Ever since former Australian opener Chris Rogers bid adieu to the game after the 2015 Ashes, the Australians haven’t been successful in finding a decent opening pair. While the ever dynamic David Warner continues to smother the opposing bowlers, the New South Wales star hasn’t got the company of someone really consistent. The likes of Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja are potential choices to open alongside Warner, but the duo have been inconsistent. In Sri Lanka recently, both the batsmen were dropped for the final test.
According to Rogers himself, the Aussies should opt for Shaun Marsh at the top of the order. Marsh made a sparkling return to Test cricket a few weeks ago when he made a resilient century against Sri Lanka in the third test.
Despite Australia losing the game, Marsh’s efforts came in as some respite. Rogers, a veteran, feels that it’s time to give Marsh a chance at the top. “I like Joe Burns and have a lot of time for him, but Shaun Marsh, in his last two Test matches he’s got hundreds,” Rogers said in his chat with cricket.com.au. “To not get picked would be very difficult for Marsh, particularly with the Indian tour looming where you’d back him to be one of the first picked now.”
Rogers added that on current form, Marsh held the aces over Burns. “Maybe he’s going to be irresistible to select, although I wouldn’t discount what Joe’s got to offer. “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.”
Rogers concluded by mentioning that Burns still had a lot of time to prove himself. “I think he’s got so much time ahead of him,” Rogers said. “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.”