Ahead of the Australian summer comprising of tussles against South Africa and Pakistan, former opening batsman Chris Rogers has backed Shaun Marsh to retain his place at the top of the order. Speaking to cricket.com.au, the 39-year old pointed out the southpaw’s ability to negotiate spin on turning tracks which they are expected to receive during their 4-Test trip to India early next year.
Rogers felt, “I like Joe Burns and have a lot of time for him but Shaun in his last two Test matches he's got hundreds. To not get picked would be very difficult for him (Marsh) particularly with the Indian tour looming where you'd back him to be one of the first picked now. Maybe he's going to be irresistible (to select), although I wouldn't discount what Joe's got to offer.“
He added, “He still has the ability to learn and get better and get away from those tours and think about where he went wrong. But perhaps, maybe in this point in time Shaun might just edge it over Joe.“
Although Australia had preferred Burns to partner Warner during the previous season, the right-hander’s woeful performance on spin-friendly Sri Lankan pitches saw him lose his spot to Marsh during the final Test at Colombo (SSC) who responded by top-scoring with a gritty century.
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However, Rogers still believed in Burns’ capacity to bounce back and cited his successful run in both the home and away series against New Zealand. With coach Darren Lehmann looking at limited-overs form as well, there could be some competition in the batting department.
The veteran argued, “I think he's got so much time ahead of him. It's easy to get frustrated and down on yourself and question where you're at. But, what he achieved last summer in particular was impressive.”
“There's no way he'd be going back to the end of the queue. He's one of the next few in. There's a lot of motivation for him. Sometimes you've just got to accept that players are allowed to play well and jump above you and that just makes you want to be a better player.”
Australia will host both the Proteas as well as the Pakistanis for a 3-Test series each before embarking to India during February-March. Having been whitewashed on three consecutive Test series in Asia, they badly seek a turnaround in their fortunes against the turning ball.
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