Published: Nov 19, 2014, 10:59 AM (IST)
Edited: Nov 19, 2014, 10:59 AM (IST)
Nov 19, 2014
Shane Warne has tipped Phillip Hughes to replace veteran Chris Rogers at the top of the order come the first Test against India at Brisbane on the December 4th
Warne expects the younger Hughes to take the place of Rogers who failed to make a contribution of any significance in the UAE. He reckoned its time Australia moved on and built keeping the future in mind. Owing to the age of Rogers, it was obvious that he’d have a shorter shelf life than a younger bloke.
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“Phil Hughes will probably get a go. Chris Rogers has done a wonderful job but I think Phil Hughes will get a go. Hughes, Warner, No.3 probably Shane Watson I’d say. Steve Smith might move up to No.4. Mitchell Marsh will probably bat six so they’ll have to find someone to bat five,” Warne was quoted saying by the official website of Cricket Australia.
“I’m not sure who that will be. These few rounds of Shield cricket will be really important and someone who puts their hands up could find themselves playing for Australia.”
The irony is that it was the veteran Rogers who scored a century in a Shield game where as Hughes failed in both innings in a match against Victoria. Warne also opined that as far as he is concerned, Nathan Lyon merited selection in to the team for the first Test match against India. He said “Nathan Lyon has done enough; I think he’s done a pretty good job over a period of time, I think he’ll be the No.1 spinner and I think he deserves the first crack at it in the Test match in Brisbane.”
Warne also emphasised the importance of Michael Clarke to this Australian team crediting Clarke for the resurgence of the Test team that regained the Ashes, beating England five nil and also went on to beat south Africa in South Africa, toppling them as the number one ranked side in the world for a brief period. “It’s a real shame to lose Michael Clarke, he’s easily the best captain we’ve got and we need him He’s one of the best batsmen in the world; we’re going to miss his batting, we’re going to miss his captaincy. We’ve seen over the past 18 months it’s one of the reasons why Australia’s gone back to No.1 and got up the rankings again, because of his captaincy and his batting,” said Warne.
