There Should be a Bat off Between Bancroft and Joe Burns: Chris Rogers

Former Aussie opener Chris Rogers has come up with a pretty valid point to chose the opener for Australia for the upcoming Test series against South Africa in March. He has suggested for a “bat-off” between Cameron Bancroft and Joe Burns which would determine who opens the batting for Australia in the four-match Test tour of South Africa.

Rogers and his one-time teammate Mike Hussey said that they want Bancroft to fly to South Africa, but Rogers conceded that Bancroft’s dip in form this series where he averaged a mediocre 25.57 in eight innings had opened the door for another spot in the team.

“He’s in my squad, I think though that Joe Burns is in the squad as well and there’s going to be a little bit of a bat-off, maybe even in the nets, a pre-series warm-up game,” Rogers told Optus Sport’s Stumps show.

“The challenge is there for (Bancroft). I think he’s allowed the selectors to maybe look elsewhere but I’ve still got a lot of time for him. I think there’s a lot to like,” Rogers said. Burns has been in impressive form in the recent past and has scored 514 runs in 5 JLT Sheffield Shield matches for Queensland which also included a brilliant 202 against South Australia. However, Hussey has backed Bancroft to retain his place which would help him to build as a player and gain from the experiences.

“The amount that he would have learned about international cricket and what’s required to have success at this level, why would you just discard that straight away?” Hussey said. I think trust him on that, trust that he is a good player, he’s shown that he’s a good player in Shield cricket leading into this series, he’s not going to lose that.

“The education he would have got from such a big series will hold him in good stead for the rest of his career.” Rogers feels that the way he was bowled through the gate it rang the alarm bells for him.

“The biggest skill you’ve got to have as an opening batsman is to own that area in front of your pad because that’s where the best bowlers in the world are going to attack you consistently, so I think that’s a little bit of an issue with him, with his technique,” Rogers said.

“He doesn’t always come down straight to the ball he almost windscreen wipers it, he comes across the ball.

“That’s a challenge for him but he’s still quite young in the development of his own game, he’s going to get better and better, it’s a challenge when you first come into international cricket, you get found out, people are talking about your weaknesses.

“A lot to learn for him, a lot to like from him but he’ll know that that’s how people are going to attack him now.”

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