Comments about Perry's form the ultimate compliment

Every armchair expert will be claiming they know what the Australian Test XI for this historic Test against India should be. But, in reality, no one would really want to be entrusted with the immense responsibility selection chief Shawn Flegler and his panel have right now.

It is tough to select a team when Test cricket is as rare as a hot day in Hobart. So many players wait for years hoping the stars will align to see them presented with a Baggy Green cap, and so many incredibly talented Australian cricketers never get to experience Test cricket. I am one of the lucky ones who did – just once in 49 international matches.

The fact Ellyse Perry, Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy have all played international cricket for more than a decade and still none have played in more than 10 is telling.

It means the players on the fringes of this dominant Aussie side will be desperate to earn their chance to play India from Thursday. The hamstring injury to Rachel Haynes, in addition to the absences of Megan Schutt and Jess Jonassen, means there are now some rare openings in the XI.

What this Australian team has done so well in recent times is focus on the development of genuine allrounders, meaning Tahlia McGrath, Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux, Ash Gardner and Nicola Carey could all conceivably put their hand up for a top six role.

The other option would be to pick Georgia Redmayne, a specialist batter, to play her first game for Australia in a Test match. Good luck selection panel!

And then there is spin to consider. Admittedly I am partial to the craft, but I think leg-spin should be a vital piece of the puzzle for Australia in a four-day Test match and Georgia Wareham is the only exponent of it in this squad. Will she be okay to play after hurting her quad during the ODIs? I've got my fingers crossed she gets up.

The spinners will not only need to play an attacking role against India. They will also need to shoulder a considerable load, bowling a lot of overs to allow this exciting group of quicks that Australia have at their disposal to bowl short bursts throughout the match.

While Tayla Vlaeminck is unavailable, how do you decide which of Darcie Brown and Stella Campbell to select? Both have performed in the ODIs and both have the ability to break the game open and strike fear in the hearts of top-order batters.

Could you pick both? If I was an Indian bowler, I would not be putting my hand up to be the nightwatchwoman.

As an owner of an armchair, here is my take. The make-up of this Australian team will be exciting to discuss over the next few days because we all can't wait to see youth blooded and promise fulfilled. A Baggy Green is the ultimate for any Australian cricketer and it will be such a special moment to see some players pull one on for the first time this week. But this Test match will be determined by those who have done the job before.

My player-of-the-match prediction is Ellyse Perry. She has played eight Tests, taken 31 wickets at an average of 18 along with scoring 624 runs at 78 with a highest score of 213no. That kind of record has 'big game player' written all over it.

There has been a fair bit of commentary about Ellyse's form recently, having struggled with the ball during the one-dayers against India. From my point of view, I think that should be taken as the ultimate compliment.

Image Id: 8AEC3DC81E8641F59D81DCDE906308BF Image Caption: Perry was below her usual high standards in the ODI series // Getty

When you are a player like Perry who has dominated with both bat and ball for the majority of her 14-year international career, anything less than perfection comes as a surprise. The expectation is, unlike us mere mortals, she should not have bad games and she should be always a contender for the player-of-the-match award.

But class is permanent. From my armchair, she is one of the first inked in for the Test team. I can't wait to see her break this game open the way she did during my sole Test in Canterbury back in 2015 when she bowled Lydia Greenway, who seemed to destined to break our hearts, and sealed the Ashes.

If it's any consolation to the Australian selectors, I'm guessing their Indian counterparts are having some headaches of their own trying to work out the make-up of their team.

With both sides having so many X-factor players, this is going to be a terrific contest and leaves me with no doubt there will be a result.

I reckon we will be on the edge of our armchairs for four days.

CommBank Series v India

Australia lead India 4-2 on points

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Darcie Brown, Maitlan Brown, Stella Campbell, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Redmayne, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

India Test and ODI squad: Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur (vc), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Punam Raut, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh, Ekta Bisht.

India T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh (wk), Harleen Deol, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh.

First ODI:Australia won by nine wickets

Sep 24: Australia won by five wickets

Sep 26: India won by two wickets

Sep 30 – Oct 3: Test match, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast (D/N)

Oct 7: First T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast

Oct 9: Second T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast

Oct 10: Third T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast