Australian all-rounder James Faulkner is hopeful that the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka will help him rediscover the form that once saw him being regarded as a vital member of the Australian limited overs setup. With all-rounder Mitchell Marsh being rested for the five-match series, Faulkner is keen to make amends and reclaim the position as the team’s premier all-rounder, albeit on a temporary basis.
It has been a worrying 18 months or so for Faulkner who was basking in glory at the end of the 2015 World Cup final in which he picked up the Man-of-the-Match award with a three-wicket haul. So crucial was Faulkner to the side that he was picked for the tournament despite it being known that he would miss the first part of the event due to injury and he certainly justified the faith with his performance in the final.
However, disciplinary issues and a dip in form has seen others like Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and Moises Henriques stake their claim as the team’s top all-rounders in the shorter formats of the game. With Marsh being rested for the limited-overs leg of the Sri Lanka tour and Maxwell not being considered for selection after his own poor run of form, Faulkner now has the chance to make amends and he is hoping to do just that.
"A bit of opportunity, a bit of time to freshen up as well,” Faulkner said when asked how he has been preparing himself for a comeback to the national side. "I spent last month getting some strength back in my body so a little bit of a mixture of everything. A bit of variation in my bowling, and I’m trying to hit a few different areas with my batting – more so against spin. This series hasn’t started yet but we’ll see if it all pays off."
After the embarrassing 3-0 whitewash suffered at the hands of the hosts in the Test series, Faulkner admits that batting against spin in the subcontinent pitches is a challenge in itself that requires specific adjustments to be made in the way batsmen approach their innings. Faulkner, who shined with the bat during the 2013 ODI series in India against the hosts, is hopeful that he can contribute with the bat and ball to ensure that he can find himself back in the scheme of things on a permanent basis.
"I think all the players that have been successful on the subcontinent, they all sweep, So I’m trying to change things and see what I can and can’t do,” he said. "It obviously depends on the surface a lot as well, whether it’s spinning big or - if it’s a true surface - you probably won’t sweep as much.”
"For (bowling) it’s about changing my pace and changing my lengths and making it hard to score depending on the dynamics of the ground. So we’ll see on the (circumstances) of the game as well," he added.
Australia ODI squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), George Bailey, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade (wk), Adam Zampa.
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