The circle of life for Joe Burns

‘India have one less batsman to worry about.’ ‘C’mon. It is two.’ Australia’s opening conundrum was never explained better than this Tea-time discussion by two old dudes next to my society cricket field. God bless the guy who had put India vs Australia A second warm-up match on the giant screen in the hall next […]
 
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The circle of life for Joe Burns

‘India have one less batsman to worry about.’ ‘C’mon. It is two.’

Australia’s opening conundrum was never explained better than this Tea-time discussion by two old dudes next to my society cricket field. God bless the guy who had put India vs Australia A second warm-up match on the giant screen in the hall next to it but Joe Burns wouldn’t have liked that a bit just the moment a Mohammed Shami ripper swung back and caught him plumb in front.

Such has been the fate of the Queenslander that every single run he wanted to buy for himself was robbed off him, much because of his own doing and his own lack of clarity while chasing outside off-stump deliveries. It was a spectacular failure in repeat motion since the first round of Sheffield Shield got underway where he averaged 11.40 after five innings.0

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This was, however, not something Australian fans had expected of Burns a year or two ago. When the team pressed on the bleak outcome of ending the summer without a single century in 2018-19, Burns was the first to stand up and deliver. The Canberra century was the sweetest end to the summer that would otherwise be held hostage to a draught never-seen-before in Australian cricket.

The circle of life for Joe Burns

The following summer saw Burns not taking a step wrong. Compounded by the return of David Warner and the subsequent run-scoring spree in the home summer, Burns ensured a place for the upcoming season was not only sealed but also critic-proof cover to it.

In totality, the duo averaged 50.55 as an opening pair and have 6 hundred-run partnerships amongst each other, which by no means, was easy to pass on. Statistically, no opening pair batting together at least 15 times in the last 15 years has been as prolific. That should’ve ended the debate but the past is past for a reason.

Burns is not being to score a digit here and that’s concerning for Australian cricket and its immediate future. David Warner is out due to a groin injury, Pucovski’s international debut has been halted as many as three times in a row, with Burns right there to take up the mantle, whether he or the Australian fans like it or not at the moment. One can’t really look at Marcus Harris and believe he has any spunk in him to score any runs against a relentless attack like India’s. It is not a great position to be in.

Border feels sorry for Burns

“That’s where Joe Burns is at with his technique at the moment – he is just shot. It’s a sad sight, isn’t it, seeing a bloke really struggling to find any sort of form. My gut feel is just no [for Burns]. He has been given these little windows of opportunity because of injury, concussion, circumstances with other guys without nailing down a spot,” Border told Fox Cricket.

“If he had just shown something, even if he had 20-odd today and batted okay and got a good ball to get out – you might think: ‘Okay, we’ll stick with the incumbent’.”

Yet, they have to. For the sake of Australian cricket, Joe Burns, being the senior partner out there, has to channel his inner Queenslander and put up a fiery display of sorts that has come to define the Australian cricket.

For he had done it earlier. When the chips were down, he was one to raise the decibel level a couple of years ago. He had done it at the international level when David Warner was not scoring a darn run. It is just a matter of finding that edge that was prolific enough to cut the swathe.