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In a deliciously ironic twist, an English-born player may well be Australia’s next long-term Test wicketkeeper.
England are frequently ridiculed for the large number of foreign-born players who inhabit their cricket sides.
That scorn could soon intensify given Australian batsman Sam Robson is tipped as a strong contender to open with Alastair Cook in their next Test series.
But any annoyance felt by Aussie supporters over Robson’s defection would be alleviated should 21-year-old Yorkshire-born Sam Whiteman deliver on his undoubted talent.
As I wrote for The Roar last month, the Australian Test side must prepare for generational change, with many of its key members at the tail end of their careers.
The second-oldest player in the team, 36-year-old wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, was a major reason Australia vaporised England 5-0 in the last Ashes.
With 16 years of professional cricket behind him, Haddin cannot have long left in the game.
When he does finally shelve his baggy green cap there will be a void in the Test line-up.
Not only has Haddin proved himself an invaluable counter-attacker capable of rescuing Australia from perilous situations, but his keeping has been very neat in recent times.
He is also a crucial sounding board for skipper Michael Clarke, who is known to rely on his sage advice and man-management skills.
Haddin’s career was almost prematurely ended when a personal issue saw him pull out of the tour of the West Indies two years ago.
His replacement, precocious Victorian gloveman Matthew Wade, forced the selectors’ hand with a match-winning century in the third and final Test of that series.
The next Australian summer, Wade held his place in the line-up despite Haddin being available for selection, and produced another pivotal ton, this time in a win against Sri Lanka.
But then the runs dried up for Wade on Australia’s calamitous tour of India.
His exploits with the bat had to that point taken some of the focus off his shoddy keeping, which was particularly woeful to spinner Nathan Lyon.
Wade was dumped for Haddin and has since battled for touch in the Sheffield Shield with Victoria.
The 26-year-old must make significant improvements in his glovework if he is to earn another crack at Test cricket.
The Australian chairman of selectors signalled in October last year that Wade was in a race to succeed Haddin with Tasmanian ‘keeper Tim Paine.
Paine himself enjoyed a brief stint in the Test side back in 2010 as a result of an elbow injury to Haddin.
He impressed with his gritty batting and unobtrusive work behind the stumps. Highly regarded for his leadership qualities, there was even speculation at the time Paine could be a future Test captain.
A succession of finger injuries has hampered Paine’s first-class career since then. He has managed to remain healthy this summer, although his form with the blade, in particular, has been underwhelming. Paine has returned just 321 runs at 27 in his seven Shield outings.
Wade, meanwhile, has been marginally better, with 394 runs at 33 for the Bushrangers.
Although that pair were anointed by Inverarity, it is looking increasingly possible that the man to replace Haddin may be Whiteman. The fresh-faced West Australian has been one of the elite players in the Shield this summer.
Whiteman is the eighth-highest run scorer in the competition, with 630 runs at 53 from nine matches. His consistency with the bat has been astounding for a wicketkeeper of such a young age. Only teammate Marcus North and South Australian Tom Cooper have bettered Whiteman’s tally of six scores of 50 or more.
While he is yet to register a first-class ton, his sublime gifts suggest it is a matter of time before that is corrected.
Crucially, Whiteman is not a batsman foremost and a keeper second in the manner of Wade. He is known as a tidy and dependable gloveman whether keeping to the quicks or up at the stumps.
His coach Justin Langer last week suggested he was well in the running to take over when Haddin steps down.
“Sam Whiteman is a star,” Langer told the WACA website. “He is a fantastic cricketer and getting better every week. I know that the Australian selectors will be starting to look at him now because who knows how long Brad Haddin will go on.”
“We saw Tim Paine here, Chris Hartley has done well in Brisbane and Matthew Wade is doing okay. But Whitey is doing everything that we can ask of him of himself personally and for Western Australia.”
Granted, Langer has reason to be biased and is known to heap praise upon his young charges. But he is surely correct in saying that the selectors will have taken note of Whiteman’s development this summer.
He is arguably the most outstanding 21-year-old cricketer in the country, competing strongly for that title with Tasmanian opener Jordan Silk.
Like Silk, he appears destined to don the baggy green. Australia may well have found a long-term replacement for their veteran star Haddin.