‘Dumped’ Hauritz victim of Oz selectors’ more aggressive outlook: Roebuck

SYDNEY - Australian off-spinner Nathan Hauritz’s dumping from the 13-man Ashes squad for Thursday’s Brisbane Test indicates that the country’s cricket has embarked upon a new strategy, noted cricket commentator Peter Roebuck has said.

“Hauritz has not been dropped because he has done anything wrong, or let the side down. He has been ditched because he is serviceable, not special. The selectors have decided that is no longer enough. He might be the best spinner around, but he cannot fly,” Roebuck wrote in his syndicated column for the Sydney Morning Herald.

“Plainly, the selectors intend to prune and plant with the ruthlessness missing in recent years, but often observed in the past. Players not quite up to the task will be told as much. Genuinely gifted players will be identified and promoted quickly, dropped after a poor patch and recalled as soon as they have sorted out their games. Let the moderate beware. That was the path followed by many past champions.”

“On the other hand, top players will be retained until permanent decline becomes an established fact, not a widely held opinion. Class does not grow on trees,” he added.

Roebuck further reckons that Hauritz’s experiences tell the story of Australian cricket’s post-Shane Warne world of finding a quality spinner.

“Hauritz has been the beneficiary of a conservative panel trying to produce a competitive team. He is now the victim of a more aggressive outlook. As far as Test cricket is concerned, his career is over,” Roebuck wrote.

“He has been judged as a worthy cricketer unable to provide the exceptional performances demanded in Australian teams. It is cruel, but it is often the way forward. He has been cast as a cricketer of time and place, not a man for all seasons,” he added. (ANI)