Hughes, Khawaja should learn from Ponting - Inverarity

[firstlane]

I really enjoyed reading this article.So I thought I would share it with you guys. It talks about batting in partnerships and players' reactions after getting dropped. The line I loved most is- "If he's almost ready and he's still getting his game sorted, to bring him back to me is the wrong decision."

Here t is:
Phil Hughes and Usman Khawaja must seek to emulate the energy and drive of the seemingly ageless Ricky Ponting before they can be considered ready for a return to Australia's Test team, national selector John Inverarity has said.

Watching Ponting race around the field for Tasmania at Adelaide Oval last week, Inverarity's fellow selector Rod Marsh remarked on the 37-year-old's buzzing countenance, undimmed by a career that has lasted 20 years. It is an example Inverarity said Hughes and Khawaja had to follow on their path back to international cricket. Neither are considered strong fielders.

"Rod Marsh and I were watching in Adelaide and Rod said 'just look at him', of course he was pointing to Ricky Ponting," Inverarity said. "He was running around and throwing left hand and right hand. Khawaja and Hughes need to learn that."

http://www.espncricinfo.com/australi...ry/586873.html

[Tiger444]

Thanks for sharing firstlane. I became a fan of Hughes when I first saw how he smashed Steyn and co. What great innings those were and also at the age of 19. I thought the guy would be 1 of the top young international players now. Unfortunately, the coaches tinkered with Hughes's technique and style and he just hasn't been the same since. He was unorthodox but if it was working for him then why change it? Well I hope that he can become a stronger player now after going through a lot. I still believe that he'll be a great player for Australia when he comes back.

As for Khawaja, I wasn't nearly as impressed with him as I was with Hughes. He never looked in control against the bowling he was facing which shows that maybe he's not quite ready yet for the big leagues. I still feel he's 1 of the most promising Australian players.

It would be great for Khawaja and Hughes to turn out as good international batsmen because they're fun to watch and would be a shame for them to go to waste.

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[Gowza]

see, they're expected to improve before returning and they probably won't be selected until they do, but the thing is even if they haven't improved too much yet you know they want to and they're working on it and it will come.

hughes, i to expected him to be one of the best by now, coaches and media messed with his head and technique, he's still scoring a lot of runs though so can't be far off from a recall.

khawaja i agree didn't look that great in the international arena but seeing him play in domestics he looks like a truly class player, everyone new he'd get a call sooner or later, most people saw it coming for awhile (a couple of years) and were waiting for it to happen so i've no doubt he'll get there but he needs to work for it.

[firstlane]

Hughes has his numbers from early days to back him up but for Khawaja I was impressed with his opening innings in international cricket. He showed no signs of nerves, played with straight, gave no chances. He only scored 37 in that innings but he looked assuring when he was in the crease. Chanel Nine commentators Mark Taylor, Ian Healy and Michael Slater were full of praise for him. He was only to do better from that point. He somewhat did but inconsistently, played an important knock of 60+ in that series drawing 2nd test against South Africa before being dropped. I think selectors were not so happy with other aspects of his game namely fielding.

However, the interesting part of the article was how the selectors were monitoring the efforts of dropped players and also letting them know through discussions in the media.

[Gowza]

I promise you those discussions were not just through the media, the selectors and other importants will have had personal discussions with them and they will be ongoing discussions, that's generally how they do it in the Aussie structure.

[firstlane]

Yes I guess specially after the Argus review. Ricky Ponting has always been vocal about communication between the players and selectors and finally the captain has been made a member of the selection panel. The appointment of Inverarity has also brought new dynamics as it seems.

[Gowza]

Originally Posted by firstlane
Yes I guess specially after the Argus review. Ricky Ponting has always been vocal about communication between the players and selectors and finally the captain has been made a member of the selection panel. The appointment of Inverarity has also brought new dynamics as it seems.

yes communication is very prominent in aussie cricket, young prospects as well and those in the team and those on the fringes (whether they've been in the team before or not) have generally had strong communications with selectors and management and senior players. it's a great way to keep a player in the loop, keep them motivated, let them know where they need to improve and talk to them both as friends and professionals. that type of relationship is strong in australian cricket and imo it's a huge benefit to players trying to improve. basically every player is supported, and the players not quite in the mind of the national selectors, well the same sort of relationships occur between players and state selectors/boards.

as far as the captain being part of the selection panel, i see why they are doing it but i think it can potentially create a heap of issues. think about it a lot of players are friends and the captain selecting someone else over a friend puts pressure on that relationship, in turn a captain selecting a friend when he shouldn't be also creates some problems. imagine if shane watson was captain and a selector atm, he came out and said he backs haddin to keep for the tests coming up, wade has been the aussie keeper for the last few months, even with watson not being the captain/selector it could create tension between himself, wade and friends of theirs/the other players.

[firstlane]

Well it wouldn't have been much unfair comparing to what happened with Katich. He was dropped although was the highest run scorer so far in that year as an opener, because he had issues with Clarke.
As for Haddin and Wade the selectors are still weighing up Haddin's experience vs Wade's form. But it will come to their current form eventually. Haddin wouldn't come in the contention if he didn't score that century in the opening Shield game. if Wade scores a ton while Haddin is in SA he will be ahead in the race again. Haddin's plus point is he is a far more attacking batsman than Wade when in form and a dressing room favourite. My personal favourite is Paine though. Just hoping he gets a good season this year and come back in the contention.

[Gowza]

my point is players commenting about other players selection just opens a door that can create a whole lot of tension and drama. but as far as haddin being more attacking than wade i'm surprised you say that because wade can really smash the ball, imo he can do it better than haddin, actually i'd say haddin is a more classical batsman than wade but they are both stroke makes and can both score very briskly when in form and in the mood. age should be a factor, haddin is 35 in a few days, they should be grooming wade from this point imo, i honestly believe you lose nothing by selecting wade over haddin, the plus is that wade has much more playing time left than haddin.

[Tiger444]

This is where our cricket is so far behind compared to Australia. Look at how active the selectors are with these players on the fringes. If the selectors are consistently talking with the players, then the players know exactly where they stand. In our cricket, on the other hand, once the players are on the fringes, it seems they don't have a good handle of where they stand because our selectors don't say why they ended up dropping the respective players. It's really important for our selectors to continue talking to our players so that they know exactly where they stand.

[firstlane]

The decision to pick Wade over Haddin was not a straight forward one. Haddin has already proven himself as a good tactician and a far more attacking batsman.

Haddins strike rate:
Test- 57.63
ODI- 81.81
T20- 110.32

Wade's strike rate:
Test- 47.82
ODI- 68.85
T20- 109.33

I guess age didn't help Haddin's case. There is an interesting article on Cricinfo about the selection decision:

" Haddin remains a strong chance of going to England as the back-up wicketkeeper and a senior member of the touring squad. His experience of England and personal success on the 2009 tour would be a useful asset to the tourists, especially given some of Wade's struggles while taking the gloves in the 4-0 ODI series defeat Australia suffered in June and July. Wicketkeeping in England requires an awareness of certain subtleties, like the ball's tendency to move in the air after it has passed the bat, and Haddin adapted far better to them on his visits to the other side of the world than Wade did this year. Even if Wade retains the gloves throughout the tour, Haddin's advice and intensity as a training partner would be highly useful."

http://www.espncricinfo.com/australi...ry/588653.html