Published: Nov 07, 2015, 07:17 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 08, 2015, 01:07 AM (IST)
Joe Burns, while playing a blistering knock of 129 against New Zealand during the first Test match at Brisbane, showed how brutal he can be with the bat. Burns, who was behind David Warner at one stage, outpaced him to a century hitting a six of Mark Craig. He finally made 129 runs in just 123 balls, a knock that included 14 fours and 4 sixes. He had started off slow, making mere 17 runs of his first 30 balls before going all out on the New Zealand attack. With rain looming, Burns decided to take on Craig by blasting him for two sixes over long off to race from 88 to 100 in just three balls. In the first innings too he had given support to Warner by contributing 71 runs in their 161-run stand. Burns looked good for a century before getting out to Tim Southee. SCORECARD: Australia vs New Zealand 2015, 1st Test at Brisbane
Burns debuted for Australia against India in the 2014-15 series and made 146 runs from two matches with 2 consecutive fifties. In this particular match itself he has surpassed those numbers with a fifty and century. Burns was unlucky not to be included in the team for the tour of West Indies and England but got his due when he was selected for the Bangladesh tour which was cancelled for security reasons. After a good domestic season, he was then drafted as new opening partner for David Warner following the retirement of Chris Rogers at the end of the Ashes. Burns, who is 26, was picked ahead of young Cameron Bancroft purely on his quantum of runs over the course of domestic career for Queensland. Burns has scored 3,838 runs at an average of 40.40 in First-Class cricket for the team. He was awarded the Bradman Young Player of the Year award in 2013. His record outside Australia is good as well, with English county Middlesex signing him early 2015. ALSO READ: Kane Williamson: Reason for New Zealand’s resurgence in Tests
Burns did not do any harm to his stake after scoring a century against the same New Zealand attack in the Prime Minister’s XI vs New Zealand XI tour match, by making 102 off 155 balls before retiring. After his performance in the ongoing Test match, it will be safe to say that his place as an opening partner to Warner has been cemented into the Test side, at least for a while. This match alone has been quite special for Burns, who scored his first Test hundred and also created history with Warner by posting two consecutive opening stands in excess of 150 for Australia in Tests.
Will Burns fire up the international stage or get extinguished after a few sparks will make for a captivating career to follow.
(Vishal Mehra is a reporter at CricketCountry, who enjoys his weekly dose of anime as refreshment and plays cricket once a white moon. His twitter handle is @vishal_oxyjinn)
