Cricket Australia's rotation policy will strengthen the Test side rather than compromise performances, according to high performance manager Pat Howard.
As Australia's injury toll continues to mount, Howard believes it is more important than ever to carefully manage the workload of players on an individual basis.
All-rounder Shane Watson and pace trio Pat Cummins, James Pattinson and Mitchell Johnson are all nursing injuries at present, while speedster Ryan Harris and batsman Shaun Marsh have only recently returned from their own ailments.
Howard is a big supporter of having some form of rotation policy in place, but has promised fans the plan will be flexible enough to ensure Australia never sends out a 'B' side.
"It's a series-by-series decision. It's not rotating every Test, that's not what we're trying to do," Howard said.
"To coin a phrase by (selector) John Inverarity: stable but not staggered.
"We make sure that we give a nice base and foundation to the team and the squad while looking for opportunities to introduce players at different times.
"That's definitely not putting out a 'B' team at any stage, that's for sure."
Howard said the focus on player management needed to be individual-based in order to protect at-risk players.
The former Wallaby, who was appointed as CA's manager of team performance in October, said a player's injury history, age, form, previous workload and expected future workload all would be taken into account when determining whether they needed a rest.
"Some players can last a full year and you can roll them out all year round and their bodies cope with it," Howard said.
"Other players you know they might have a lot of injuries behind them and you do need to individually monitor them.
"We know bowlers are less injured these days than they were 10 years ago per 1,000 balls they bowl.
"But we want to get that even better."
Australia, under new coach Mickey Arthur, lead India 2-0 heading into the third Test in Perth, starting Friday.
But Howard said there was plenty of work to do if the side was to reclaim the number one Test ranking.
"We don't have short memories. We've had some real highs and some real lows over the past six months," Howard said, pointing to the recent Test loss to New Zealand in Hobart as the perfect example.
"The Argus review talks about the stated aim is to be number one in the rankings, but that's going to take a few years."
Meanwhile, Howard gave his full backing to skipper Michael Clarke retaining his role as selector, saying the dual responsibility had worked well so far.
"My thoughts are it got reviewed in the Argus review and it will be staying as is," Howard said.
"I'm particularly happy with how that team of five selectors are integrating and I'm really happy with how they're working."
AAP
Tags: cricket, sport, australia First posted January 08, 2012 16:43:36
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