Ever since the retirements of Australia’s all-time greats such as Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist, players have been brought into the side and then chucked out like old sweat rags.
So many young players since Australia’s golden era ended have been brought into the Test and ODI teams, only to be either dropped and never seen again, or tossed in and out.
Here are just some of the examples.
Peter Forrest
Forrest was brought into the Australian one-day line during the 2011/12 tri-series against Sri Lanka and India and immediately made an impact. He scored more runs than any other Aussie batsmen in his first four ODI innings, which included 104* in just his fourth match against Sri Lanka in Hobart.
Following the dropping and retirement of Ricky Ponting from the ODI squad just prior to that maiden hundred, Forrest was seen as a possible long-term replacement for the great Ponting and a possible Test debut seemed not too far away.
However, a string of sub-par performances in the next two series against the West Indiies and England saw him dropped from the ODI squad. Since then he has not been mentioned once at all by the selectors and it seems like he may have to either wait a few years before he regains his chance, or he may never been seen in Aussie colours again
Usman Khawaja
For two years during 2009-2011, the Pakistan-born gun was talked up by several critics, journalists and past players as being a potential long-term replacement for the likes of Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey. He finally got his chance during the New Year’s SCG Test against England, courtesy of Ponting’s broken finger.
His first shot in Test cricket was an elegant glance for two on the leg side and his second shot was a Ricky Ponting-esque pull shot that went for four. His innings was cut short on 37, but it was clear that Australia’s new number three was a player for the future.
Despite a promising debut, however, Khawaja would struggle during the year of 2011 and succumbed to the pressures and rigours of Test cricket. He managed to pass 50 just once in his first six innings, and was subsequently dropped.
He would get another crack 18 months later, this time in the coloured clothing against Sri Lanka in January 2013. He was run-out in his debut innings, quite unluckily after his bat got stuck in the turf while trying to complete the run. He then scored a brutal, masterful and entertaining innings of 8* (after the West Indies were bowled out for 70 and Glenn Maxwell slaughtered the Windies bowling attack, hitting them to all parts).
His most recent innings in ODIs would be a score of three, where he again was quite unlucky to be out; playing a beautifully timed flick to the leg side, only to be caught brilliantly Kieran Powell.
A string of low scores, homework-gate and a DRS umpiring howler later, Khawaja has been a no-show since the 2013 Ashes in England and has barely been mentioned since.
At 27, Khawaja still has at least a decade of cricket left in him, and since the 2013 Ashes has been working incredibly hard to improve his technique and develop as not just a batsman but a cricketer.
It is hard to see him break into the Test side come this Australian summer, however he has the potential to become a successful long-term player for Australia – but only if the selectors give him a chance to reach that potential.
Callum Ferguson
The one they call “Fergie” came onto the international one-day scene in 2008/09. While his record of 663 runs at 41 was not overly impressive, he was ultra consistent and a Test debut was lurking around the corner for him.
That was until he ruptured his ACL during the 2009 Champions Trophy, ultimately meaning he would require a full knee reconstruction and was out for 12 months. Since then he has been frequently plagued with as many injuries as Shane Watson and his baggy green dream has since been at a crossroads.
However, after being recalled into the Australian ODI line-up to play India last October, despite not actually playing a game, there was thought that he may have been back in the pickings of the Australian selectors. But since then he has not been mentioned and that elusive baggy green dream is becoming more distant day-by-day.
Ferguson is only 29, so there is still a chance of him returning to the Australian ODI line-up, maybe even as soon as the 2015 World Cup, but having not been mentioned for almost a year now, it seems quite unlikely that it will happen.
Those three players are just a few who have suffered the wrath of the Australian selectors of recent years. But none has suffered more than the one and only, Phillip Hughes.
Phil Hughes has been dropped six times from both the Test and ODI sides ever since making his incredible debut tour in 2009 against South Africa. The problem with Phil Hughes is two-fold.
Having been compared to Donald Bradman after only his second Test, as well as Ponting and Matthew Hayden, the Australian public’s and critic’s expectations have been set incredibly high throughout Hughes’ career. Every time he makes one or two blunders, the fire and arrows immediately come out.
Comparing Hughes to these players at such a young age was only going to place huge amounts of pressure on him to meet unrealistic expectations.
The selectors have not helped Phil Hughes’ case by not putting faith in him. Having been dropped six times since his debut, in recent times he has been snubbed from selection despite scoring heavily at domestic and List A level. Additionally, he has been reshuffled around the batting order from opening position to first drop, to number four to number six.
Not only does this not allow Hughes to settle into the Australian line-up and allow him to feel comfortable, but it does not do his confidence any good. In fact, it inevitably lowers his self-confidence and belief that he is good enough to excel at international level.
So far Hughes has been talked up by many past and current players and some cricketing journalists. With those putting faith in Hughes to have a long, successful career, it is time the selectors do.
While it would be unreasonable to shove Hughes right back into the Test line-up for what would be an incredibly difficult challenge in the UAE against Pakistan and Saeed Ajmal, he should remain a part of the ODI side and possibly slot into the Test side against India this Australian summer.
At present, Australia’s team are filled with many young stars who have the potential to have long and successful careers such as Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Ben Cutting and James Faulkner.
All these players have the potential to become all-time greats and prolific contributers for Australia in years to come. But that will only happen if the Australian selectors open their eyes up to reality and put long-term faith in each and every one of them.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
It seems franchise cricket has forgotten about the great battle between bat and ball. In fact, this season in the IPL there is no battle at all.
The mammoth rise of Jake Fraser-McGurk - his enormous potential and the destructive shot-making that he possesses makes him a very tempting option.
Marcus Stoinis produced his first IPL century and it was a beauty. He went 6, 4, 4, 4 to finish off the Lucknow Super…
Test great Steve Smith is to play for Washington Freedom in the second season of Major League Cricket as the Australian influence in the…
Nathan Lyon has revealed his disappointment that Australia's cricket chiefs have prevented him from playing his first full season of county cricket in England…
Some of you may have watched the recent Fox Sports Series 'A Brief History of Australian Cricket: the Eighties'. If not, I’d definitely recommend…
