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A big winter spent refining his game in the contrasting conditions of India and England has hopeful Australian opener Joe Burns confident of a Test recall.
Burns enjoyed a solid debut series against India last summer, averaging 36.50 across two Tests while scoring a pair of half-centuries at the SCG, before being jumped in the pecking order by veteran Adam Voges, who was selected to feature in the West Indies series and then the Ashes.
However, the twin retirements of captain Michael Clarke and opener Chris Rogers have opened the door for Australia’s fringe Test batsmen to force their way back.
None is better placed than Burns, after a strong 69 in his one-day international debut in Thursday’s victory over Ireland in Belfast.
The 25-year-old has been busy – first playing county cricket for Middlesex as he faced the same tricky England conditions which torpedoed Australia’s Ashes campaign, and then featuring in an the Australia A tour in India.
It is the latter tour, where he scored a fine 154 against South Africa A in Chennai while acclimatising to sub-continental conditions, which should hold him in good stead when selectors sit down to discuss who will make the cut for October’s two-Test series against Bangladesh.
For Burns, it all added up as a crucial learning experience.
“Just experiencing foreign conditions and learning how to adapt your game, learning about how to go about it in different conditions,” Burns said.
“Despite if you make runs or don’t make runs, the experience of playing cricket in different countries and seeing how different countries go about it (is valuable).
“Learning how there’s more than one way to skin a cat.
“But also learning how if you execute the things you do well, you can still have success.
“The last few months has been fantastic for me personally.
“I’ve learned so much, and I’m just looking to hopefully execute the lessons I’ve learned in the last few months over the next few months.”
The Queenslander, batting at six in his Test career to date, has formed a powerful combination with David Warner at the top of the order on his ODI debut.
He has been mooted as Rogers’ natural successor, and can get the early jump on rising star Cameron Bancroft with a string of good scores in the upcoming five-match ODI series against England.
Bancroft has an undeniably bright future but just 24 first-class matches to his name to date.
Burns’ steady temperament and sound technique are well suited to opening the batting, however he insists he isn’t concerned about where in the order he fits in.
“For Queensland, I’ve had consistent performances over the last two years as an opening batter,” he explained.
“But it depends on who else is selected in the side. Whatever my role is, I just need to perform it the best I can.”
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