James Faulkner is not the dominant ODI batsman he once was, but his bowling in the 50-over format has quietly improved.
Since the start of 2015, Faulkner has taken 46 wickets from 30 matches. In that time, only four bowlers worldwide have taken more ODI wickets – Mitchell Starc (71 from 33 matches), Imran Tahir (64 from 37), Trent Boult (63 from 31) and Adil Rashid (48 from 33).
What’s more, out of the top 15 wicket takers in the world over that period, only four had a better average than Faulkner’s 26.34.
The only bowlers with lower averages during that time are all genuine stars of the ODI format – Starc, Boult, Tahir and Kagiso Rabada.
Yet, Faulkner’s figures would be significantly more impressive if it weren’t for his struggles against India.
Perhaps because of his heavy exposure to Indian players via years of playing IPL, Indian batsmen love facing Faulkner. In his nine ODIs against them over that period he has taken nine wickets at 46, compared to 37 wickets at 21 against all other teams.
The key to Faulkner’s bowling with the white ball is his intelligence.
He does not possess unsettling speed, sharp bounce or bewildering swing. Instead, he undoes batsmen with his clever variations. Most famously Faulkner has a fantastic change of pace.
His back-of-the-hand slower ball has made a fool of many batsmen, particularly in the latter stages of ODIs when they are looking to play big shots. Yet, Faulkner also has a less celebrated but equally effective off-break style slower ball.
It is by learning to read these changeup deliveries from Faulkner’s hand that the Indian batsmen seem to have mastered coping with the Australian all-rounder. Fortunately, those deliveries continue to mystify batsmen from every other country.
But Faulkner’s success is not built entirely on changes of pace.
He’s also adept at subtle alterations, such as changing his angle on the crease. Quite commonly, when bowling to right handers, you will see him bowl from close to the umpire, targeting the stumps and cramping the batsmen for room.
Then he’ll deliver from a much wider angle on the crease and float one up outside off. The batsman, having previously been allowed no space to free his arms, is suckered into a drive without factoring in the much greater angle across him.
This is how Faulkner dismissed Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez caught behind in the first ODI at Brisbane.
The Tasmanian is a cunning cricketer. This is also what helped him develop a reputation as a fantastic finisher with the blade in ODIs.
It wasn’t just his scorching power which made him effective in this role, but also his calm and calculated demeanour.
Faulkner picked the right times to attack certain bowlers and aim for particular areas of the ground.
Yet as his bowling has improved over the past two years, Faulkner’s impact with the bat has waned significantly.
Since the start of 2015, Faulkner has made only 275 runs at an average of 23, compared to 670 runs at 45 prior to that period.
While he is offering great value with the ball, Australia would dearly love Faulkner to rediscover his dynamism with the bat in time for the upcoming Champions Trophy.
Rob
Guest
Great stuff Michael. Those are the interesting stats that say a lot about a player. For me Warner, M.Marsh and Khawaja are great players that cash in when the pitch is flat or the bowling attack are a little off their lines. I just have a gut feel they struggle to stand up when the going is tough. I suppose that goes for most players but Smith, Faulkner, Maxwell, Bevan, S.Waugh, Border, Hussey and Gilchrist just thrived under the pressure many times. Merry Hughes would always try his guts out and never backed down even if he was up against it.
boxingkoala
Roar Rookie
Excellent analysis Michael Keeffe. And this folks is how you should read statistics. A stat only means so much i you don't look at the "stats within the stats"
Andy Hill
Roar Pro
To be fair to the selectors, Faulkner's bowling has been pretty ordinary in FC matches over the past few seasons (with admitedly few opportunities given his ODI commitments). Mitch Marsh has better recent FC bowling figures.
Michael Keeffe
Roar Guru
Faulkner's last 50 was against England in Feb 2015. Since then Faulkner has played 25 ODI's for Australia and has batted on 18 occasions. He was not out in 8 of those innings. For most of his innings he bats at 8 and comes in with a handful of overs left. He had one definite chance to make a 50 which was against NZ when he made 36 and Australia was dismissed for 148. There were two half chances where if he remained not out and batted at a SR of 150+ he might have made a 50. The rest of his innings he has come in with not enough balls left to get close to 50 and is therefore is losing his wicket in the last few overs when they are throwing their bat at everything. I'd say that makes him a good team player not worried about protecting his average. I think we're all being a bit harsh on his so called "batting slump".
Ozibatla
Guest
Sorry Adrian but Faulkners batting has changed... and not for the better. His avg has dropped from nearly 50 to mid 30s. And I may be wrong but its gotta be nearly 2 years since his last odi fifty.
Adrian
Guest
Faulkner is the finisher with the bat, and that hasn't changed. What's changed is that he's now bowling better. He has never been the setter of totals. That's more of a Steve Smith thing to do. His batting averages have gone down slightly because Australia are batting first more often.
Michael Keeffe
Roar Guru
Interesting stats here but when Australia bats first Faulkner averages 20 at a strike rate of 92 and has only made one half century. When Australia bats second he averages 77 at a strike rate of 120 with 3 half centuries and one hundred. He is not out 13 times from 20 innings whenever we bat second and he gets a bat. So really he's the finisher when we're chasing but not setting a total. I think it's also hard to judge Faulkner's batting too critically as his primary batting position is number 8. He's batted 47 times out of his 63 ODI's and the majority of the time comes in during the last 10 overs of the innings. Considering those things 275 @ 23 is pretty good for a No. 8 just maybe not at his previously very high standard. Also not sure where those stats came from but I have Faulkner as making 332 at 27.66 since the start of 2015 and at a strike rate of 102. So pretty good figures too for a number 8.
BurgyGreen
Guest
Marsh is an excellent ODI player. Not in the greatest form right now but his career record is very good.
Adrian
Guest
Faulkner's "finishing" stats are probably better than Bevan's, so good call.
BurgyGreen
Guest
Ben Dunk would be a real weapon. Bat him at 6, M. Marsh at 7.
jammel
Guest
Noted Ronan - Wade does get a bad wrap. He has been scoring runs and doing well in ODIs for a couple of years now. My XI with Handscomb is for the future. What about Ben Dunk as wk for Australia in ODIs? Or Tim Paine getting another crack?
Mike Dugg
Guest
Mitch Marsh should be dropped from all international duties until he proves himself both in results as well as being free of injuries. Faulkner has guts and performs on the big stage. He batted well in county cricket and also this shield season. I'd have him in the test side every day of the week over Marsh and Cartwright.
Drew
Roar Rookie
I like the look of that side. it'll be interesting to see how Lynn and Head go over the next few years. They, along with Wade look a little streaky and possibly unsuited to English conditions (thinking about the 2019 WC in the UK).
Basil
Guest
Sniper
Ozibatla
Guest
That wont deter the Wade haters Ronan. Im no fan of him but in odi cricket his batting has been solid lately. So he does deserve to stay in the interim due to runs on the board if nothing else
jameswm
Roar Guru
When you make such accurate and cogent comments, you deserve support.
The Bush
Roar Guru
I went through Faulkner's batting list the other day and noticed this as well. As with yourself, don't want to be too hard on the bloke, coming in at number 8. But as others have pointed out, he had this purple patch in late 2013 against India/England where he scored a century and two fifties. Other than that, he's scored only two other fifties in his entire career and none since Feb 15.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Wade has been in fantastic form in ODIs no way I'd be dropping him for Handscomb. From memory Wade has averaged 41 with the bat from his last 16 or 17 games.
Basil
Guest
Im flattered James, my own personal sniper... If its Faulkner or Marsh in a crisis, I know who I'd pick.
jammel
Guest
Yep Drew - I like the idea of Handscomb as ODI wk. Dropping Wade in ODIs would be harsh, as he's done well. He did well in the world cup too. But Handscomb would be a good guy for the middle overs working in around, and then putting down the accelerator. This would mean MMarsh wouldn't need to be in the top six. 1Warner 2Khawaja 3Smith* 4Lynn 5Maxwell 6Handscomb(+) 7MMarsh 8Faulkner 9Starc 10Zampa (or Cummins) 11Hazlewood MMarsh should be at #7 or #8 in ODIs. I like Maxwell at #5 most in ODIs. Provided that he has a "finisher" at six below him - who can help rebuild an innings a la Bevan/MHussey/Bailey, etc.