In winter Australians love their footy. And this Olympic year we will all suddenly become experts in swimming and rowing and BMX and the like. Scores from a Test in Colombo or Galle might seep in at the edge of the public consciousness, mentioned late in the nightly news bulletin. A flicker of recognition will register when the names are mentioned. Did they say Warner? Starc? There's cricket on, is there?
So what hope does an Australia A series have of generating any attention at all? The same hope that Australia has of winning an Olympic medal in handball. And yet it is well worth keeping an eye on Australia A this winter in their four "Tests" against South Africa A and India A, and a quadrangular one-day series. These matches in Queensland will feature a young group of men who could just be Australia's batting future.
To the fair-weather cricket fan, the last Sheffield Shield season was as normal: their state either won the title or didn't, and that was the extent of their interest. If a ball is bowled and Channel Nine didn't show it, was it bowled at all? Yes, it was, it and 56,000 others like it. And as the more ardent fans know, it was a season of quiet revolution, a summer of breakthroughs for a number of young batsmen.
For some years the Sheffield Shield has been dominated by older batsmen. At different times runs have been piled up by Adam Voges, Michael Klinger, Ed Cowan, Marcus North, Chris Rogers, even Ricky Ponting in his valedictory season topped the run tally. The occasional young batsman came through, Joe Burns or Usman Khawaja, say, but they were the exceptions.
Two summers ago, only one of the Sheffield Shield's top ten run scorers was 24 or under - Cameron Bancroft - and just as significantly, six of the top ten were in their thirties - Voges, Klinger, Cowan, Shaun Marsh, Rob Quiney and Callum Ferguson. The selectors rewarded Voges with a Test call-up, but they must have wished there were more youthful batsmen applying the pressure.
Complete Article here;
http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/con...35739.html
So what hope does an Australia A series have of generating any attention at all? The same hope that Australia has of winning an Olympic medal in handball. And yet it is well worth keeping an eye on Australia A this winter in their four "Tests" against South Africa A and India A, and a quadrangular one-day series. These matches in Queensland will feature a young group of men who could just be Australia's batting future.
To the fair-weather cricket fan, the last Sheffield Shield season was as normal: their state either won the title or didn't, and that was the extent of their interest. If a ball is bowled and Channel Nine didn't show it, was it bowled at all? Yes, it was, it and 56,000 others like it. And as the more ardent fans know, it was a season of quiet revolution, a summer of breakthroughs for a number of young batsmen.
For some years the Sheffield Shield has been dominated by older batsmen. At different times runs have been piled up by Adam Voges, Michael Klinger, Ed Cowan, Marcus North, Chris Rogers, even Ricky Ponting in his valedictory season topped the run tally. The occasional young batsman came through, Joe Burns or Usman Khawaja, say, but they were the exceptions.
Two summers ago, only one of the Sheffield Shield's top ten run scorers was 24 or under - Cameron Bancroft - and just as significantly, six of the top ten were in their thirties - Voges, Klinger, Cowan, Shaun Marsh, Rob Quiney and Callum Ferguson. The selectors rewarded Voges with a Test call-up, but they must have wished there were more youthful batsmen applying the pressure.
Complete Article here;
http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/con...35739.html
How much will it bother you to have to root for a pom, DownUnda?