Why star's Ashes audition is a false dawn

3 years ago 310

Cricket fable Mark Taylor says fans - and selectors - should beryllium wary of putting excessively overmuch banal successful Usman Khawaja's latest awesome Sheffield Shield innings.

Khawaja followed centuries successful back-to-back Shield matches with a gritty 70 runs disconnected 188 balls against Western Australia connected Wednesday.

While that people unsocial doesn't look ace important, it came successful a squad full of 129 all-out, against a prime gait bowling onslaught and connected a greenish Gabba wicket that was reminiscent of a transportation successful England oregon New Zealand.

The archetypal Ashes Test is owed to footwear disconnected astatine the Gabba connected December 8.

Queensland skipper Khawaja has plentifulness of acquisition connected the wicket and England's gait spearhead of James Anderson and Stuart Broad would relish a juicy greenish apical that offered them the accidental to determination the Kookaburra shot similar a Dukes backmost home.

While Taylor says Khawaja's latest innings "certainly won't hurt" his chances of a Test recall, helium warned it volition beryllium a antithetic Gabba that's presented to the players successful a month's time.

"Bear successful mind, I've seen capable Gabba pitches implicit the years to realise erstwhile the Test lucifer comes astir you mostly get a beauteous bully surface," Taylor told Wide World of Sports.

"The Shield pitches you get astatine the Gabba often person nary resemblance to the Test transportation a fewer weeks later.

"I deliberation Uzzie has shown, arsenic helium has successful the past, that helium tin marque runs successful pugnacious conditions. There's nary uncertainty helium is throwing his chapeau backmost successful the ring.

"I deliberation it's going to beryllium a precise pugnacious determination erstwhile it comes to that mediate order, that No.5 presumption for Australia."

Khawaja peels disconnected Sheffield Shield ton

Australia needs to capable 2 spots successful its XI for the archetypal Test - an opening batsman and a middle-order.

Khawaja tin capable either spot.

He seems to beryllium battling with Marcus Harris unsocial for the opening position, portion Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh look connected the radar to bat astatine 5 against England.

Taylor says whoever gets the motion could beryllium batting for their Test career.

"Whichever mode the selectors spell it's going to beryllium a back-to-the-future selection. Mitchell Marsh, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, they've each been tried, and dropped, often connected much than 1 occasion," Taylor said.

"For 1 of them, whoever is picked, it volition hopefully beryllium 3rd oregon 4th clip lucky.

Taylor makes cardinal Ashes call

"Probably 1 of (Khawaja's) champion innings successful Test cricket was erstwhile helium opened the batting successful that crippled astatine the Adelaide Oval, the pinkish shot crippled against South Africa, and made a hundred.

"I deliberation helium has shown helium tin (score runs against prime attacks), but it was 2016 that innings I'm talking about. So he's shown it but that is 5 years ago.

"The 1 happening he's got successful his favour is Travis Head is astir apt successful the aforesaid boat. Travis hasn't made that 1 prime Test people that would fastener him successful arsenic a imperishable Australian cricketer.

"Whichever mode they go… it volition beryllium a spot of a rotation of the dice."

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