Finally, selectors learn their lessons

This week, the prime minister Kevin Rudd announced a $42 billion stimulus package aimed at preventing the Australian economy falling into recession. A nation hopes.

Sadly, there is no such optimism for Australia's cricket team. Having posted negative growth figures for the past two quarters, and with no sign of an impending upswing, Australians have arrived at the realisation that the boom market of the Warne-McGrath era is a thing of the past.

Opinion polls suggest Australians are supportive of Rudd's move to revive the national economy. The same cannot be said for the stewardship of Andrew Hilditch. Over the past year, Australia's chairman of selectors has alternated between roles of bull and bear, and the subsequent confusion has done little for the confidence of established players, the nerves of those on the periphery and the patience of supporters across the wide, brown land.

But maybe, just maybe, lessons are being learned. Following an inglorious 2008, in which Hilditch's panel was justifiably criticised for its shabby treatment of emerging spinner Beau Casson and its poor handling of Andrew Symonds, Australia's selectors have begun the new year by displaying prudence and foresight in naming their 14-man squad for the three-Test tour of South Africa.

Any line-up that contains eight players with a combined ten Tests to their name - four of whom are uncapped - is bound to raise eyebrows, but in reality, this is a sensible squad chosen with an eye to both the present and future. Retirements, injuries and suspension have ensured that Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey are the only survivors from the Johannesburg Test of three years ago, while the remaining selections form the framework for a solid cricketing stimulus package - loyalty to seniors, patience to emerging players and incentive to rookies.

Australia's cricketers have watched their stock price tumble in recent seasons, prompting major writedowns and revised forecasts across the board. It was only two years ago that Ponting - speaking on the eve of his first Test without Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer - boldly declared that his new-look Australian team would improve on the performances of previous squads. Similar levels of hubris could be detected among team management.

But with regression has come humility, and with humility, sagacity. The move to retain all members from the victorious Sydney Test team (minus, of course, Matthew Hayden) sent the kind of reassuring message that was all but absent nine months ago, when Hilditch's men named a 25-man contract list - ostensibly the best cricketers in the land - then all but ignored it over the series that followed.

The elevation of the 20-year-old batting phenom Phillip Hughes is an acknowledgement of the need to develop players for the future, while the selection of the well-performed Bryce McGain, 36, represents a pragmatic move to address Australia's spinning concerns in an Ashes year. McGain may almost qualify for a seniors discount, but he remains by some measure the best, attacking spin-bowling option in the country. He could yet play the generational bridging role for which Stuart MacGill had been earmarked.

Marcus North, meanwhile, has been rewarded for a career of honest toil at the coalface of first-class cricket. At 29, and with 125 first-class matches to his name, the Western Australian left-hander provides solid batting support, and a handy finger-spinner option when required. His is a selection that should imbue hope into Sheffield Shield players across the country, indicating that national squad selection is no longer reserved to an exclusive clique ordained by Hilditch's panel.

Of course, none of this guarantees Australia victory in South Africa. The climb is steep. But there can be little argument that this 14-man squad represents the best Australia has to offer in this current credibility crunch.