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National selectors have broken the spin cycle that followed Shane Warne’s retirement, but another bedrock of Australian cricket is proving just as tricky to replace.
Against South Africa in Centurion, Nathan Lyon is playing his ninth consecutive Test on a pace-friendly pitch offering more bounce than turn.
It’s a sign of the faith the selection panel has in Lyon. He is an entrenched member of the team, and at age 26 may remain so for some time.
While Warne’s shadow no longer looms large over the Australia’s Test team, the same cannot be said of Ricky Ponting.
Ponting was a once in a generation player who offered much to the side, but above all reliability and runs at No.3.
The former skipper was at his best in the most important position in the order, a post he held until 2011 when he returned home from a tour of Sri Lanka for the birth of his child.
Shaun Marsh made a century on debut and remained at No.3 when Ponting returned for the third Test; the transition phase under new captain Michael Clarke was underway.
“It was a long-term plan of Michael’s to have Shaun move to No.3 and me move to No.4,” Ponting said shortly after the tour.
“So that wasn’t just … a one-off for that game.
“Michael sees that (line-up is) in the best interests of the team.”
Since then form and injury have conspired to make the position somewhat of a poisoned chalice.
Alex Doolan, making his debut in the first Test against the Proteas, is the 11th man to bat at first drop since that tour of Sri Lanka.
Shane Watson had a productive Ashes campaign and looked to be the long-term fit, but a calf injury stopped his run.
Now, Doolan has the chance to nail down the spot that fellow Launceston product Ponting made his own.
Like Ponting, who he worshiped as a child and batted alongside for Tasmania, he is a classy batsman capable of dispatching good balls to the boundary.
Time will tell how he fares, and one match will not define him, but the challenge could not be more immense.
He will battle the best team in the world, and the two best Test bowlers according to the ICC’s rankings.
If Doolan prospers in South Africa, the comparisons with Ponting will only grow louder.
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