There are many other examples of Australian players who have been picked without doing all that much in FC cricket - Ponting; Martyn; Warne etc, and yet have benefitted from early exposure to International cricket.
Ponting and Martyn are bad examples; they had two full seasons of Aussie domestic cricket under their belts before being picked and were dominating at that level before they were picked.
Conversely, Glenn McGrath was one out of the box; 8 FC games but he definitely looked a Test bowler and had excellent results in just about all of those games (including at least one ten-fer in a match if I remember correctly). Warnie was definitely a 'suck it and see' pick so I'll grant you that one too.
What leads me to my second point in saying that I absolutely agree that a player should be picked if they show the right signs. I'm just saying that guys like Ferguson, although talented, show some rather worrying signs. His shot to get out to Brad Williams on the weekend was worrying; absolutely no footwork whatsoever and he dragged it back on. Plus his aforementioned tendency to get runs in the second-dig of matches, etc.
Phil Jacques looks pretty good but I saw a few worrying signs outside off-stump, even in the middle of an innings where he was hitting the ball well and scored a ton. He's a bit of a Hayden; first movement forward but doesn't have the light-footedness to correct to go back. And those little dabs to third-man are big nicks against Test bowlers. Other than that, he's an impressive player and hits the ball very, very hard but I'd feel a bit uncomfortable with having him opening in Tests just yet. If he averages 50+ at the end of this season, maybe we'd re-examine that. Certainly, he's started this season well with three 50's in 4 knocks as well as two ING tons so he's hitting the ball well. Mind, even if ONE of those knocks was converted, he'd probably be higher in the pecking-order than he is now.
Cossie was similar although a little worse; hitting the ball well in 70-odd but was squared up awfully and beaten outside off-stump to length-balls on a flat deck around 20 times. He hit the ball well when he hit it but in defence, boy he looked awkward. To his credit, he has the very rare capability to forget what happened and just stay out there. As with the rest of his life, he seems oblivious to the fact he was just beaten outside off-stump or played-and-missed a swish. He doesn't get lost in the moment like other players do. That's a rare trait and if he could tighten up his technique, he'd be well in line for a ODI spot in the near future surely.
Sean Marsh seems to be getting a go with WA for a change and if I had to pencil-in one player for the number 4 spot in, say, 3 years, he's it. He has a tight defence (blame Dad!) and hits the ball unbelieveably hard without looking to rushed. Ever since I saw him get 50 in an Australia A match in Perth, I've thought he looked very special and was always a bit puzzled why WA didn't select him. He seems very laid-back so maybe that's misconstrued for laziness or something. Plus, I think, like Mark Waugh, he'll hit a glorious hundred, be very quiet for a few innings and then when people start asking questions, hits a glorious hundred.
But yeah, I'm all in favour of giving a young bloke a go if he's showing all the right signs (not necessarily dominating form but things like attitude, ability to learn, leadership qualities, etc.) which is why I think Michael Clarke should be given until the end of this season before it's a serious consideration that he be dropped.
I've also always had a bit of a soft-spot for Chris Rogers as I reckon he's vastly under-rated; he always makes big tons and has excellent powers of concentration as well as really solid technique and plenty of shots. I've never understood why he has never been at least in the ballpark for a spot in the Test side. As it stands, he never gets mentioned and he's started well again this year with 161 the other day, averaged 43 last year and almost 60 the previous with 4 tons that year. And lets not forget his pretty amazing double against the Aussie tourists in England a couple of months ago. Can anything who knows the WA setup better give me a reason why he's not been seriously considered?
The problem really rests with the bowlers, I reckon. It's much tougher to pick an outstanding pace bowling prospect in any state. I think Dorey looks pretty good as a line-and-length McGrath replacement but the cupboard there looks a little more bare than the batting does.
