As Australia look to kick off their New Year in style on January 3, a number of young quicks around the country will be looking to follow in the paths of Patrick Cummins and James Pattinson. The up-and-coming options are exciting.
Josh Hazlewood is spoken of very highly in Australian circles, and already earned his ODI debut and a place on the last tour to India before a stress fracture in his back halted his rise. He missed most of last season through injury, but after a slow start to the season, Hazlewood has finally cracked his four-wicket hoodoo, after having gone nine matches without a four-wicket haul.
Ben Cutting can be considered one of the unluckiest bowlers going around. After being overlooked for Mitchell Starc in the first Test of the summer, he subsequently injured himself in a match for Queensland which has ruled him out for the year. After Starc’s less-than-impressive debut series and the injuries to Ryan Harris and Cummins, Cutting could otherwise have found himself making his debut on Boxing Day.
In 2009/10 Cutting took 46 scalps in Shield cricket and was on the verge of Australian selection. Injury struck soon after and with it went his 2010/11 season. At 24, he is still very much in the frame, and should he continue his wicket-taking ways, he will once again be on the verge of higher honours.
James Faulkner is another who is highly regarded after being part of the 2007/08 Australian U19 squad. At the time Shane Watson had yet to make his mark for Australia and the search was still on for that elusive all-rounder. Faulkner was being touted as one for the future. Shane Watson has since become the premier all-rounder Australia have been looking for, while Faulkner has figures that would make him a very useful bowling all-rounder.
He may yet become a player capable of batting in the top seven, but at the moment, he would be picked for his bowling. With 66 wickets at 24, you won’t find many people complaining.
Nathan Coulter-Nile would be the first Western Australian quick to represent Australia since Brad Williams. He has been around the WA setup for a few years, and in 2010 he finally got his chance. Since his Shield debut, Coulter-Nile has 41 wickets from nine matches at 23.58. Injury again prevented him from carrying on this form and possibly pushing for Australian selection, however he is back and will be looking to regain his spot in WA’s Shield side.
Kane Richardson has big raps on him, and the Big Bash commentators on Fox Sports have mentioned that his action is very similar to Pat Cummins’. At the moment he is still finding his feet, and with a home ground like the Adelaide Oval, he will take a bit longer than other quicks around the country to break through. But if he does, he will be well prepared for the next level.
Michael Neser appears to have gone the way of Ryan Harris in the off season, with his speed readings this season including a 147km/h ball against the Scorchers. He rates himself as a batting all rounder, but with speeds like that he could easily fill in as a bowling all rounder. Should Neser fulfill his wish he will gain comparisons with Andrew Flintoff, who also bowled at that pace while batting in the top six
Alister McDermott is another quick from Queensland who is the son of current bowling coach Craig McDermott. He’s made a solid start to his first-class career but it is his limited-overs bowling which is making headlines. In 15 matches he has 27 wickets at 22.92, and the ODI setup has always been a good pathway to the Test side, as Cummins has shown.
Queensland has a new-found depth that is starting to rival that of New South Wales, and Nick Buchanan is the son of former Australian coach John Buchanan. Nick was talked up before the start of the Big Bash as being this season’s Pat Cummins, capable of hitting 140km/h with the potential to crack the 150 mark. Thus far he hasn’t quite lived up to that billing, but standing at 196cm, it is likely you will see more of him in the future.
Ryan Duffield made his debut last season and added to the promising showings by quicks across the country, taking 34 wickets from eight matches at 25.44. Like other bowlers mentioned so far, injury halted his season, but he made his comeback in the Ryobi Cup and will be pushing for a starting spot with this season’s leading wicket-taker, Michael Hogan. He has the added advantage of being a leftie, and the current selectors, like the former ones, appear to like that variation.
I will stop there, but some other names to look forward to include another pair of lefties in Josh Lalor and Jason Behrendorff, who played in the tour match against India, and Jackson Bird, who had a Trent Copeland-like debut in his second match against Victoria.
Interesting and exciting times await Australia and their fast bowlers. This decade may well rival the batting depth seen in the 1990s and 2000s, when guys like Jamie Siddons, David Hussey, Michael Di Venuto, and so on could not break into the Australian batting line-up.
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