With the competition for an opener slot in the Australian Test team heating up between the incumbent Joe Burns and prodigy Will Pucovski, head coach Justin Langer has come in support of Joe Burns and said that the right-hander had formed nice chemistry with David Warner who is certain to feature in the playing XI in the first Test against India in the Day-Night Test in Adelaide. Langer said that the opening pair of Warner and Burns worked well for the team the last series they played together and hinted that he is in no mood to fix something not broken.
"Last time we played Test cricket, we loved the combination of Joe Burns and David Warner. They've got real synergy or chemistry. They work well together. So, at this point I'll say that that'll remain the same," Langer said.
Langer batted for consistency in selection and warned against underestimating the role of these partnerships and consistency in picking players does to the performance of the team. He listed the successes of the pair in the last summer and how it did shape the Australian team in becoming the number one ranked side in the world.
"There used to be a saying that it's harder to get out of the side than it is to get into the Australian cricket team. It's actually really important because when guys have done a really good job for us - like in this case that Joe and Davey did for us last summer, there's a reason we're ranked the No.1 Team in Test cricket at the moment. Those sorts of partnerships are really important, so we should never underestimate that," Langer added.
Earlier yesterday, selectors picked 22-year-old Will Pucovski who has been in red-hot form in the first round of the Sheffield Season piling up two consecutive double centuries. On the other hand, Joe Burns has not been in good touch in the last few innings and Australia A fixture against Indian team would have determined the fate of Burns over Pucovski for their place in playing XI in the Adelaide Test. Langer’s backing will send some sense of relief to Burns but he would not like the prospect of walking into the big game against India with lack of runs and subsequent short on confidence.
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