Test wicketkeeper Matthew Wade’s ankle injury has brought Brad Haddin back into the frame for Thursday’s third Test against India in Mohali.
The veteran of 43 Tests has been placed on standby for Wade and could be flown over pending the results of scans on Wade’s ankle.
However if Wade manages to convince the selectors and medical staff that he’s okay, Haddin’s name shouldn’t be put to one side.
Cast an eye over the top runscorers in Sheffield Shield this season you’ll eventually find a guy who should be in the Test team and might well be there during the Ashes.
It’s Haddin, ninth on the list.
The feisty former Test wicketkeeper has scored 468 runs at 52.00 in seven Shield matches.
The 35-year-old NSW hard man is well-placed to earn a gig on the Ashes tour in July as part of the extended squad as a back-up batsman and reserve wicketkeeper.
Clearly he could play as a specialist batsman – and Australia desperately need some steel in their top six.
Haddin’s inclusion would take the pressure off Wade who could drop down to No.7 in the batting order.
Skipper Michael Clarke’s decision to move from No.5 into the top four for Thursday’s third Test against India could mean struggling No.3 Phil Hughes drops down to No.5 or is replaced in the side by reserve batsman Usman Khawaja.
But whether it’s Hughes or Khawaja at No.5 and Wade at No.6 plus a young allrounder such as Moises Henriques at No.7, the alternative of having the experienced Haddin in the lineup ahead of Hughes or Khawaja looks like a good one at this stage.
What may have been lost in all the doom and gloom regarding Australia’s big losses in the first two Tests in India is that the return of Shane Watson to the bowling crease in the Ashes series will greatly improve the balance of the side, fitness-permitting.
With Watson batting in the top six and bowling eight overs per innings, Australia can also slot Haddin into the top six and Wade at No.7 and play four specialist bowlers, without having to call on inexperienced allrounders Henriques and Glenn Maxwell.
