after this season. Even then I'd be 31 and whether they look at me is another story. But I'd love to play for Australia. It would be awesome.

"I want to keep playing for WA as long as I'm good enough to play and they want me."

[Newelly]

He's a great player but too old to be considered for Aussie selection. Keep one quiet in a Keppler (Wessels) was a great player for Australia in the dark ages of Aussie cricket when the rebel tours had decimated the selection pool. His play of the West Indies quicks during the 84/85 tour was one of the few bright spots for the Aussie team that summer. I remember him square cutting a six off Garner (I think) at the Adelaide Oval. It's a shame we didn't see him at his peak when RSA returned to international cricket in 1991.

[commonwombat]

Very interesting post Newelly.

Agree v much about Goodwin. His quality is unquestioned but he will not be eligible at the time Waugh is replaced and his age may well count against him when the next batch hand in their papers.

Yr observation re Wessels is unusual but one with which I concur. He did give Australia high class service and the 84-85 series against WI was the most clear example. It was he, rather than A Border, who was the sole batting strongman against a rampaging WI attack that included Garner, Marshall and Holding. Yes Donny, stats WILL back me up on this one.

Re Wessels and SA return. SA Cricket owes an immense debt of gratitude to this much maligned player. SA came back and was immediately competitive, partly due to the talent avaliable but much due to the toughness and spirit exemplified and demanded by their captain.

He was certainly past his best but was undoubtedly still an intl class batsman. They should be thankful for the 3 seasons he was at the helm as many of the early results may have been doubtful with anyone else at the helm. They may have, in hindsight, wanted a little longer looking at the legacy and the pressures that destroyed his replacement, an immature Cronje.

[Newelly]

Hilditch had the highest average in that series, but he only played in two tests and one was in 5th test that the Aussies won. Wessels,
while only scoring one century, scored a 98 and a 70 in the third test and was the main reason Australia had a fighting chance in that match. He then scored a 90 in the first innings of the fourth test and along with Hilditchs 70 and 113 were the only Aussie batsmen to offer any resistance against the Windies unresistable pace battery.
In the Fifth test his 173 was the reason Australia scored over 400 for the first time in the series and setup the win on a spinning SCG wicket. With Holland and Bennett receiving ample turn from the pitch Australia achieved an innings defeat of the mighty seemingly indominatable West Indies.

The averages from the series are as follows:

* denotes having played in all 5 test matches.

Tests Innings NO Runs H.S. Avg 100's 50's
Hilditch 2 3 0 185 113 61.66 1 1
Wessels 5 9 0 505 173 56.11 1 4 *
Bennett 2 3 2 48 23 48.00 0 0
Ritchie 1 1 0 37 37 37.00 0 0
Phillips 2 4 0 136 54 34.00 0 1
Border 5 9 0 246 69 27.33 0 1 *
Boon 3 5 0 132 51 26.40 0 1
Wood 5 9 0 207 56 23.00 0 1 *

The rest of the averages are too sad to bother entering.

Only two centuries were scored in this series by Aussie batsmen, showing why Hilditch and Wessels were trumpeted as saviours.

Wessels scores through out the fives tests read as such

13, 0 | 0, 61 |98, 70| 90, 0| 173

Borders scores were:

15, 6 | 17, 24| 21, 18| 35, 41| 69


and Hughes scores were:

4, 37| 34, 4|0, 2|0, 0 |

[Newelly]

I got out my "Wide World of Sports Cricket Yearbook 1985" . Pity Richie and Co don't publish these anymore. They stopped in 1996 I think.

[The Prototype]

I think Goodwin has a better chance of playing for Australia 'A' then for Australia.

[Donny]

-----Original Message-----
From: donny [mailto:donny@froggy.com.au]
Sent: Monday, 15 December 2003 8:40 AM
To: Public Enquiries
Subject: Goodwin

Can you help ?

I've looked but cannot find the info I'm seeking.

Is Murray Goodwin eligible to play for Australia ?

Is he eligible to play for both/either country ? Zimbabwe/Aust.

If not, how many years before he's eligible ?

Is Andrew Symonds still eligible to play for England or West Indies ?

Thank you.

Don Croft.
-------------------------

Hi Don

Thanks for your email.

It all depends on what citizenship the player holds.

In domestic cricket, a limited number of players from other countries are permitted to be in the squad and play Pura, ING or Cricket Australia Cup. Murray Goodwin or Andy Flower are examples of this.

To play Test or one-day cricket for a country, you must be a citizen of that country, meaning Goodwin could not play, just as Symonds could not play for England.

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