Phil Jaques

[Rant0r]

Originally Posted by Goughy

As he said, "a better option than Hughes and Smith"

The poor guy is in a form freefall since that injury, at one stage there was a cue of openers ready to go, now there appears to be none in form. Klinger must be kicking himself.

Originally Posted by Woodster

Jaques' form has been particularly poor for a man of his ability. Would be unfair on him, perhaps as it has been on Hughes, to be selected for Test cricket when your confidence must be pretty low. I have always regarded Jaques as one of Australia's best options since Langer retired, but he simply hasn't backed up his talent with anything like good enough consistent performances in Australia or here in England.

Chris Rogers is another genuine opener of some talent, but has been overlooked despite a succession of very good seasons. A man that knows how to build an innings, to score big runs and concentrate for very long periods of time. Had he not injured his knee earlier this year and got a few runs under his belt in the Sheffield Shield, maybe he'd have got the nod ahead of Hughes.

Unfortunately I don't think he would have. Hughes is the next great white hope

[Woodster]

Originally Posted by Rant0r

Unfortunately I don't think he would have. Hughes is the next great white hope

Yes but the timing would have suited a batsman of experience, oodles and oodles of proven calibre behind him in the form of thousands of first-class runs, even if it was a short-term measure till Katich returns and Hughes could have attempted to find some form.

It wasn't to be.

[Rant0r]

Rogers time was really when he debuted. Unfortunately they went for Jaques long term, and by the time Jaques was out of the team, the selectors (justifiably so) wanted Katich in the team in any position due to weight of domestic runs. Then of course Hughes came along. Sadly so, Rogers is an outstanding opening batsman with a watertight technique and we will probably never know how good he could have been, or how valuable he would have been in the last 12 months in particular.