Prince EWS
Global Moderator
Every third post I read in any thread about the Australian team, I see comments about this guy. Comments suggesting Langer will step aside to unleash this great talent, or that one of Hayden or Langer has to be dropped for him, or that he is automatic selection for the CB series. This compounds what was essentially a "Get NSW's best batsman into the Australian team" campaign by the Daily/Sunday Telegraph in Sydney who harp on about this player in nearly every article.
Now I'm not saying he isn't a good prospect - because he clearly is based on his domestic form last season and the season before in both Australia and England. But really, there is a lot still to be proven. He is far from orthodox - his batting technique could very well be picked to pieces at international level by quality bowlers, and his unorthodoxy makes him susceptible to extended periods of shoddy form.
His Pura Cup (Australian first class comp) scores this season:
163
79
3
0
44
0
7
0
57
2
Great start in that first match, but he's been very, very average since then.
Overall: 355 runs @ 35.50
Ranked 27th this season in terms of average.
Ford Ranger Cup (Australian one day comp) scores this season:
31
6
75
1
33
10
3
3
Only one score of note in the one dayers all summer.
Overall: 162 runs @ 20.25
Ranked 57th this season in terms of average.
Now again, I'm not saying this player should be discared forever - he clearly is a great prospect based on his previous seasons - I'm merely saying that the calls for him to displace one of Australia's most successful openers immediately, or even that he is an automatic pick for when Langer finally does hang up the gloves, are a bit unfounded.
Now I'm not saying he isn't a good prospect - because he clearly is based on his domestic form last season and the season before in both Australia and England. But really, there is a lot still to be proven. He is far from orthodox - his batting technique could very well be picked to pieces at international level by quality bowlers, and his unorthodoxy makes him susceptible to extended periods of shoddy form.
His Pura Cup (Australian first class comp) scores this season:
163
79
3
0
44
0
7
0
57
2
Great start in that first match, but he's been very, very average since then.
Overall: 355 runs @ 35.50
Ranked 27th this season in terms of average.
Ford Ranger Cup (Australian one day comp) scores this season:
31
6
75
1
33
10
3
3
Only one score of note in the one dayers all summer.
Overall: 162 runs @ 20.25
Ranked 57th this season in terms of average.
Now again, I'm not saying this player should be discared forever - he clearly is a great prospect based on his previous seasons - I'm merely saying that the calls for him to displace one of Australia's most successful openers immediately, or even that he is an automatic pick for when Langer finally does hang up the gloves, are a bit unfounded.