Ashes T3 Day 1: Rain In, Hughes Out

It is simply pitter-patter on the ground at Edgbaston, Birmingham and could be in the dressing room for a cricketer or two.
While team line ups are yet to be announced for the third Test of the Ashes series due to the rain delay, Phillip Hughes has already announced on Twitter (taking away the surprise element!) that he will not be opening for Australia in the third Test.

The only other assumption then can be that Shane Watson has made it to the final playing eleven for Australia. Brett Lee has definitely been ruled out, but the question still hangs over whether Australia continue to persist with Mitchell Johnson in which case it will be a test for Johnson and Troy Cooley, the Australian bowling coach who performed a similar role in England’s Ashes 2005 success.
For England, Kevin Pietersen has already been laid low on crutches which means Ian Bell will definitely be blooded in once again. The rest, if any chances, would be no more than wild guesses. Nathan Hauritz’s inclusion would depend on whether Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, has developed faith in the curator, it would certainly be overnight.
But the one certainty overnight has been the possibility of rain and thus far, it has kept its promise. Perhaps it’s time to wander to see the Sikh guards deployed by the Queen of England.

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