Australia v South Africa – 1st Test – Australian batsmen to watch out for [Part 2]
Continued from Part 1 ...
Rob Quiney
One of the major blows to the Aussie line-up for the Test series against the Proteas was the gaping void left in the batting order when all-rounder http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Watson-c2558 was forced to pull out of the first Test, after sustaining a calf injury while bowling for the
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rob-Quiney-c2340: 30-year-old opening batsman for the Victoria Bushrangers, who has now been granted the opportunity to make his Test debut against South Africa.
Expected to come in at number 3 as a direct replacement for Watson, Quiney has been described by national selector http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Allan-Robert-Border-c43726 Medal night
this year, Quiney has played a total of 53 first-class matches, during which he has scored 3092 runs (with 7 centuries to his credit) at an average of 37.70, and with a strike rate of 55.11.
In addition to his consistent achievements in the domestic circuit, his recent performances for Australia A in the warm-up match against the South Africans did a great deal in bringing him to the selectors’ attention. Displaying admirable poise in the face
of bowlers such as Steyn, the left-hander struck a calm and composed 85 in the first innings, and followed it up with an unbeaten 11 in the second.
His maturity and experience proved an attractive package for the selectors, as compared to the slew of available young all-rounders, and the team will be banking on Quiney to come good, seeing as he has some pretty big http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326’s absence.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RT-Ponting-c2377
Counted among Australia’s veteran batsmen, in addition to being a former captain under whose leadership the team underwent a golden period, Ricky Ponting has a lot riding on the Test series between Australia and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 - pressure which could bring
out the best in him.
Directly under http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Tendulkar-c2556, at number two on the list of all-time top Test run scorers, with 13346 runs (including 41 centuries) from 165 Test matches, Ponting is unquestionably one of Australia’s batting greats. However, with the progression of years,
Ponting’s flame appeared to have dwindled somewhat, and the batsman found himself struggling to retain his spot in the national Test squad after he was abruptly dropped from the limited-overs XI in the middle of the Commonwealth Bank tri-series earlier this
year.
Added to his miseries was a dismal batting slump in the extended-overs format of the game, with Ponting going for nearly two years (most of 2010 and all of 2011) without a Test century. He finally managed to break the spell in January this year, with a 134
during the home Test series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750, but his chances of being selected for the crucial series against South Africa still appeared doubtful.
However, out of the entire crop of Australian players who recently participated in the Sheffield Shield (among them Clarke and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Tasmania-c854 sees him currently
at the top of the Shield run tally, and the impressive performances in the domestic circuit have steered him back to the Test XI.
Part of Australia’s experienced middle order (which also features http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 reclaim the Ashes after the team lost them under his captaincy, and will need to work hard prove his worth
and cement his place in the team. If he fails, this series could be his last, and the Ashes could become a distant possibility – potent motivation, which is likely to spur Ponting on.
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