Either Ponting or Hussey should be dropped: Mark Taylor

Former Australia captain Mark Taylor has said that either Ricky Ponting or Mike Hussey should make way to accommodate both Dan Christian and recovering batsman Shaun Marsh in the top six for the Boxing Day Test against India starting Monday.

Taylor, however, does not believe that dropping one of the ageing batsmen would necessarily end his career. Chief selector John Inveriarity had indicated that Christian and Marsh are competing against each other for a place in the eleven.

Taylor said that inclusion of Christian will give skipper Michael Clarke a fifth bowler if the conditions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) assist seam bowling.

"I'd be interested to see what this wicket is like on the morning of the game. If the wicket's got a bit in it I would be tempted to play Dan Christian, because if you look at the last Test in Hobart, our bowling attack still bowled very well but we probably lacked that fourth seamer on day one. We had them [New Zealand] seven for about 70 and we could have knocked them over for 100 rather than 150," said Taylor.

Taylor said both Christian and Marsh can find a place in the side if one of the seniors is dropped.

"It would have been nice in that situation to have Shane Watson in the team. With that in mind, ideally it would be nice to have another one. So if there's a bit in the pitch and you're thinking at all about bowling first I dare say he will come into calculations," Taylor was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald.

"I reckon they (Christian and Marsh) could both play, which would mean leaving out one of the senior blokes. I don't know (which one), I'm leaving that with the selectors. But in this era we have got to start being more open about our cricket team.

"I don't speak to the selectors all that often but I reckon they would be prepared to do it. I don't think the Indians are going all that well either so you really want to pick the side you think is going to win the first Test and if that means you've got to pick Dan Christian to be a fourth seamer and a number six batsman, they should," he said.