Who will replace Michael Clarke for the first Test?

With Michael Clarke reportedly out of the first Test match against India, who will Australia pick to select their most accomplished batsman?

He is Australia’s most experienced Test player, with with 107 games to his name, over 8000 Test runs at an average of over 50. It’s an imposing record for Australia’s most dominant player and captain.

So who is in the running to replace him? No one with the same credentials, but there is plenty of talent in the mix to play in Australia’s middle order.

Let’s see who’s available:

Phil Hughes

HUGHES HAS BEEN TRAGICALLY TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER BEING HIT BY A BOUNCER. FULL STORY

The perennial favourite of some, the topic of scorn for others. Phil Hughes, like Clarke himself, is a divisive cricketer for the Australian public and Roarers.

He has an amazing first class record, and despite managing three hundreds at Test level, he has an average just a tick over 30 in his 26 matches.

Many say he’s deserving of a longer run in the team and is one of the most talented batsman available. His first class figures this year don’t quite stack up at the moment, with 120 runs at 30 in his three games.

Averaging over 45 in Sheffield Shield is an impressive statistic, and could win him a berth here, particularly with the Indians not possessing as strong a pace attack as South Africa, from whom he was famously shielded by Victoria’s Rob Quiney two summers ago.

Callum Ferguson
The South Australian has been around the Australian scene for so long, it’s sometimes difficult to remember that he’s only 30 and he still doesn’t have a Test cap to his name.

He has an enviable one day record in the green and gold, averaging 41 in 30 matches. His Shield figures are more modest, with an average of a tick under 39 in 86 matches.

This year, however, has been a different proposition. He has plundered 324 runs at an average of 81 in his six innings, with his best 140 against Victoria at the Adelaide Oval 10 days ago.

Along with Joe Burns, he is the form Shield batsman in contention, and wouldn’t look out of place on the international scene, as he has proved in the past.

Alex Doolan
Recent Test discard Alex Doolan has not had a happy run of late.

He was dropped after the first Test of Australia’s tour of the United Arab Emirates for Glenn Maxwell after failing in both innings against Pakistan.

He has since had five innings in Sheffield Shield, managing just 80 runs at an average of 20. It’s not the sort of form that commands selection in the Australian team.

But he is an elegant and organised player, and is technically sound on fast pitches. He has played a lot of his cricket in difficult batting conditions in Tasmania, so should be able to handle the Gabba, which is known to do a bit on the first morning of the first day.

Whether he gets the call-up will be indicative of where he sits in the selectors’ minds. Being dismissed cheaply in the Shield today doesn’t help his cause.

Joe Burns
Arguably the form player in domestic cricket at the moment, he has been plundering runs in the Shield and earned the call-up for Ronan O’Connell’s Australian team to play in the first Test against India.

Opening the batting for Queensland, he has managed 342 runs at 54, including a mammoth 183 at the Gabba against NSW last week.

A first class average of 42 speaks to a high quality player.

Whether he’s been around enough to convince the selectors he has what it takes, or whether his patchy form, which included a century but also a string of low scores, in the one day cup will count against him remains to be seen.

Peter Hanscomb
The young Victorian wicketkeeper is surely no hope of getting the nod, but we’re including him here because he’s the leading run scorer in the Shield this year.

At just 23 years of age, Hanscomb has managed two centuries, one unbeaten, and a 96 in his three Shield outings so far this year.

This leaves him top of the pile with 348 runs at an average of 116. Wow.

He’s also spent time in the outfield for Victoria in the past in the one day format, so is no stranger to walking around without gloves.

A less than inspiring performance in the one day cup, and his relative obscurity could count against him here, but he would be a smokey for the spot.

Usman Khawaja
In sublime form during the recent one day cup, Khawaja hasn’t had the opportunity to replicate the same stuff in the Sheffield Shield arena as yet.

120, 166 and 85 are his last three scores in the one day arena, and how he goes in Queensland’s Shield game could go a long way to determining his fate.

Another one who has strong support from the crowd, but what the selectors think of him is a mystery at this stage.

Shaun Marsh
Long touted as the next big thing, 30-year-old Marsh has long been the victim of injuries and some poor decision-making at the crease.

He has all the talent, evidenced by his two centuries at Test level, one on debut and one against South Africa. But his nine games have only yielded an average of 32 – not ‘must pick’ reading by any stretch of the imagination.

Whether the West Aussie is the right man for the job will be debated long and hard, and probably will rage on after he retires, but 171 runs at over 40 in Shield this year is good reading. If he makes big runs in the Shield this week, he’s a chance.