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James Faulkner is the best first-class cricketer outside the Australian Test side. But the 23-year-old all-rounder does not have an obvious future position in the Test XI.
His bowling is his strong suit, as evidenced by his sensational first-class record of 142 wickets at 23.
Faulkner’s strike rate of 46 is phenomenal and proves he is a genuine wicket taker. Yet the perception seems to be that he is more of a support bowler than a strike weapon.
Those who matter within the Australian Test setup do not view him as a frontline quick.
There is a definite bias under the leadership of Aussie coach Darren Lehmann towards intimidating pacemen who can nudge the speed gun towards 145 kilometres per hour and beyond.
Despite his heroism and consistency in recent years, Peter Siddle was dumped for the deciding Test in South Africa largely on the basis that he was not bowling sharp enough.
Faulkner does not fit the mould of the prototype paceman currently being favoured by the Australian selectors.
While he is capable of bowling at slightly more than 140 kilometres per hour, he is more comfortable operating in the mid-130s.
Rather than bombarding the batsman with bouncers and high-velocity yorkers, Faulkner’s weapon is variety.
Faulkner can conjure subtle swing in both directions, garner movement off the pitch with his cutters, and boasts several well-disguised slower balls.
He is well-equipped to be a third quick, one capable of delivering long spells, tying up an end and breaking partnerships with his guile.
This is the role which Siddle has fulfilled admirably, yet with little fanfare. But Siddle’s career is now in jeopardy.
Over the past 18 months he has been reduced to a medium pacer and, turning 30 this year, it remains to be seen whether he can regain the extra 10 kilometres per hour the selectors seem to want from him.
Shane Watson was moved to six during the Tests against the Proteas, with the idea being that this would freshen him up to bowl more overs.
Watson’s function as a bowler is very similar to that of Siddle. The selectors may well be aiming to use him as the holding bowler, while fielding three aggressive quicks as they did in the final Test against South Africa.
Therefore, it is hard to imagine Faulkner being selected as a third paceman to complement Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris, if and when the veteran returns from knee surgery.
James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Josh Hazlewood, who starred in the Sheffield Shield final, are the kind of bowlers the Aussies will likely lean towards.
All are very tall, can rough up batsmen, and have been clocked at, or close to, 150 kilometres per hour.
Lehmann stated in the wake of the Ashes in England that Faulkner was viewed not as a specialist bowler but as the backup all-rounder for Watson.
The Tasmanian is somewhat underrated with the blade at first-class level. His most captivating feats with the bat have come in international limited overs cricket in the past six months.
However, he is a far different operator in the longest form of the game. In first-class cricket he is a circumspect batsman who has often fought patient rearguard actions for Tasmania in the Shield.
From what I have seen of him at that level, he is a better player than his career average of 31 suggests. But it cannot be ignored that he is yet to register a century.
It seems unlikely that he will be viewed as a long-term solution at six for Australia unless he can rectify that situation.
I think he has the requisite talent, technique and temperament to average 40-plus in Shield or county cricket.
But, until he does, he could remain stuck in no-man’s land – not considered lethal enough with the ball or reliable enough with the blade.
That would be a great shame, as he is an outstanding first-class player.