Future Australian Test Prospects

[Gough]

Sigh...

Injury dashes Sutherland's county plans, Ashes hopes

Will Sutherland has been ruled out of a county stint after being diagnosed with a back stress fracture following the Sheffield Shield final

www.cricket.com.au

 

[9874123]

Sorry for the untimely bump considering it's the offseason for most of youngsters not playing County, but I've been thinking how we have pretty much skipped a generation of top class batsmen. Who do we have that we could rely on between Marnus/Head and Green? Obviously Pucovski was one but it seems like we will largely miss out on the best of his talent, but even he isn't that much older than Green. It's a 5-6 gap that should be full of players right in their prime years but who is even the best in that group? Tim Ward? Not exactly inspiring.

Its probably well know to all of you who follow cricket more closely than me, but its just dawned on me that we might be in for some lean years given the age of most of our test batsmen.

People seem to be optimistic about the really young blokes like Wylie, Kellaway and Fraser-McGurk but it'll be years before they're ready to play tests. My question is are they even that good, or are they just young enough that they could be anything?

 

[JackOutback]

Sorry for the untimely bump considering it's the offseason for most of youngsters not playing County, but I've been thinking how we have pretty much skipped a generation of top class batsmen. Who do we have that we could rely on between Marnus/Head and Green? Obviously Pucovski was one but it seems like we will largely miss out on the best of his talent, but even he isn't that much older than Green. It's a 5-6 gap that should be full of players right in their prime years but who is even the best in that group? Tim Ward? Not exactly inspiring.

Its probably well know to all of you who follow cricket more closely than me, but its just dawned on me that we might be in for some lean years given the age of most of our test batsmen.

People seem to be optimistic about the really young blokes like Wylie, Kellaway and Fraser-McGurk but it'll be years before they're ready to play tests. My question is are they even that good, or are they just young enough that they could be anything?

I'm not sure we've 'skipped a generation' as such; there are only six batting positions available in the country, so if three are taken by experienced players like Smith, Warner and Khawaja, then you are only looking for three bats across the nation. Labuschagne and Head fit exactly into the generation you are describing with Green falling into the very young category.

If you are looking to see who is in that same generation as Marnus and Travis, I guess we only need to look at the reserve batsmen and Australia A teams, which means we are looking at the likes of Harris, Renshaw, Bancroft, Handscomb, Hardie. It's certainly not as strong as in times past and guys like Burns, Patterson, Silk and co didn't come on as hoped. But as Khawaja has shown, some players get better with experience and it's entirely possible guys like Renshaw and Handscomb hold up a spot until the next generation come through.

 

[1990crow]

I'm not sure we've 'skipped a generation' as such; there are only six batting positions available in the country, so if three are taken by experienced players like Smith, Warner and Khawaja, then you are only looking for three bats across the nation. Labuschagne and Head fit exactly into the generation you are describing with Green falling into the very young category.

If you are looking to see who is in that same generation as Marnus and Travis, I guess we only need to look at the reserve batsmen and Australia A teams, which means we are looking at the likes of Harris, Renshaw, Bancroft, Handscomb, Hardie. It's certainly not as strong as in times past and guys like Burns, Patterson, Silk and co didn't come on as hoped. But as Khawaja has shown, some players get better with experience and it's entirely possible guys like Renshaw and Handscomb hold up a spot until the next generation come through.

Smith is the best since Bradman. Hes more than a generational talent.
Labuschagne is basically the generational bat talent - averaging above 50 proves it.

Head is trending that way too anyway.
Green should improve over time, not sure he will reach 50 average, maybe 40.

Pucovski I dont think is finished. Openers will be the sides next targets.

I might be biased but Daniel Drew is one to watch from the Redbacks.

 

[Kwality]

I'm not sure we've 'skipped a generation' as such; there are only six batting positions available in the country, so if three are taken by experienced players like Smith, Warner and Khawaja, then you are only looking for three bats across the nation. Labuschagne and Head fit exactly into the generation you are describing with Green falling into the very young category.

If you are looking to see who is in that same generation as Marnus and Travis, I guess we only need to look at the reserve batsmen and Australia A teams, which means we are looking at the likes of Harris, Renshaw, Bancroft, Handscomb, Hardie. It's certainly not as strong as in times past and guys like Burns, Patterson, Silk and co didn't come on as hoped. But as Khawaja has shown, some players get better with experience and it's entirely possible guys like Renshaw and Handscomb hold up a spot until the next generation come through.

The money in the game ensures players hang on & Test Cricket is not the pinnacle it was, e.g Khwaja made his first class debut (NSW) in 2008.
Khawaja was awarded Player of the Australian Under-19 Championship in 2005 and also played for Australia in the 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka as an opening batsman.
Test debut in 2011.

Usman Khawaja - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org