SHOULD the Australian selectors pick Andrew Symonds for the upcoming tour of South Africa or should they leave him at home to consider the consequences of his at times erratic behaviour? Well of course they should select him to go. After all, they are not voting him into a Senate seat or for a place in the Australian debating team. They are cricket selectors and he is bloody good at the game. Sure his latest figures have been a bit below par but he would still be a good injection of talent into a team that is quickly slipping down the list of cricket rankings, maybe not officially but definitely in the world of reality. That talent is not quite what it was but he is still one of a dwindling number of Australians capable of winning a match of his own bat. His bowling, spin and medium pace, is just soso but is still good enough to give the main attack bowlers time to freshen up and of course he is an absolute gun in the field. The only reasonable argument for leaving him out of the team would be his age. At 33yo there may not be much left in the tank and considering the future it might pay to blood a younger player with some test experience before they head on to England for the Ashes series later this year. As with every Australian test team that goes to England the Poms are sure to say: “this is the weakest ever Australian touring team” but this time they might just be right. Thankfully the Poms are also struggling so this year’s battle for the Ashes might also be a contest between the third and fourth best teams in the world, maybe even fourth and fifth.