Darren Lehmann claims that Michael Klinger could have been called up ©Getty Images
Darren Lehmann claims that Michael Klinger could have been called up ©Getty Images

Australia head coach Darren Lehmann had recently revealed that Western Australian batsman Michael Klinger was very close to being called up for first Test against New Zealand. This would have been Klinger’s first ever call up for Australia. Joe Burns and Usman Khwaja were selected in front of Cameron Bancroft and Shaun Marsh when the Test squad for the first match was announced on Friday. With the retirements of Chris Rogers, Shane Watson and Michael Clake all in succession it was tough for Australian selectors to pick from the many contenders to join the squad. Klinger had recently scored a double -hundred for Western Australia in their first Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania and was considered by Darren Lehmann for Test call up. ALSO READ: Australia not ready for ‘wild experimentation’ against New Zealand in Trans-Tasman Trophy 2015-16

Speaking to SEN radio Lehmann said, “We spoke about him quite a lot, to be perfectly honest. He was very, very close. It’s a tough one isn’t it. His experience is there. He’s 35, we’ve already got Adam Voges who is 36. Do we want to go down that path?. Age is not too much of an issue, but when we’re looking at players over a period of time – he averages 38 in first-class cricket, Khawaja averages 40 for example and he’s seven or eight years younger. Sometimes you just have to go with a gut feel. It’s a tough call sometimes. But we certainly looked at him.”

Joe Burns who got picked ahead of Klinger said that he is confident of performing at Test level and can  take the mantle of opening after Chris Rogers retirement. “I guess my last two years for Queensland has been as an opening batter and I feel really comfortable and confident in that role,” he said. “I’ve had some consistent success there, so it is very easy to just slide in and I guess the fact that the first game is at the Gabba, my home ground, makes it a little bit easier as well.  So, it is a challenge that I’m really looking forward to; I’m excited about the prospect of opening the batting for Australia”, Burns concluded. ALSO READ: New Zealand’s tour match called off due to dangeorus pitch conditions