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Opinion
It’s always a stress when a champion retires, especially when that champion is hard to replace. How do you substitute Shane Warne, for instance?
Or Glenn McGrath, or Adam Gilchrist, or Don Bradman, or Greg Chappell, or Meg Lanning?
Well, the thing about stress is that it can cause bad decision-making. I hope we don’t go through that with David Warner.
Warner is one of Australia’s all-time greatest Test openers, a genius on southern hemisphere pitches, absolutely fine north of the equator. His stats are amazing but even they don’t tell the whole story. I remember watching him at the Gabba in 2020-21 and while it was Travis Head who made hay with his 152, it was Warner’s opening knock of 94 that set it all up.
In white-ball cricket, of course, Warner is an immortal.
So, I get the prospect of replacing him is scary, especially as there’s no obvious heir apparent, not with Will Pucovski seemingly ruled out of contention.
There are three frontrunners, apparently: Matt Renshaw, Marcus Harris, and Cameron Bancroft. All have been picked in the Australia A side. All have Test experience. All have done well and not so well. All have had quite a few chances – so many that it must make players like Glenn Maxwell have a little sigh.
Matt Renshaw of Australia walks off after he was dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja of India. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
People will have their favourites among these three, most likely depending on what state they come from. And the Australia A game is seemingly going to be a “bat off” to see who will partner Usman Khawaja.
My favorite?
None of them.
Sorry. I can’t excited about any of the three. Renshaw has been dealt with unfairly in the past but not so much now. I mean, I hope he proves me wrong, but he’s had his chances since then, domestically and internationally.
We should think about promoting Marnus Labuschagne. His Test form hasn’t dropped off so much as adjusted to a level more in line with his first class ability. Which, since that is mid-40s, is absolutely fine. And No.3 to opener isn’t much of a jump. Except when it is.
No.6 to opener can be a jump. Except when it isn’t.
That’s the thing about opening. Some batters are career openers (Geoff Boycott, Matthew Hayden) but others weren’t. You can never really tell.
Bob Simpson didn’t start out as an opener. Neither did Geoff Marsh, or David Boon, or Simon Katich or Shane Watson. You don’t have to go to Openers University. First class experience can be useful but isn’t essential.
What you do need, it seems, are the right technique, the right temperament – and the right partner.
Of all the “marriages” in a cricket side (bowler-keeper, captain-vice captain, spinner-keeper, captain-coach), one of the most important is that between opening partners.
Mark Taylor, great a player as he was, only really thrived as an opener when partnered with Geoff Marsh and Michael Slater; he didn’t do so well with Matthew Elliott and Hayden.
Shane Watson flourished with Simon Katich but struggled without him. Some excellent openers (such as Bruce Laird) never seemed to find Mr Right. Conversely, other openers seemed fine whoever they played with (like Warner).
And here’s the thing… no one knows.
You can’t predict how openers will work. Best laid plans get thrown out the window.
Everyone expected Mark Taylor’s partner in the 1993 Ashes would be Matt Hayden but then Slater swooped in. Everyone thought Slater and Hayden would be a long-term marriage but Slater imploded and then in came Langer and he and Hayden became a legendary romance.
Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden. (Photo by Hamish Blair/Getty Images)
Watson was envisioned as a middle order batter but got the chance to open in 2009 as a Hail Mary pitch because of his bowling… and unexpectedly thrived due to Katich and not having to wait to go out to bat.
Further back, Geoff Marsh and David Boon became an all-time great opening combination in 1985-86 – but only after Australia had experimented over the previous two years with Wessels-Phillips, Smith-Wessels, Smith-Wood, Phillips-Ritchie, Phillips-Smith, Phillips-Matthews, Wessels-Dyson, Wood-Dyson, Hilditch-Wood, Wessels-Hilditch, Hilditch-Matthews, Phillips-Kerr, and Phillips-Boon.
I admit it’s low-hanging fruit to mock mid-’80s Australian cricket selections but one can never be reminded too many times that Greg Matthews opened the batting for Australia in two Test matches.
So, what am I saying?
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It’s this – don’t stress too much about who is going to replace Warner. Because (a) you can’t, not really, he was a unicorn, and (b) you can’t pick it when it comes to openers.
I’d like them to give Marnus a go, but I could be wrong. Peter Handscomb should try opening for Victoria, to see how he goes in that position, but I could be wrong about that, too. I don’t think it’s worth trying Travis Head (ODIs yes, Tests no) but, look, I could be wrong about that.
All I know is I want to have a top six where batters average at least 39 in first class cricket. Aaron Hardie yes, Mitch Marsh no. (Yes, he got that century, but he was overdue. He’s done it before. And reverted to type before. Anyway, this column isn’t about him.)
Just ask Usman who he’d like to open with out of that bunch and see how it goes.
Oh, and P.S., pick Maxwell.
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