The focus and attention is on the second Test at Adelaide this week, a match that’s predicted to favour batsmen very heavily.
In the lead up to the first Test, there was an element of doubt whether Australia’s inexperienced top three could handled the much vaunted South African bowling attack. There were doubts if debutant number three Rob Quiney could handle Test cricket.
One innings of nine doesn’t say much, so in effect, Quiney does deserve more of an opportunity to see if he can handle at that level.
There are continual doubts about Watson’s place in the team, with regards to fitness, and his continual failure of turning fifties to hundreds, which so far has him with a disappointing ratio of 18 fifties, 2 hundreds.
Opener Dave Warner needs to score runs in Adelaide, while his batting partner, Ed Cowan had a Gabba Test to remember, making his maiden Test century.
Also there’s the lingering doubts over the two old stagers in Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey. How long will they be around before they are replaced by members of the new generation?
With so many question marks hanging around Australia’s current top six here is a look at Australia’s possible next top six batsmen:
Phil Hughes
On November 30, Hughes will turn 24. Already he has 19 first class centuries to his name. Obviously with that record Hughes is talented, which is hard to ignore. However, what’s also hard to ignore is that Hughes needs to iron out his batting technique if he is to have a future in the baggy green.
Recently I have seen him in a Shield match, via online streaming from the Cricket Australia website. From what I can see, his technique does look a little more solid. He doesn’t back away to the leg side, and his bat is pointing towards the covers, rather than the slips.
In my opinion, I still think he is one or two years away from getting back in the Test side. So far this season, Hughes is averaging 44 with 352 runs.
Another thing to highlight is Australia’s lack of opening batsman. The quality is not there at the moment.
Here are the openers gracing the scene at Shield cricket 2012/13: Liam Davies, Marcus Harris, Ryan Carters, Chris Rogers, Sam Raphael, Hughes, David Dawson, Scott Henry, Mark Cosgrove, Ben Dunk, Wade Townsend and Alex Kemp. Some familiar names like Rogers and Cosgrove, but again the depth isn’t there. The next couple of years are crucial to Hughes’ career.
Usman Khawaja
Had a difficult 2011/12 season last summer, where he was axed from the Test side following Australia’s shock loss to New Zealand at Bellerive Oval. It was cruelly unjustified from the national selectors at the time.
Two Tests previous to Hobart, Khawaja, notched up a match winning half century against South Africa in South Africa, which enabled Australia to chase down over 300. In the next test at the Gabba, he was involved in a run out with Ricky Ponting and made 30 odd.
What makes his axing terribly disappointing was that apart from Dave Warner, everyone failed with the bat. However, Khawaja was the scapegoat for Australia’s loss.
That was followed by an unhappy return back to Shield cricket for NSW where in five matches, he made 260 runs at an average of 28.88.
In season 2012/13 he has moved to Queensland to play for the Bulls as he opted for a change of scenery and a change of luck. So far it’s proving fruitful.
Currently he is the leading Shield run scorer with 430 runs at 47.77. What those stats don’t tell also is Khawaja has made runs in various pitches around Australia that have favoured very heavily towards the bowlers.
In his last match, Tasmania made 95 in their first inns, Khawaja made 138 off 178 balls including two sixes in brisk fashion. Khawaja is coming back a very determined player, and if given the opportunity to play for Australia, one gets the feeling that this time he will take it with both hands.
Overall in his career of 59 matches he has made over 4000 runs at around 44 with 11 centuries.
Alex Doolan
Came to prominence when he was selected in the Australia A side against South Africa where he scored 161 not out. A number 3 batsman for his state side Tasmania, in 36 first class games he has scored 2,269 runs at an average of 39.12 with five centuries.
This season in Shield cricket he has amassed 367 runs in four matches at an average of 61.16. The big question for the 26-year-old is can he continue with this consistency for the rest of the season and back it up next season and beyond?
Or is Doolan another version of Peter Forrest, whom this time last year did have similar stats to Doolan. Time will tell.
As a batsman he is counter attacking player, although at times he may struggle against the spin. South African leggie Imran Tahir troubled him from time to time. At the moment he is in the next six batsmen to be picked.
Joe Burns
Burns is a promising young old top order batsman from Queensland. So far in his career in 22 first class matches, he has accumulated 1466 runs at an average of 44.42 which includes four centuries.
So far this season in the Shefield Shield he has had a modest return of 291 runs at an average of 36.37 from four matches. He is an attacking batsmen who likes to go after the bowling.
He just needs to be more reliable and bring in more maturity to his game. The inclusion of Khawaja to Queensland will help Burns lift his game so he could to stay with Khawaja.
Glenn Maxwell
The Victorian all-rounder is slowly building up a reputation for been a hard hitting batsman who can easily adapt to three forms of cricket. He also bowls handy off breaks, but at this stage of his career, its his batting that is coming along in leaps and bounds.
So far in his first class career in 14 matches as a batsman he has contributed 924 runs at an average of 46.20 with only one century, but eight half centuries.
If Maxwell wants to take it to the next level, he needs to convert those fifties into hundreds. While in his bowling he has made a modest start with 23 wickets at an average of 37.86.
Maxwell was selected in the Australia A game, where he scored 64 and took 2/70 to complete a good double for the match. Due to the terrible scheduling thanks to the T20 competitions (World Cup and Champions League) Maxwell has only had two Shield matches to date so far this season, which makes it very difficult to judge his form.
Whenever I see Maxwell play, there is something about him which makes me think he’ll go far. My belief is many cricket fans around the country are underestimating his ability.
Andrew McDonald
Another Victorian all-rounder who made the Australia A side, McDonald has had his taste of Test cricket in 2008/9, where he played four tests against South Africa. He had modest returns, scoring just over 100 runs and picked up nine wickets.
At the time, I felt he was picked before his time. Now four years later, McDonald is a better player now than at the time of his Test debut.
The 31-year-old has played in 91 matches. As a batsman, it reads 4,573 runs at an average of 39.76 including 11 centuries. With the ball, he has taken 201 wickets at 28.64 with five 5 wicket hauls (or as a Kerry O’Keefe would say “5 Michelles”).
If anything, those stats show that he has the qualities to contribute something to the Test side. McDonald is underrated. He could do a job for Australia at number 6, where the side could use him as a fifth bowler, and therefore allow Watson to be relieved from his bowling duties and concentrate on his batting.
McDonald would be a good short term option for a year or two, until youngsters like Moises Henriques, James Faulkner and Mitchell Marsh come to the fore. He is an experienced first class cricketer who could also provide a good sounding board for Clarke, as inevitably Australia will lose Ponting and Hussey sooner rather than later.
However to throw a spanner in the works, McDonald has been ruled out for the season for Victoria after suffering a hamstring injury. Such rotten luck. It does put McDonald’s chances for the Ashes tour in severe doubt. But once McDonald is fit and firing, the selectors should keep a close eye on him.
So Hughes, Khawaja, Burns, Doolen, Maxwell and McDonald are the next six batsmen in line. In fact I would have no hesitation in bringing Khawaja in the Test side immediately.
Others like Hughes Burns, Doolen, Maxwell, and even other players like Ferguson, Henriques and Faulkner, need to have two or three good years playing consistently at Shield level.
Hopefully with those players developing, other young players can also come through in that same timeframe.
I hope that when the likes of Watson and Clarke retire from the Test side, Australia will again have a strong batting line-up. If they put the right succession plans in place, with players coming through matching their potential, Australian cricket is on its way to becoming a feared Test side again.
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