Brad Haddin not surprised by axing of James Faulkner

Former Australian wicket-keeper Brad Haddin recently expressed his contentment over the Australian squad picked for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. The 15-man squad was announced a day after some of the big names of Australian cricket were axed from the central contracts of the Cricket Australia. Among the most prominent ones, the notable mentions were of James Faulkner, Steve O’keefe, Shaun Marsh, and George Bailey.

While the others have had a rough time for quite some duration, Faulkner’s horrid run on the field has only spanned for a little while. Despite this, he faced the heat of the Australian board. Brad Haddin, however, believes that the decision to axe Faulkner was obvious. He was not at all surprised by the decision. He cited that over the last year or so, Faulkner has failed to come up with performances.

“James would be disappointed, but over the last 12 months, he hasn’t consistently been in Australia’s best XI for a long time now. We know the performances he can give in the international space but we haven’t seen that power hitting for a long time. I think this is a selection that’s been coming for a while,” quoted Brad Haddin.

When Faulkner had come into the international stage, he had earned the spot of the finisher in the Australian side. He was equally capable with the ball with very deceptive slower balls in the death overs. He had managed to be a regular name in the playing eleven. Haddin believes that the all-rounder will surely bounce back and get his spot in the team again.

“James is a competitor in his own right, he’ll go away and work on what he needs to. But he hasn’t been in that number one Australian team for a long time. You’d like to see James come back and be able to hold down a number six spot with the bat,” he quoted.

He further added that this is certainly not the end of the road for the Tasmanian. As of now, he just does not fit into the scheme of things that the Australian team is looking for at the moment.

“You’d hope his game keeps developing so he can hold down that spot and give you those dangerous overs with his changes of pace through the middle and back-end of the game. I just think it’s a different team and as a team of bowlers, your role can change a bit with the balance of the team. He hasn’t been in that best XI for quite some time … but it won’t be the last we’ve heard of James Faulkner,” he conceded about Faulkner.

A surprise inclusion in the Australian squad for the Champions Trophy was of pace bowler John Hastings. The Australian camp already boasts of big names in bowling department like Mitch Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and James Pattinson. Brad Haddin quipped that Hastings could prove to be the point of difference for the Australian side.

“I think that’s exactly what he’s there for – to be a point of difference. He can take the new ball if you need to … but he bowls more through the middle stages of the game and he also can also close out a game. He’s a very clever bowler. I think he just complements those big four, those four out-and-out pace bowlers,” he quoted.