Australia v India 1st Test: Joe Burns losing his grip on Test opening spot after first innings failure

His radar is scrambled, his mind is muddled .... Joe Burns has just about run out of chances and the second innings in Adelaide is now absolutely pivotal to his future.

Luck was against Joe Burns when he was given out lbw. Picture: AFP

Joe Burns has a problem. The more he searches for a clear reading of where his off-stump is the more it disappears.

Burns walked off the field shaking his head after being lbw to Jasprit Bumrah in a tight but defendable call handed down by umpire Bruce Oxenford, who lives an hour down the road from Brisbane-based Burns at the Gold Coast.

While Burns was scratching and clawing his way to eight off 41 balls, his old mate, Marnus Labuschagne, had so much luck early he could have closed his eyes and batted with a broomstick and scored runs for fun.

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But that’s cricket’s cruellest law … the more luck you crave the less you get.

Burns, who had averaged just over six for the first-class summer when he arrived at the crease, had little slices of good fortune early in his innings when he played and missed against the baited hooks outside off-stump.

But when he needed the big break there was nothing but thin air.

While Burns never looked like breaking free, there were signs the incredible layers of early tension were just starting to melt away when he was dismissed.

He may now have just one more innings to save his career because his numbers are intolerably thin.

Joe Burns was dismissed lbw for eight on day two of the first Test. Picture: AFP

When Burns started his innings you could tell there was one shot that meant more than any other and was his gold plated priority for the day.

It’s the shot you don’t play … the leave.

Early in his innings he basically took block on off-stump – or move there as the bowler bowled – as if to say “right, OK, anything outside this line I’m not even going to sniff at.’’

And, mostly, he didn’t with solid efficiency.

But this move created one major challenge. If he played across his pads and missed anything, it was going to be trouble with a capital T as far as lbw shouts are concerned.

And so it was. He fell in the same way on Friday as he fell in the second innings of the Australia A game, playing across the line. India’s Plan A was to get him edging. Plan B was pad-seeking missiles.

The very first scoring shot Burns played when he glanced a ball behind square leg for two was taken off off-stump.

There was a mini-gasp in the press box when he played it as if to say “nice to see you off the mark but miss it and it’s good night Irene.’’

When Burns fell lbw he did not even consult his partner before reviewing the decision. You could tell he believed it had gone down leg.

It was a fair argument but his radar had scrambled just enough for him to think he was not where he actually was and he left in the knowledge that the big pressure will return in the second innings.

Originally published as Australia v India 1st Test: Joe Burns losing his grip on Test opening spot after first innings failure