The almost-weres: A 'not quite' Australian XI

Since I first developed an interest in cricket in the late 1980s, a number of great Australian players have either missed out on a Test berth entirely due to intense competition, or had their careers cut short by injury and other factors.

I decided to honour these fallen heroes and battlers by putting together an XI that would represent Australia well if they took to the field in their prime today.

AUSTRALIA VS PAKISTAN: FULL SCOREBOARD

Matthew Elliott
Remove an overly close encounter between his knee and Mark Waugh, and Elliott may have had a long, fruitful Test career. After years of plundering interstate bowling attacks, Elliott finally got a run in the national side and was beginning to establish himself when he suffered a knee injury after a collision with batting partner Waugh.

Despite returning to the side later that year and reaching his highest Test score of 199, Elliott was arguably never the same, reinjuring his knee in following years and never quite gelling with his national teammates.

Phil Jaques
Dubbed ‘The Pro’ by teammates due to his methodical approach and penchant for accumulating high scores, Jaques was another victim of being born at the wrong time, finding himself stuck behind Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer in the openers’ queue.

While he did well after finally getting an extended run in the side following the retirement of Langer, a back injury intervened shortly thereafter, prematurely ending a great career.

Brad Hodge
Ask any Victorian cricket fan ‘who is the most unlucky batsman of the past 20 years?’ They will begin a rant about Hodge, and may mention conspiracies involving the national selection panel, Ricky Ponting and possibly the Illuminati, depending on how many beers they’ve had.

Whatever the reason for his cruelly brief Test career, Hodge can consider himself unlucky. A first class run tally of over 10,000 runs only resulted in six Tests for the nuggety batsman.

Jamie Siddons
Like most batsmen in my list, Siddons was incredibly unlucky to born at a time of great wealth in Australia’s batting stocks. After amassing over 11,000 first class runs over a 16-year career, Siddons retired with a solitary one day international to his name.

Fortunately for international cricket, Siddons progressed on to a successful career in coaching, which saw him guide Bangladesh for four years, before his resignation in 2011.

Stuart Law
Making his first class debut in the late 80s, Law was another victim of a dominant era for our national side. Amassing a huge 27,080 runs at an average of 50 across a 20-year first class career, Law was rewarded with a solitary Test appearance in 1995.

Now coaching Queensland, Law is honing the skills of a crop of exciting young batsmen, while displaying the combative nature that made him a formidable opponent throughout his playing career.

David Hussey
Now approaching the twilight of his first-class career, D-Huss is another middle-order batsman who can consider himself unlucky to have never received a baggy green. After a strong first class career in Shield and county ranks, Hussey has currently amassed 13,748 runs, at an average of 52.

Entering what is likely to be his last season with Victoria, Hussey is commencing a new role as assistant coach for the Bushrangers. Despite a strong ODI career for Australia, he appears to have lost the sibling tussle for bragging rights to older brother Michael.

Chris Hartley
While Hartley is still a few years away from retirement, he finds himself facing some stiff competition from younger opponents to replace Brad Haddin behind the stumps.

Easily the best current gloveman in the country, Hartley’s career unfortunately coincided with those of Adam Gilchrist and Brad Haddin. Would have been a ten-year keeper for most other countries.

Andy Bichel
Despite playing a handful of Tests throughout his career, Bichel is another case of ‘right place, wrong time’. A supremely fit quick who ran in hard all day, Bichel finished his first-class career with 430 wickets at an average of 23.

After a strong one-day career, Bichel was a member of the most recent national selection panel, before leaving his post in a restructure last year.

Jo Angel
A burly quick who terrorised batsmen on his home WACA ground. Despite an outstanding first-class record of 419 wickets at an average of 24, and best bowling of 6/35, Angel only received a handful of opportunities at international level. England would have paid top dollar for a bowler of his calibre in the 90s.

Mathew Inness
Considered a successor to Bruce Reid early in his career, injuries thwarted and ultimately curtailed what could have been a brilliant career. Despite these setbacks, Inness still managed to take 281 first-class wickets, at an average of 25. His best bowling figures of 7/19 demonstrate how destructive he was in his prime.

Stuart MacGill
The final member of my ‘almost-weres’ side, MacGill is perhaps an odd choice, given he managed to play 44 Tests for Australia during his career. However, the aptly named SCG MacGill deserves selection here, as he is the second best spinner Australia has produced in the last 20 years. It is safe to say he would have doubled his Test tally if his career was not played in the shadow of Shane Warne.

When an opportunity finally presented itself following Warne’s retirement, MacGill’s knees let him down, ending yet another ‘what if’ career.

That’s my XI, full of regret and missed opportunity. The most common thread in my team is perhaps the value of timing, along with a healthy dose of luck, which can separate good players from the greats in sport.

Who would you add to the list, Roarers?