Provided Andrew Symonds is in the right frame of mind, he must play in the Brisbane Test. Capable of changing a match with bat, ball or catch, he has become a formidable competitor, so much so that he fetched almost as much as a Picasso at the IPL auction.
It is a big proviso. If Symonds has reservations about returning to the Australian team, or to cricket itself, then he should withdraw. If he is not enjoying his cricket, yearns for the fish and the freedom, then he must recognise it and step aside. Cynicism is destructive.
If he has any problems with an Australian vice-captain partly responsible for his stint in Siberia, he must sort it out.
He was in the wrong and ought not to turn a molehill into a mountain. A player bearing resentment will not perform to the best of his ability and will also spoil the atmosphere. If Symonds' has put the past behind him then he will strengthen the side.
The most reliable way to choose a cricket team is to put yourself in the opposition's boots. During the past Test series, an Indian official murmured that Australia did not look as formidable without Symonds.
As for the hosts, he was a cricketer to fear and they come along as often as bankrupt bankrupts. Once the Indian leather-flingers had taken the fourth wicket, they could start to relax.
Not that Australia's Nos. 6, 7 and 8 could not score runs. To the contrary these worthies sold their wickets dearly. But they were not going to take an attack apart.
With his untamed locks and wild looks, Symonds has a fury absent in his replacements. He adds aggression to the side, a sense of menace missing on the Indian tour, where the Australians made a lot of ineffective noise. His rivals are cricketing conformists, he is a rebel. It does not make him easy to live with or play against.
Australia is harder to subdue when he is prowling the covers, or walking to the crease at fourth drop or sending down outswingers or taking wickets with spinners on a fifth-day deck. That much has been proved in recent seasons.
It took Symonds an age to feel that he belonged in Test cricket. In this period he was sustained by his captain's faith. Once he had settled, he left a mark on almost every match, notably with the ball and bat in successive Boxing Day Tests.
His slow start provides a clue to his character, with its insecurities. His complicated background left him doubting his worth. That is why teammates rush to protect him, regardless of the cost.
Once established as an important member of the side and in the absence of tempering senior players, he moved too far in the other direction, towards headstrong words and rattled cages.
Charming when he chooses, he began voicing opinions about all sorts of matters, started throwing his weight around. It has been a natural reaction to years of self-subjugation. Sensitivity can emerge in many forms.
But Symonds needs to recognise that he was on the wrong track or else his return will fizzle out. Australia cannot carry his baggage.
Symonds still has a lot of cricket in him and a lot to contribute but must now move away from the meaner side identified by Judge Hanson and towards the warmer outlook witnessed by his pals. In short, he must stop fighting the world and start enjoying his cricket.
Apart from anything else he is indebted to a captain who has stood by him and a cricket community that has supported him.
Symonds will bat at No. 6, a location nowadays reserved for match-changing players. South Africa bats A.B. de Villiers at fourth drop precisely because he can turn a contest in an hour.
Contrastingly, Shane Watson is an orthodox player likely to contribute doughtily with the bat but not given to breaking moulds. He scores his runs with a straight bat, waits for the bad ball and does not improvise. In India, Watson scored 170 runs at an average of 24. Spin worried him and bad luck followed him but the fact remains that batting was hard work.
All things being equal, he is not going to take Symonds' position.
Watson's bowling was handy and finished at its strongest with a stirring spell that might have saved the series. Suddenly he was able to move the ball late and away from the bat. Not only did he send a late inswinger to remove Murali Vijay but a deadly leg-cutter that added to Rahul Dravid's woes.
Suddenly he seemed almost good enough to be the third paceman on hard tracks. Perhaps it was a flash in the pan. If not, he can play alongside Symonds at No. 7.
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