Australia v India, 2015: Joe Burns impressed without booking an Ashes Test with half century

JOE Burns’ tantalising, almost-there 58 in his third Test innings will be a down payment on something, but it is too early to tell precisely what.

Burns makes most of lose-lose scenario

THE important thing for Joe Burns was not that he succeeded, but that he did not fail.

There was so much success flowing at the batting crease that exceptional performances blurred into the landscape like a polar bear in a snowstorm.

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Burns could never stand out. He could only disappear.

A sub-20 score would have been as conspicuous as an ink stain on a wedding dress and been just as disastrous.

In times of great batting depth, Burns’ Queensland coach Stuart Law scored a neat half-century in his only Test innings and was never invited back.

That should not happen to Burns.

His tantalising, almost-there 58 in his third Test innings will be a down payment on something, but it is too early to tell precisely what.

Will it guarantee his selection in Australia’s next Test in the West Indies? No, because Michael Clarke and Mitchell Marsh are due back.

Will it get him to the Ashes later this year? Too early to say, but if eight batsmen are chosen the spot is his to lose and Australia loves reserve batsmen who can bat anywhere in the top six, which Burns can.

Pressure was everywhere and nowhere for Burns on Wednesday.

A casual fan who wandered into the ground might have felt that a dead Test, a weak attack, a massive score and a flat wicket were as much as a newbie Test player could ask for.

Joe Burns raises his bat after passing his maiden-Test half century. Photo by Brendon Thorne.

Like fishing in a fish pond, it was almost too perfect.

Some players will tell you they would rather walk out at 4-44 than 4-415, as Burns did after spending an agonising 113.3 overs sweating in the dressingroom.

Burns is playing a highly pressurised game where his short term future is being decided by brutally small margins.

Had he hustled his way to a late afternoon century we might have been able to declare him Ashes-bound. Had the second ball he faced been a few centimetres straighter and taken off stump he might have been shunted out of the team and back to the end of the queue.

That’s life as a fringe player, where you have one foot in a warm and fuzzy dressingroom and another in Siberia.

His 58 was a tangible step towards the Ashes departure lounge but he is not there yet.

However, in these days of limited batting talent, he has few genuine rivals for his spot and neat cameos like this will encourage the selectors to give him every chance to make the most of himself.

When Burns had not scored off 17 balls he seemed a long way from anywhere, but from that point there was much to like about his innings.

Australia’s selectors have a soft spot for players bold enough to use their feet to spin and the sight of Burns advancing to whack off-spinner Ravi Ashwin to the fence for his first two scoring shots would have been warmly received by a panel searching for young batsmen like him.

They also like players who learn from their mistakes. After being caught pulling and cutting in his first Test, he left those strokes in the cupboard until he was well set.

Smart work.

They also appreciate players putting team interests ahead of personal progress which is why is why Burns’ dismissal to a thump to deep mid-wicket may be more of a plus than a minus because he was following orders to hunt quick runs.

All in all a step forward, towards a destination unknown.

Originally published as Australia v India, 2015: Joe Burns impressed without booking an Ashes Test with half century