Sydney, Sept.12 (ANI): Cricket selectors in Australia, it seems, are running out of choices as far as selecting spinners for the national squad.

With the recent exits of Shane Warne and Brad Hogg, Australia's spin-bowling stocks have been described as fragile at the very best.

The return of the injured duo -- Beau Casson and Bryce McGain - from the Australia `A' tour to India, has forced the selectors into casting their eyes further and look at untried spinners, all of whom currently possess an expensive first class bowling average of under 40.

Selectors have been forced to look at bowlers Jason Krejza, Aaron Heal, Nathan Hauritz, Xavier Doherty and New South Wales teenager Steven Smith, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

What is most alarming is that between them, Casson and McGain have played just one Test and both are widely considered a class above the remaining crop of Australian first-class spinners.

Only Hauritz possesses any international pedigree, having replaced Shane Warne in Australia's last Test in India four years ago.

The absence of batting and off-spinning all-rounder Andrew Symonds has compounded the selectors' problems.

According to the paper, Symonds's absence will almost certainly pave the way for Shane Watson to make his return to the Test squad, although the Queenslander will face stiff opposition from Simon Katich for the No.6 position.

Katich's left-arm wrist spin, as much as his prolific batting, should give him an edge in the slow, turning conditions, although Watson's successful return to one-day international cricket this year has enthused selectors.

The Australians' tour begins with a practice match starting on October 2. (ANI)

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New Delhi, Sept 12 (ANI): India has an edge over Australia in the upcoming home series, former Indian speedster Javagal Srinath said on Thursday.

Australia will reach India on September 21 for a four-Test series, beginning on October 9.

Srinath said the home team would have an advantage over its arch rival as the Aussies will be missing legends like Glen McGrath and Shane Warne.

"It will be a close contest. Obviously Australia comes from a very strong cricketing culture. India is playing the best cricket at the moment in terms of experience. In terms of youth I think we have the best combination. Australia doesn't have McGrath any more, they don't have Shane Warne too. So, at the moment I think the balance is slowly inclined towards the Indian side," Srinath told reporters in New Delhi.

After losing away the Test series 2-1 to Sri Lanka, India came back strongly to lift the one-day series.

The first Test begins in Bangalore on October 9. The second test will be played at Mohali from October 17. The third will be played at Delhi and the last one at Nagpur from November 6. Srinath said former Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly would try to get back into the national squad despite being omitted from the Rest of India squad chosen to face Ranji Trophy winners Delhi in the five-day Irani Cup game from September 24.

"There would be bit of expectations of the selectors, expectations of players. I think there will be some differences in the timings of quitting game so that would be construed as someone playing for too long. I think the players always want to fight it out and wants to be there as long as possible and that's what he has been doing for so many years so if Saurav is dropped he has every right to come back into the game," he said. Ganguly was among the senior batsmen who fared poorly in last month's 2-1 Test series defeat in Sri Lanka. Irani Cup performances are likely to form the basis for selecting the squad for the Test series against Australia.

Meanwhile in Melbourne, all rounder Andrew Symonds has been dropped from the Australian squad for India tour. Cricket Australia named the following cricket squad on Friday for the upcoming tour: icky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke (vice captain), Doug Bollinger, Stuart Clark, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Phil Jaques, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Jason Krejza, Brett Lee, Bryce McGain, Peter Siddle, Shane Watson. (ANI)

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Melbourne, Sept.12 (ANI): The Australian cricket selection committee sprung a spin surprise ahead of the team's tour to India. They picked veteran Victorian leg-spinner Bryce McGain and axed 25-year-old Beau Casson, who was the first choice spinner for the recent tour to the West Indies.

A shocked Casson vowed to return to the international arena following his stunning omission from the Australian squad.

The New South Wales spinner had to make way for the 36-year-old McGain and unheralded Tasmanian and former Blues spinner, Jason Krezja.

"Bryce McGain was the standout leg-spinner at the inter-state level last year and we think he is really well suited to the Indian conditions and bowling plans," said chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch.

"His story is a great example of how those who perform at inter-state level will be rewarded. Bryce suffered a minor strain to his right shoulder in India and has been selected for this tour subject to fitness but we are very hopeful of him being fully fit in the near future.

"Jason Krejza had a good season for Tasmania last year but is a selection very much for Indian conditions. The selectors felt right-arm finger spinners would perform well in India and Jason now has a chance to prove himself at the international level"

Casson's state coach Matthew Mott spoke to the young star this afternoon and was pleased to hear he was determined to fight his way back after making his Test debut in the West Indies and playing a minor role in the Australia A tour to India last week.

"He didn't presume anything but everything was telling us he'd be in the squad, he would be inhuman if he wasn't upset," Mott told the age.com.au.

"The feedback from everyone has been that he has done very well, so I don't know what has transpired. But he is very philosophical about it, it's not like he is bitter at all.He will bounce back, he is very young," Mott added.

As expected, all-rounder Andrew Symonds has also been left out of the touring party, with Shane Watson and Simon Katich to battle for the middle-order batting spot.

"Cricket Australia has told us that selectors will be advised once Andrew can be considered again for selection and we hope we can look forward to that advice in due course because as we all know, a fit and fully-committed Andrew Symonds can be a world beater. In the meantime, our advice was that he was not available to be considered for selection this time," said Hilditch.

Victorian paceman Peter Siddle was another surprise addition to the 15-man squad.

Squad: Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke (vice-captain), Matthew Hayden, Phil Jaques, Michael Hussey, Simon Katich, Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Bryce McGain, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Krejza, Doug Bollinger, Peter Siddle. (ANI)

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London, Sep 11 (ANI): Scientists believe that Jamaican Usain Bolt could have run 9.55sec at the Beijing Olympics if he had not started celebrating before the finish line.

Bolt set a world record of 9.69 in winning the 100metre, but slowed down in the last 10metre, slapping his chest as he crossed the line.

Australia's national sprint coach Paul Hallam agrees with physicists from the University of Oslo, Norway, who through a series of calculations have come up with the figure of 9.55.

"He could definitely run 9.55. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind he could do it," Herald Sun quoted Hallam, as saying.

"I have seen some unofficial stats from somebody who did their own analysis and his second-last split from 80-90 metre was .83sec, while his last split was .90sec. If he didn't ease off, then I would suggest his last 10 metre would have been .84, at worst. So there is six-hundredths gone, which already brings him down to 9.63."

Hallam said an improvement in Bolt's reaction time to the gun and any form of a tailwind, which has helped many world records in the past, would push him to 9.55sec.

"If he got a 1.5 or 2 metre tailwind and improved his reaction time by three-hundredths, then it is definitely possible," he said.

Hans Eriksen, of the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Oslo, and colleagues, determined the faster time through a series of calculations.

They scrutinised TV footage of the race, taking into account factors such as Bolt's position, speed and acceleration, as well as that of silver medallist Richard Thompson, of Trinidad and Tobago.

Eriksen said the study, which has been submitted for publication in the American Journal of Physics, was a novel change to applying physics to the mysteries of the universe.

Hallam said the first 30 metre of Bolt's race was the most amazing part.

"His ability to get to 30m as fast as he can is just extraordinary. You expect someone who is 6ft 5in (195cm) to have phenomenal top speed but normally guys that tall take so much longer to get wound up to hit those numbers," Hallam said. (ANI)

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