A matter of confidence

Craig McMillan was an afterthought for the Australian tour, and bolted into the Test team. Today he charged down the pitch and was betrayed by a cluttered mind - unsure whether to run or wait.

Added to the squad as cover for Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle, McMillan was retained when they recovered and stepped over Hamish Marshall, who has a Test fifty to his name but no first-class hundreds. Picked for his experience, McMillan let himself down.

Usually a brash batsman and personality, McMillan didn't know whether the vacancy was a gift or a weight. Overlooked for the Bangladesh Tests, he was faced with following the squad's line of dragging out the innings or backing his attacking instincts. At first McMillan tried defence, and then a mixture of the two. As he slog-swept Shane Warne for six his tempo quickly rose from dormant to racing.

At that stage Warne was having an off day - he even bowled a wide - and McMillan needed to punish him. On previous tours he would have trusted himself and suffered the failed risk, but he had been compromised by uncertainty and danced wildly at Warne. There was confusion over whether he was stumped or caught by Adam Gilchrist, but the result was plain. At 28, McMillan is at a difficult age for a crisis.

Four years older and playing his tenth Test in a row, Michael Kasprowicz is enjoying the stability of his longest run in the side. Where McMillan is tentative, Kasprowicz is definite. He charged to the wicket like he has for more than a decade with Queensland. In an international career with more cruel stops than starts, he knows he belongs.

Providing perfect support as the third string to the bow in India, Kasprowicz missed the wickets but not the value of his contribution. Others had, and there was another push for Lee to play at the Gabba. Previously it had been Kasprowicz who spent weeks pouring drinks during the early stages of a summer. It was six years since his last appearance for Australia on his home ground, and this was the best of his four.

Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie had been tried without impact when Kasprowicz was called and he fed the slips twice in his third over. Carrying a husky voice as a reminder of an Indian illness, he had Mark Richardson pushing and nicking to second slip, and then Stephen Fleming played a similar shot to Warne at first slip. Kasprowicz is a popular player who is more likely to smile than swear, and at the end of the over three of the cordon ran over to whack him on the back. The reception he received as he walked to fine leg brought shivers to the stands.

His best delivery came after lunch when he brushed the edge of a leaden Scott Styris and set up a simple catch to Gilchrist. Kasprowicz was finally being rewarded with wickets, and he kept causing discomfort by bowling fast and occasionally short. But while Kasprowicz and his team-mates walked off with smiles and more wickets, McMillan was left to ponder more questions.