Calamitous miss as Lucknow botch near certain run out with the game on the line
With Rajasthan needing 25 off 17, both batsmen ended up at the same end but the bowler dropped the throw from his teammate -…
Australian coach Darren Lehmann has admitted that he is not afraid to shake up his line-up for the third Test at Old Trafford in an effort to prevent a worrying trend of middle-order batting collapses.
Following a tour match against Sussex this week, Lehmann said fringe players like Ed Cowan (66 and 77 not out) and Phil Hughes (84 and 38) had not necessarily done enough to warrant selection.
They appear to be the two outsiders fighting for Chris Rogers’ place at the top of the order.
David Warner’s 193 for Australia A, Steve Smith’s unbeaten 102 in the tour match, and Usman Khawaja’s performance in the second innings at Lord’s surely secures their positions.
However, Lehmann was quick to warn that no-one was a certainty.
“Whoever we pick is ready and able to have an impact,” he said.
“We have done enough talking full stop, we have to score some runs. We can formulate an attack to get 20 wickets but we need to make runs. We’d love to keep the same six bats all the time and that may happen in this Test match, I don’t know.”
Selectors face some difficult decisions, but the top six should look like this: Watson, Rogers, Khawaja, Warner, Clarke and Smith. While Rogers has struggled so far, he is a much better fit at the top of the order than Warner because of his placid style.
The swashbuckling combination of Watson and Warner would most likely prove to be a disastrous opening pairing for Australia.
Though Khawaja has yet to prove himself at international level, he is an elegant player with a technique more suited to the English conditions than someone like Hughes.
Captain Michael Clarke’s best position is clearly at number five, where he averages 63. So that just leaves Smith, who’s already done enough with bat and ball to justify his selection until at least the end of the series.
In a must-win Test, Australia’s batsmen need to perform now or they can expect Lehmann to ring further changes.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
With Rajasthan needing 25 off 17, both batsmen ended up at the same end but the bowler dropped the throw from his teammate -…
A six-laden, 27-ball 84 from Jake Fraser-McGurk to continue his outrageous debut IPL!
Johnny Bairstow has hit his way back into form with a 45-ball century as he steered his side to a record-breaking win, easily chasing…
It seems franchise cricket has forgotten about the great battle between bat and ball. In fact, this season in the IPL there is no battle at all.
The mammoth rise of Jake Fraser-McGurk - his enormous potential and the destructive shot-making that he possesses makes him a very tempting option.
Xavier Bartlett has been permission to extend his cricketing education with a spell of T20s in England, playing in the Blast competition for Kent…