Young quicks James Pattinson and Pat Cummins have shown enough at Test level to suggest they can be superstars. But the physically fragile pair may not exploit their sublime gifts if they are rushed.
The Australian selectors made the right call by overlooking both for the 17-man Test squad for the tours against the West Indies and England announced last week.
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They would have been tempted to include at least one of the pacemen, and many Australian cricket followers have suggested they should have.
However, even though Pattinson was not included in the squad, due to yet another injury, the selectors stated that he would be considered for a late call-up for the Ashes, which starts in July.
The 24-year-old is currently in recovery mode after he hurt his left hamstring while playing for Victoria in the recent Sheffield Shield final.
Pattinson had only just returned to shield cricket after being sidelined with an injury to the same hamstring. His body has betrayed him time and again over his career.
He has been in and out of the game regularly since suffering stress fractures in his back during Australia’s last tour of England in 2013. His recovery from that injury was bumpy and he did not play Tests for eight months.
Pattinson made his return in the third Test against South Africa in March last year and helped Australia secure a rousing series win. But it came at a hefty price as he hurt his back once again.
Pattinson made another comeback this summer and was very carefully managed by Victoria and his Big Bash League franchise the Melbourne Renegades. Yet in the space of three Sheffield Shield matches, during which his workload was lower than usual, he managed to break down twice.
If his body cannot handle a gentle workload in domestic cricket, how would it deal with the stress of bowling 40 to 50 overs a match in back-to-back Ashes Tests?
It would be a hasty decision to try to include him for the Ashes, which are only three months away.
In the last Ashes in England, Pattinson was not fully fit when the series started. He looked a weak imitation of his potent self, and he struggled for impact with his pace down by about 10 kilometres an hour across the two Tests he played before getting injured.
It’s not hard to see why the Australian selectors are enamoured with Pattinson. Fit and in-form he is a ballistic weapon. Capable of swinging the ball late at up to 153kmh, Pattinson is a truly intimidating strike bowler.
After Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson are gone, he could be the leader of Australia’s attack for many years. If, that is, he is handled properly.
Cummins is in the same boat. The manner in which he roughed up South Africa as an 18-year-old on Test debut shocked the cricketing world. It was an extraordinary exhibition of pace, swing, accuracy and guile, of which any paceman would be fiercely proud, let alone a teenager.
But that was three-and-a-half years ago. Since then Cummins has been beset by injuries, a common story for young bowlers who contort their body to allow them to propel the ball at express speeds.
In that time, he has played just two first-class matches. That’s right, two matches since November 2011. The last time he rolled his arm over in anything but a T20 or 50-over match was 20 months ago.
It is inexplicable that his name continually is linked to the Test team when it’s been eons since he even played a shield game for his State.
Until he can string together a solid sequence of first-class matches, and perform well in those contests, Cummins should be off the agenda. His growing body should be left to develop to the point where it can withstand the rigours of long-form cricket.
Australia have two gems in Cummins and Pattinson. Wisely managed they can win dozens of games for their country. But rush them and we could witness a terrible waste of talent.
Sanjay Poojar
Guest
Yadav is best pacer bowler Mark my words. Sanjay
dan ced
Guest
Behrendorff injury came at the wrong time, he made Cummins look ordinary playing alongside him for PM's XI. I was hoping he'd get a look in. Oh well, he's still young. Maybe he'll be right for the Ashes?
Don Freo
Guest
There is a Tasmanian quick and three West Australian quicks with equal claims in a few years. NCN and Behrendorff are ready now.
Jason Emms
Roar Rookie
Totally agree that it is unwise to rush these two into the test side. It is an easier decision as it is not really needed at present making it possible to really manage them with kid gloves. They both need to demonstrate that they can bowl in 4 day cricket consistently for a while before being considered for test cricket. Forget about worrying if they can bowl four 1 over spells in 20/20 or 10 overs in one dayers, get them plugging away in whites. Not only will it help fitness but they will learn a lot. With the amount of flat decks around, learning about bowling to a plan and being patient will serve them well in the highest format.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Cummins is in the Australia A squad, so he'll be playing 4 day cricket there.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
I don't think that's the argument. I think the argument here is simply that it would be foolish to play them in test cricket without having had enough cricket under their belts. If Cummins had missed the WC squad and played the whole second half of the shield season, bowling well and taking wickets, then he might have been considered, but in his case CA seem to have a really definite plan that involved only white ball cricket in the summer and then start him playing first class cricket with the Australia A side as he's been selected there. He's not ready for test cricket, not because he's too young and raw, but because he hasn't even played a single first class match in almost 2 years.
jameswm
Guest
Hey if he averages 55 for 2 seasons in Shield cricket, maybe he will. Or MMarsh.
Nick
Roar Guru
I really don't know if you can say that about Clarke. He just proved everyone wrong, came back, injury free and top scored for his team in the world cup. Otherwise, I agree with you.
Perry Bridge
Guest
Maxwell might be batting number 5. (I only say half in jest).
jameswm
Guest
In 3 years, Patto, Starc and Hazlewood is a heck of a bowliong lineup. Swing, bounce and speed, all 3 of them. Cummins as the backup spearhead, Bird as the backup stock bowler. And potentially, Faulkner batting at 7 (Nevill at 6) as the 4th seamer. Wow, what a bowling lineup. Lyon could have 250 test wickets under his belt by then, Maxwell might be a legitimate FC bowler, and Agar has already come on a lot. Going back to the Faulkner topic though, can we live with Faulkner instead of MMarsh (weakening our batting) if our batting lineup is like this? 6. Nevill - actually as good a bat as Marsh, in fact probably better 7. Faulkner - ok - not as good as Nevill or Haddin, but not that far off 8. Starc - good batsman, better than most test no.8s. Averages 30 in tests with 4 50s 9. Pattinson - solid batsman, better than most test no.9s. Also averages 30 in tests. 10. Lyon - half decent bat, but can't really bat higher than 10. 11. Hazlewood - not a bunny, but so so If Maxwell or Agar was our best spinner, then picking Faulkner as the 4th quick would definitely work. However, Lyon will continue to be picked whilst he is our best spinner.
Worlds Biggest
Guest
Australia are in the fortunate position where they don't need to rush selecting Patto or Cummins. It was good to see Cummins get through the ODI season. I'd like to see him play County Cricket and then Shield to see how he holds up in the longer format. Patto is such a talent but always injured.
Bearfax
Guest
The way I see it is that if you have a group of outstanding junior talent, then you need to get them playing in tests to give them the experience so they can move to the next level. Injuries will happen but that's just part of the game. In my mind you should play your top team against top tier opposition such as England, India, South Africa or whoever is near the top at a particular time. But against others such as NZ, Sri Lanka, West Indies (at this time) etc, you experiment by giving your young bucks a chance. That's what should have happened in the WI tour. Save your best for England sure but give the young bucks experience against the 2nd tier teams. I find the argument that you should always play your A team archaic and based on cricket 20 years ago. These days it would prolong the life of your cricketers by keeping them fresh for the big matches because there is so much other cricket they are involved in and it makes no sense to burn them out or risk injury through overplaying them. Give the young bucks a taste. They'll improve quicker.
Sideline Comm.
Guest
I can understand them trying to rush Patto back if we didn't have backups, but with Starc, Siddle (who thoroughly out-played him in the shield) and even Faulkner, we don't need to rush him as a replacement to Johnson, Harris, Hazelwood (who I think our front line Ashes attack will be unless Starc has a blinder in the Windies tests).
Tom Cahill
Guest
Injuries early on seem to be a common thread with fast bowlers, I'll be interested to see how Pattinson combats his chronic breakdowns.
Harvey Wilson
Roar Rookie
It always happens and with all players. They rush them all back too quick. Watson could have been managed better and not be injured as much, Clarke as well. Its all about the green these days.