Chris Rogers and Steve Smith. With 12 years between them, they represent the young and old of Australian cricket. The future, and the symbol of past Australian dominance.
Smith would have only been about 10 years old when Rogers made his debut in first class cricket, ripping out leg-spinners and playing local junior cricket in Sydney.
And now, more than 10 years since Rogers first played state cricket, he is playing at the highest level with the next big thing, Steve Smith.
It has been a strange transition for Rogers, who has returned from the depths of despair to form a formidable Test record, and a lethal opening partnership with David Warner.
Rogers and Smith, both vital members of the Australian Test team, are both the symbols of the different generations of the game.
Smith, the appointed golden boy of Australian cricket, was given a Test birth at the tender age of 21, and had the pressure heaped upon him as the search for the next Shane Warne was continuing to torment spin bowlers.
Test after Test was given to the baby-faced leggie from New South Wales, until he could no longer stand up to the pressure of Test cricket.
Rogers, however, was given the one solitary Test, and dropped from the team to make way for the returning Matthew Hayden.
As selectors went through various openers, they continually overlooked Rogers and his mammoth scores, until finally, they could ignore no longer, and under the leadership of Darren Lehmann selected him for the Ashes series of 2013, after the ill-fated Indian tour.
Smith and Rogers, however, despite their obvious age difference, style of play and difference of eras, share one vital thing in common.
Persistence.
Both were dropped from the Australian Test team unceremoniously, and forced to go away and score enormous amounts of runs to reclaim their Test spots in a relatively close period of time.
Smith, the talented blonde bombshell, is everything new about cricket in general. The talented batsman, who plays all forms of the game and can bowl a handy leg break or two, is definitely considered one of Australia’s elite batsmen.
He is one of the younger leaders of the side, and his recent stint in the IPL is proof of how good the 25-year-old will soon become.
Rogers, however, represents the past of Australian cricket. Gritty, determined and willing to play ugly and simply survive in order for runs, that is how Rogers plays.
Only playing to the longer form of the game, everything from his set up to his arm-guard screams old school about the scrawny now-adopted Victorian.
It’s funny how different these two cricketers are, as even their equipment symbolises what generations they’re from.
Smith maintains to have only a sweatband along his arm, with the now common Masuri helmet, while Rogers sticks with his trusty armguard and the old version of the Albion helmet.
Now entering the UAE, Rogers and Smith start to enter different stages of their career.
Smith, relishing against the spin attack of Pakistan, will arrive in the UAE with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Rogers, on the other hand, is fully aware that one failure will increase further speculation of his place in the Test side, simply due to his age.
As the Test against Pakistan quickly approaches, Rogers will represent the old guard and Smith will represent the new, as they’ve done ever since the first Ashes Test at Nottingham.
Through their different play styles, approach to the game, and even the equipment that they wear, Rogers and Smith will always maintain one common goal – to score runs.
Chris Rogers has done it for well over 10 years of cricket. Steve Smith will look to do the same.
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