Five to watch in Brisbane

Sunday marks the start of the six-week ‘A’ tour of Queensland and the Northern Territory, with Australia A taking on India A in the first of two four-day matches at Brisbane’s Allan Border Field.

It’s not quite ‘first day at the Gabba’ in terms of hype and excitement, but it represents an opportunity for cricket fans to get a glimpse of Australia’s best young talent pushing for higher honours ahead of a massive summer of cricket.

Australia sits at No.1 in the ICC Test rankings, but with a tour against Pakistan ahead of the home Test series against India, a number of question marks linger over the make-up of the national XI.

Below is a look at five Australian players fans should keep a close eye on during the two matches against India A, and who will be come under the careful scrutiny of the watching new National Selection Panel.

Quick Single: Australia A: The dummies guide

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James Faulkner

James Faulkner has established himself as one of Australia’s first-picked players in the limited-overs formats, but a lack of opportunity with the red ball and an untimely injury has prevented him from adding to his sole Test match against England in August last year.

Faulkner, 24, was 12th man throughout the Commonwealth Bank Ashes Series as ‘The Unchangeables’ completed an emphatic 5-0 whitewash against England.

The allrounder would have seemingly been a certain starter for the opening two Tests of the South African tour when Shane Watson was ruled out through injury. That’s if Faulkner hadn’t already been ruled out of the tour following surgery on a knee injury sustained in a Man-of-the-Match performance on Australia Day.

The Tasmanian has regularly displayed a match-winning ability with bat and ball, as well as a determined hunger for victory that made him a favourite of the previous NSP. Now, with a new group of selectors to impress and a fully-fit Shane Watson to surpass, Faulkner’s performances out in the middle have seemingly never been more important in order to slot back into the Australia Test XI.

Faulkner hasn’t played a first-class match since November last year and the Australia A skipper is looking forward to the opportunity to again display his talents in the longer format.

“I’m looking forward to playing some red ball cricket again, it’s been a fair while between games for me personally so I’m looking forward to getting out there and playing cricket in Australia with the red ball again,” Faulkner told cricket.com.au ahead of Sunday’s opening four-day clash against India A.

Alex Doolan

A member of Australia’s triumphant tour of South Africa earlier this year, Alex Doolan enters the Australia A series against India A as the nation’s incumbent No.3 Test batsman following a number of solid performances against the then top team in the world.

However, such is this nature of that particular batting position since the great Ricky Ponting stepped down, Doolan’s place in the XI for the tour of UAE against Pakistan is far from certain.

The Tasmanian’s temperament seems perfectly suited to Test cricket, and his two incredible catches in close on Test debut won’t soon be forgotten.

Doolan enters the series battling some back stiffness, but is expected to play in the opening match on Sunday. Look for the 28-year-old to make his mark on what is expected to be a good batting wicket during the two four-day matches against India A.

“I’m really looking forward to this series and hoping to have some good performances,” Doolan said on Thursday.

“I have high expectations – I hope to cement my spot in the (Test) team, but I can only do that with good performances.

“I’m trying to stay in the moment and make sure that each game counts.”

Phil Hughes

Phil Hughes has been in and out of the Australia Test team so often that it’s sometimes easy to forget he is only 25-years-old.

Hughes spent last summer plundering Sheffield Shield bowling attacks around the country for the West End Redbacks, before watching on as Australia completed a dominant Ashes whitewash.

Called up late to the touring squad for the series against South Africa, Hughes missed out on a spot in the final XI after Shaun Marsh regained fitness just in time for the opening Test.

The left-hander’s run-scoring ability has never been in doubt, but it seems only sheer weight of runs or a surprise early retirement from Chris Rogers will see Hughes work his way back into the Test team for the series against Pakistan or during the home summer.

Hughes is currently recovering from illness, but is unlikely to miss the opening four-day match. Redbacks teammate Callum Ferguson has been called into the Australia A squad should Hughes or Doolan be ruled out.

Mitchell Marsh

Mitchell Marsh has long been one of the most exciting prospects in Australian cricket, however some dodgy hamstrings have seen the young allrounder spend far too much time on the sidelines.

The 22-year-old is well and truly back in the frame for a Baggy Green call-up following a strong summer with the Alcohol Think Again Warriors in the Bupa Sheffield Shield.

With a handful of international appearances in the shorter formats under his belt, Sunday’s clash against India A marks Marsh’s first international outing since the ICC Champion’s Trophy in June last year.

Marsh is essentially competing against Watson, Faulkner and Moises Henriques for the Test allrounder spot, but the Western Australian made it clear what his priority was for the upcoming tour.

“In all Australia A series, there’s always an element of wanting to do well yourself,” Marsh said.

“This time around, there’s been a huge emphasis on playing for each other and winning for Australia. That’s really exciting.

“A lot of the time when you’re playing for a team and doing well, it means you’re playing well yourself anyway.

“That’s certainly going to be my focus and I’m looking forward to a change of playing India.”

Sam Whiteman

Depending on who you talk to, Sam Whiteman is one or more of the below: 
• A sure thing to be Brad Haddin’s replacement in the national team should he retire next year
• Ready to go right now
• A future Test captain
• The next Adam Gilchrist

Whiteman had a sensational summer of Shield cricket for the Western Warriors, averaging a touch under 46 with the bat and claiming a season-high 45 dismissals behind the stumps on his way to his first Sheffield Shield Final.

Born in Yorkshire, the young wicketkeeper-batsman is determined to earn his way into the Australia Test XI and he knows that strong performances on debut for Australia A will go a long way to getting that Baggy Green.

“To get picked ahead of a lot of (high) quality keepers is a huge positive for me,” Whiteman said ahead of Sunday’s opener.

“It’s a good opportunity to get some runs on the board and do my job with the gloves.”

“With the busy schedule (ahead), you never know what could happen in the coming future. “

Australian cricket enters arguably its busiest period ever over the next 18 months and with Brad Haddin turning 37 in October, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the veteran keeper given a rest during that period with Whiteman taking up the gloves.

Be sure to follow all the action from the Australia A tour LIVE on cricket.com.au