Thursday 28th February 2008

Australian baseball coach Jon Deeble says spots on the team for next month's Olympic Qualifying Tournament are wide open as they prepare for a four game series against Canada starting Thursday

Next month the Australians head to Taiwan for a difficult eight nation tournament, where only three countries will earn qualification for the Beijing Olympics
Australia are the Olympic Silver Medallists from Athens 2004, but will face extremely tough opposition against Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, Germany, Spain, South Africa and the Canadians to qualify for Beijing

So the four game series starting in Brisbane against Canada, who came fourth in Athens, will be vital towards Deeble deciding on his final team

The likes of catcher Mat Kent, pitcher Brendan Wise and third baseman Glenn Williams, who all played in the World Cup, are likely selections for the Qualifiers but there are plenty of spots up for grabs on the final roster

Rather than having a pre-conceived line-up in his mind, Deeble intends to go with form and pick the players producing their best in the upcoming campaign
"For the first time in a number of years there are several spots in the team that are wide open
I'm really looking forward to letting these guys go at it" he said
"In terms of our preparation, we have had the benefit of the recent Claxton Shield season to identify some emerging talent and will now get the chance to see how they perform against Canada, one of the world's top sides
Truth be told, nobody is guaranteed a ticket to the qualifiers, so I am going to take whoever's hot at the time"

Australia and North American powerhouse Canada enjoy a healthy rivalry, including a nail-biting showdown at the Baseball World Cup last November
Australia's 7-6 victory eliminated Canada from the tournament and the visitors will be keen for revenge in their first trip down under in over a decade

The focus is well and truly on the Olympic Qualifying Series and the Australian players will be determined to prove a point to Deeble against the Canadians and force their way into the final squad
The Australians had a scratchy warm-up series last week, suffering a 9-7 loss and having a 3-3 draw against the New South Wales Patriots

Australia will take on the Canadians at Redlands Baseball Club on February 28 and 29 before the series shifts to Palm Meadows on the Gold Coast for matches on March 1 and 2