The Ashes 2017-2018: Former Australia coach John Buchanan questions obsession with youth
FORMER national coach John Buchanan has questioned Australia’s obsession with youth as the search for a new Test No.6 took several twists.
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FORMER national coach John Buchanan has questioned Australia’s obsession with youth as the search for a new Test No.6 took several twists.
West Australian Hilton Cartwright, touted as the favourite to bat No.6 at the first Ashes Test at the Gabba, completed a pair for the match when he was claimed by a fifth-ball duck by Pat Cummins against NSW in Sydney.
The smoky in the selection equation could be Cartwright’s teammate, keeper-batsman Cameron Bancroft, who scored an impressive 86 on Tuesday after batting through the first innings for an unconquered 76.
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Bancroft is not simply emerging as a challenger to the opening spot Matt Renshaw is likely to retain for the first Test but also making a case for selection in the middle order.
Shaun Marsh and Glenn Maxwell also made half centuries to join Jake Lehmann in the mix for a middle-order position still very much up for grabs entering next week’s third round of Sheffield Shield fixtures.
In a newsletter to his Buchanan International clients, Buchanan questioned whether it was the right call to elbow players such as Ed Cowan, Cameron White and Michael Klinger out of state teams for players with inferior records but youth on their side.
“My experience as a player and a coach over 40 years showed me that the best development of young players was when they are surrounded by older players, either those with whom they were playing, or those that they were playing against,’’ Buchanan wrote.
“Country and regional athletes and cricketers are good examples of development as they play their sport in and among adults for much of their younger years.
“Australian batting has forsaken the experience of Bailey, Klinger, Voges, Ferguson, White, Cowan, Henriques to name a few of recent times, in the hunt for ‘potential’ young cricketers.
“I have seen this worrying trend in cricket and many sports in Australia over the past decade or more. It cannot be written into policy, as this would possibly lead to a legal challenge based on discrimination.
“Simply because you are older does not mean you can no longer perform. And conversely, just because you are younger with ‘potential’, does not mean you will be successful.’’
“Age should not be the barrier to playing cricket or being selected in competitions.’’
Buchanan said he was concerned that Cowan had been dropped from the NSW side for Daniel Hughes because of the younger man’s “potential’’.
Originally published as The Ashes 2017-2018: Former Australia coach John Buchanan questions obsession with youth
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