Does Bailey's selection spell Haddin's demise?

Love him or loathe him, Brad Haddin’s place in the Australian Test team has become one of its most contentious issues.

The man once rightfully touted as the heir to the great Adam Gilchrist, Hadd’s has slowly but surely transformed from a lock in anyone’s Australian XI, to a questionable commodity whose consistency and value come under constant fire.

The first point of note is, at 36 years of age, Hadd’s is definitely on his last legs as an international cricketer.

Any significant drop of form with either bat or gloves will more than likely see him receive the proverbial tap on the shoulder, and an undoubtedly great servant of the game will exit the Test arena without any further adieu.

Prior to this year’s ashes series in England, that very scenario had seemingly occurred.

The significantly younger Matthew Wade arising to the coveted Test keeper spot after Haddin’s withdrawal due to personal reasons, and Wade’s own stirring form with the bat against the West Indies.

Yet, in the wake of the “Homework-gate” saga and Shane Watson’s resignation from the Australian vice captaincy, the Test team was engulfed in a power vacuum that saw that selectors opt for a more experienced head in Haddin over the out of form Wade.

Throughout the series in England, despite delivering inconsistent results with the blade and (notwithstanding setting a world record for dismissals) the gloves in the eyes of many commentators, Haddin established himself as a firm deputy to Michael Clarke – most importantly providing an experienced external perspective to the allegedly difficult-to-work-with skipper.

However, in the aftermath of George Bailey’s controversial elevation to the Test ranks as an anchor in the batting line-up, the question of Haddin’s value to the team as a leadership candidate becomes all the more relevant.

Bailey – already the Australian T20 skipper – has also been the preferred stand in for Clarke at ODI level, despite Haddin being an established member of that team.

If (and granted it is a big “if” heading into the coming series), Bailey’s form establishes him as an entrenched member of the Test side, one would have to wonder if he would be elevated to the level of Clarke’s backup as Test skipper as similar to the other formats of the game.

Big runs or not, if Clarke’s troublesome back plays up midway through the second or third Test, will we see Brad Haddin leading Australia, or will Curious George take the reins?

Brad Haddin has made it clear that he wants to play in the next world cup.

In this writer’s opinion, his likelihood of doing so relies heavily on the success of the Tasmanian debuting at Brisbane this week.

Should George Bailey do enough throughout this series to cement himself in the team for even only the immediate future, his presence immediately relieves the team’s reliance on Michael Clarke’s leadership that at least partially instigated Haddin’s reinstatement to the side.

The question then becomes: does Brad Haddin’s form alone justify his place in Australia’s Test team?

Currently, that question comes under serious debate.

Despite claiming a world record for dismissals on the recent ashes tour, many qualified observers have lamented the chances he missed and suggested that his technique – particularly his footwork – is not what it once was.

Haddin followed this by an ODI tour of India where his glove work again swung through both ends of the spectrum – at times he stole the show while at other times making comical mistakes.

His batting has been of particular concern, averaging only 23 throughout the tour of England despite playing one of his most acclaimed – and near match winning – knocks in the first Test.

The fact of the matter is, modern Australian keepers are judged (rightly or wrongly) on their runs as much as they are on their keeping, and Hadds will need to perform better if he is to stave off the competition for his spot over the coming summer.

Upon returning to Australia, his batting form has been promising – a quick fire 50 helping NSW to a victory over the Bulls in the most recent Shield round. The Australian selectors will be praying for a similar contribution at the Gabba next week.

If Haddin is to fail (and Bailey succeed) over the coming summer, the door will be wide open for a younger contender to unseat him from his throne. In terms of serious contenders, there appears to be two (at least as far as John Inverarity is concerned).

Tim Paine
The heir apparent following Invers’ endorsement earlier this month and his selection as the Australia A keeper-batsman.

Was once entrenched as Haddin’s deputy (even perhaps rival) and touted as future captaincy material.

But then a horror finger injury curtailed his promising career and saw him miss the best part of two years, falling behind Matt Wade in the pecking order.

On his day Paine looks to be a classy, compact keeper with fighting talent with the blade, but he is yet to regain the form and ability he showed pre-injury.

In form, he is a better keeper than Haddin, and if he scores runs (66 not out in one of his most recent innings) he will put serious pressure on the selectors to elevate him to the top team – particularly considering his leadership credentials.

Matt Wade
A year ago he was in the hot seat, and will be doing everything in his power to reclaim his spot. His class with the bat is undeniable, and is where he takes the points over his two main rivals in Haddin and Paine.

Despite this, at present he has glaring flaws with his keeping, particularly with regard to his footwork when keeping to spin.

He should benefit greatly from keeping to regularly potential Australian spinners Holland and Ahmed at Shield level, and will be pushed hard by the young and very talented Peter Handscomb.

Victoria have given him the state captaincy in a clear bid to increase his value to the Test team. Still needs lots of work for mine, but is a definite prospect in the minds of the selectors and plenty of runs will make him hard to ignore.

Barring any significant reversals of form or injury, the next Test keeper looks likely to be one of these two.

Chris Hartley (and I am a Queensland) is equally – if not more – deserving of the top spot, but looks likely to go down in history as one of those extremely talented players who somehow never managed to crack the first XI. Perhaps he and David Hussey should start a club.

Hartley’s keeping is widely regarded as being the most technically proficient of any gloveman in the country, and he has frequently captained a successful Bulls side in James Hopes’ absence.

The question on Harts has always been his batting, however in recent years he has transformed himself into a high quality grafter who has been in the top echelon of Shield run-scorers over the last three years.

Unfortunately, at 31 years of age, it would be a surprise to most if Inverarity and Co. turn to the Queensland hero rather than his younger counterparts from Victoria or Tasmania.

Moral of the story is, keepers across the country – Paine, Wade, Hartley, Nevill, Ludeman and Whiteman – will be watching the debut of George Bailey with great interest, because if the Tasmanian thrives similarly to the way he has in ODI cricket, the door to one of the most competitive positions in Australian sport could swing wide open.

Let the race begin.