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I would like to think if a player is playing well they should be picked on merit, or at least get mentioned by people because of how well they have been playing for some time.
This is not the case with the player I am about to discuss.
Years ago I watched Ian Healy on television heaping large amounts of praise on Queensland’s Chris Hartley. Healy said Hartley was one of the best wicketkeepers at state level.
It’s akin to Darren Berry who, many years ago, was the best wicketkeeper at state level, but that never counted for anything as he never got a chance to play for Australia.
I like to think that a similar version of Darren Berry would have been South African Dave Richardson, yet he ended up playing international cricket.
Regardless, no one mentions Chris Hartley, even though he is in good form at the moment, had a great season last season and made a century in the 2011/12 Sheffield Shield final.
To me, he is second-choice keeper behind Wade – and yes, that means he is in front of both Tim Paine and Brad Haddin for me. Hartley is also younger than Haddin, but older than Paine.
What happened to Darren Berry was one of the reasons I stopped following Australia.
I couldn’t stand seeing it happen to another class keeper.
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