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Who are the young Australian batsmen who will compete to replace the likes of Chris Rogers, Michael Clarke and Shane Watson in the Test side over the next few years?
This is the follow up to part one, where I revealed the players I ranked from five to eight.
Today I have revealed the top four batsmen aged 25 or younger who are most likely to earn a baggy green and ranked them based on who has the best chance of making an impact in Tests in the next decade.
1. Jordan Silk (21 years old) – 834 first-class runs at an average of 38
Patience is an increasingly rare commodity among Test batsmen.
The frequency of batting collapses in recent years seems to have risen in line with the amount of T20 cricket batsmen are playing.
Too often those wielding the blade are not prepared to shackle their ego, respect a rampant attack, weather the storm and then gradually lift the pace of their innings.
They want instant gratification in the form of daring counterattacking strokes.
Not Jordan Silk.
The Tasmanian is a throwback to an age of cricket when batsmen were content to continue leaving or defending good balls until the bowler lost patience and strayed into their scoring zones.
Luckily for Silk, he has not just vast patience but a wide range of scoring avenues.
Both were on display in just his third Shield match – the final of the competition last March.
Opposed to an on-song Ryan Harris, Silk showcased invaluable circumspection, dead batting or shouldering arms to the Aussie Test quick over and over.
When Harris overpitched, Silk climbed into him and sent the ball skidding across the turf down the ground or through the covers.
Any width outside off was similarly exploited with deftly-placed cut shots.
Short balls, meanwhile, fed Silk’s pet pull shot.
The rookie blunted Queensland’s strong attack for almost four sessions, rarely ever losing his patience and being drawn into a false stroke.
The level of concentration, determination and technique required to compile such a hundred is in short supply among young cricketers.
Silk is tailor-made for Test cricket.
Striking four hundreds in your first seven Shield matches is indicative of a rare talent.
2. Nic Maddinson (22 years old) – 2281 first-class runs at 40
Maddinson is already in his third incarnation as a batsman.
His original persona with the blade was similar to Silk’s – a combative, careful opener who likes to bat for time.
In his debut Shield season in 2010/11, the New South Welshmen made 437 runs at 40 while maintaining a cautious strike rate of 45.
The following season he lifted his scoring rate slightly to a tick over 50.
Then last summer, Maddinson revealed a new, cavalier approach.
He began to take on the new ball in a ferocious style which has only ever been successfully executed with anything close to consistency by Indian legend Virender Sehwag.
This belligerent batsmanship reached its zenith on the Australia A tour of Europe last winter.
In his four first-class innings, Maddinson smashed 300 runs from just 223 balls.
The range of strokes he unleashed was impressive but it seemed unlikely he could ever translate such an aggressive approach to Test cricket.
Maddinson has since improved his balance between attack and defence.
His third phase as a first-class player suggests he may now be ready to don the baggy green should an opportunity arise.
3. Chris Lynn (23 years old) – 1687 first-class runs at 43
The Queenslander has had a series of setbacks during his infantile first-class career yet has come out the other end with an impressive average of 43.
Having endured those tough periods he looks set to realise the tremendous potential which made him the most promising teenage batsman in the country just four years ago.
Lynn was on the fast track to the Test side in 2011 when he was named in the Australia A squad to tour Zimbabwe after a scintillating start to his Shield career, which included a ton in just his second match.
Then he was left crestfallen when a finger injury forced him to withdraw from what would have been his first senior international tour.
By the end of the next Australian summer he had lost his place in the Bulls side after averaging just 20 in the Shield.
Things only got worse for Lynn in 2012-13 when he suffered an injury-plagued season which saw him restricted to just a few limited overs appearances.
His resounding return to first-class form this summer was prompted by a pair of sparkling efforts against the touring England side in October.
Lynn cracked 104 and 51 not out as he displayed the fine touch which had been evident in the Ryobi Cup.
His first-class figures this season – 570 runs at 71 – tell of a prodigious talent who is back in business.
His versatility as a batsman means he would be able to slot into the Test side at anywhere from first drop to number six.
4. Phil Hughes (25 years old) – 8381 runs at 46
As I’m typing his name, I can almost taste the backlash.
Hughes has a swarm of supporters, many of whom frequent The Roar.
They have lambasted me time after time for suggesting other young players should be given their first crack at Test cricket before Hughes gets his fifth go.
The reality is that predicting what lays ahead for Hughes is fraught with danger.
His ability to flay Shield attacks is unparalleled among players outside the Test line-up.
Yet when he dons the baggy green something goes amiss.
Is it a mental weakness which is exposed? Is it a technical glitch which gets exploited?
It seems likely it is a mixture of both.
For whatever reason, Hughes has not been able to replicate his blazing form at Shield level when he suits up for Australia.
Hughes is as strong as any player in Australia square of the wicket.
He is capable of punishing the slightest hint of width.
He has also displayed both an insatiable appetite for runs and tremendous consistency in the Shield.
It would be no surprise if Hughes does one day click at Test level and become the batsman he promised to be.
But, for the moment at least, he has had enough chances in the baggy green.
Australia must look beyond him to try to unearth the fresh batting talent which will be required to replace the likes of Rogers, Watson and Clarke in the coming years.