Mark Waugh backs Joe Burns to get job done for Australia in Ashes

An injury to Usman Khawaja could open the door for an unlikely Aussie batsman to come in and save the day against England.

As Australia’s batsmen battle through what appears to be an all-time stitch up from ground curators in Southampton, selectors have some big choices to make.

And those choices will not be easy, according to former Australia star Mark Waugh.

With the Aussies coming off a failed bid to retain the World Cup, several players are looking for form but the intra-team practice match has seen zero batsmen stake their claims as the bowlers held sway.

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Waugh was not impressed by what was going down in Southampton, claiming the Aussies may have made a mistake.

“We’re trying to get all our batsmen out of form,” Waugh said with tongue-in-cheek.

“This is a Pat Howard idea, it’s a good idea — the trouble is the wicket did a lot and all the batsmen got out for nothing.”
Waugh then turned on the ground staff for playing games and giving the Aussies a minefield.

“They have served up a pitch that had a lot of grass on it, the pitch we were playing on is the only thing we didn’t control,” he added.

Waugh felt that only two or three places were up for grabs in Australia’s Ashes squad and backed one fringe Test batsman to definitely get the nod as cover for the injured Usman Khawaja, while another controversial player likely won’t get a return yet.

“They’re all trying to get into the 16-man squad but there are probably only two or three spots up for grabs,” he said.

“If Khawaja is injured Joe Burns might come in for him.

“Cameron Bancroft — I don’t know about him, they might wait a bit longer I can’t see how he fits into that squad.”

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Some argued suspended Collingwood forward Jaidyn Stephenson having a good time on holiday while his team was getting belted was bad form.

You could also argue he’s on a long break from footy and may as well have some fun before he has to get back to training.

“I don’t have a problem with it,” Russell Barwick said of Stephenson’s Instagrammed holiday.

“You could argue the timing was a bit ordinary because they (Collingwood) lost by 46.

“If they had of won no one would have cared. Nathan Buckley says ‘who cares’, the club says, ‘who cares’ and the guy who had the biggest blow up was Wayne Carey.”

Mark Waugh stuck the boot into Wayne Carey for sticking the boot into Jaidyn Stephenson.

That the former Kangaroo decided that was inappropriate caused Mark Waugh to drop a zinger on Unibet’s At Odds program.

“He didn’t do anything wrong in his career though,” a smiling Waugh chided.

Ouch. Barwick agreed, saying those in glass houses should not throw stones.

“If social media was around during his (Carey’s) career he’d still be in the foetal position, in the corner.”