Test recall “in my hands”: Faulkner
James Faulkner remains desperate for a Test recall but the allrounder knows his recent first-class form simply hasn’t been good enough.
Faulkner will be one of the first picked for Australia’s ODI clash with New Zealand in Auckland tomorrow.
The 25-year-old has been a mainstay in Australia’s limited-overs sides since 2013.
Faulkner was named man of the match in last year’s World Cup final, having kept Shane Watson and then Mitch Marsh out of Australia’s XI during the tournament.
But reproducing that form in the whites has proven easier said than done.
Faulkner played the fifth match of the 2013 Ashes, a dead rubber at The Oval, but hasn’t been sighted in the baggy green since.
At various points he has threatened to break into Australia’s Test XI but never consistently enough to warrant a call-up.
“I’ve always said it’s in my hands to perform when I get the opportunity,” Faulkner said.
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“Whether that’s a red-ball game every now and then, or that’s two or three back to back for my state… I need to make every post a winner and I don’t think this year I have.
“So I definitely need to improve that part of my game to get it where I need to be.
“I’ve got to get runs and wickets to get picked.”
Toe and foot issues didn’t help Faulkner in the four games he played for Tasmania in the first half of the 2015-16 Sheffield Shield season.
Prior to that, a drink-driving conviction in England made a poor impression on national selectors.
But on the field, Faulkner felt his 2015 county stint was a success.
“The hardest thing for me has been being able to play red ball consistently,” he said.
“I spent some time over in England and did pretty well over there with Lancashire.
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“It’s a matter of playing some consistent cricket.”
As for what role he’d like to play in the Test side – No.6 batsman or third paceman – Faulkner is not worried.
“Wherever they want to play me. I’d definitely love to bat No.6,” he said.
Meanwhile, Australian Twenty20 captain Aaron Finch will join English county side Surrey this northern summer, replacing Kumar Sangakkara while the former Sri Lanka skipper is away at the Caribbean Premier League.
The 29-year-old opener is one of the most destructive batsmen in the world – highlighted by his T20 world-record innings of 156 against England three years ago – and his signature comes after Surrey announced West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo would join them for the NatWest T20 Blast.
Finch has first-division experience with county champions Yorkshire, and looks forward to stepping out with the Brown Caps this summer.
“To have the chance to play all forms of the game is a challenge I will relish, as I have ambitions to represent Australia in Test match cricket,” he said.
“I’m aware that Surrey have an exciting young squad and I hope I am able to add to their obvious talent.”
Finch is currently recovering from a hamstring injury, and is aiming to be fit in time for the World T20 in March.
The World Cup winner suffered the problem during Australia’s 3-0 Twenty20 series defeat to India, although scans have revealed the problem is not as bad as the hamstring injury he suffered in 2015, which required surgery and delayed his arrival at Yorkshire.
Finch had been top of the ICC’s T20 batting rankings, but he’s relinquished his place to India’s Virat Kohli in the latest release.
-AAP, with PA
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