Usman Khawaja Is The Only Answer For Australia's Batting | Thebigtip

Usman Khawaja is on the verge of something special; there is something in the air when he bats, something pure and raw, and something that oozes the most prostituted word in the English language since 'trust': Potential. He is, by some distance, the biggest hope for Australia's rickety batting.

There are absolute basics in cricket, some are so basic that they are forgotten by international players because they get away with slow, lifeless Test Match pitches in hot, sunny weather. But there has been a mightily subtle change in the world the last three years, fast bowlers are biting back at the flat track bullies.

James Anderson, Chris Tremlett and Tim Bresnan are destroying batting oppositions for England; Dale Steyn has a record approaching Dennis Lillee; Zaheer Khan  has blossomed from sook to hard man in a matter of months; and new fast men like Ryan Harris and Vernon Philander have burst onto the scene. Why? Because they can all swing the ball at pace.

Helping them along this journey of resurrection the pitch gods, aka the curators, are preparing greener first day wickets and the weather gods, aka Mother Nature, has provided the exact amount of moisture in the atmosphere for the ball to move. No more Adelaide Test Matches in 35 degree heat. It is now a proper show of character and for the batsmen it is fast becomming a show of technique as well.

This is where Khawaja fits in.

The first basic you learn when you are taught to bat is that you hit the ball with a high front elbow. Many will still have memories of attending camps with international players when they were young and being made to hold the bat in the 'figure nine' in conjunction with the elbow, swinging it dozens of times before we could even hit a ball.

With the elbow up it means that you are generally forced into a side on position as you hit the ball. Being side on means you have your head where your bat is and your feet are directly under your head. Minor adjustments, particularly to swing , are easy to make.

To be a front-chested batsmen when the bowler delivers involves ten times as much work and talent to consistently hit the ball well. In Australia, these front on players are dominating the landscape. Looking at the Test make up and given that the bowling side is depleted severely, the team has no chance of beating India with the batting techniques they possess.

David Warner debuted as a Test opener on the back of a few good knocks in first class cricket but was picked more on his T20 and ODI form. Unfortunately for these formats the ptiches and use of a white ball condem them to barrel-chested bashings of bowlers who bend it around corners in the longer form. Warner has a mid-range record in these formats.

It is no surprise he failed in the first innings of the 'Gabba Test - Tim Southee and Chris Martin, despite their records, are genuine international new-ball bowlers. The delivery that claimed the New South Welshman is a typical dismissal of front facing batters. If you have pace, one towards the heart is always a good ball, it will give the illusion that it keeps following the batter who invariably becomes a dear in headlights.

A side on player would have had the chance to comprehensively move out of the way or cover it with a solid back foot defense.

There is a case that if Warner was on 80 he would have hit it to the boundary, but he has to get there first. There is more of a case for him being bounced out of Test Match cricket rather quickly.

Phillip Hughes' technique has been questioned since the first test century he scored. The South African's have said they could consistently bump him out and they have to a degree, though two hundreds and two fifties put the Australian in front at the moment.

Against England he was once more pilloried for a poor technical approach and has been in and out of the side against the old enemy. They have had his measure, which they have had over most batsmen the last few years and Hughes was not necessarily in the right frame of mind trying to bat with huge clouds of criticism hanging over him.

Is his technique as bad as Warner's? It looks worse but strangely it just cannot be. He has an outstanding first class record and with three test hundreds, as bad as he has been criticised, he can throw a few good statistics back at the naysayers. His biggest fault is there is no perfection to his physical attributes. When he gets his backfoot across too much his front leg does not follow and he becomes front on; when he moves only backwards and not across he is side on but miles away from the ball.

This technique transfers to his front foot game where his only real shot is a blazing square drive. He needs to work with Shaun Marsh and see how he plays a decent on side drive. I personally hope that Hughes gets runs the next innings because he has more upside than Warner, but he still needs to find that happy medium with his foot work.

The other opener, sidelined through injury is Shane Watson - the absolute flat track, front on player. He has got away with a lot due to his size and strength - all balls remain hit and are hard to catch; he monsters balls over midwicket, has a big front foot movement and a good temperament. But he drives balls straight that should be hit through the covers and gets bowled or plays on far too often for a top order player.

He more than the current openers deserves his spot as a genuine batter, discarding his bowling for a moment. But his technique is a worry and it is a reason why he has not got many centuries compared to the number of his starts he racks up. There really is not any chance of an epic double hundred on the horizon for him because he is always susceptible to movement.

Usman Khawaja, then, is the real focus for Australia's batting revival. He is a fluid, uncomplicated player, able to weather out storms and chase quick runs without doing anything different. Why? Because his technique is good.

Watching him pull against New Zealand was a pleasure as even the ones he did not middle he could still control - a front on player hits mistimed pulls straight in the air. He can caress a ball through the covers and next over hit the same ball to the boundary with a reliable, easy action. It is afterall another basic of batting - nothing changes other than how hard you hit the ball.

In his brief career he has only averaged mid 30's but in every innings he has got into double figures. He has also been in numerous tricky positions where knuckling down for the team is the order of the day. He only needs one big innings and he will be our new star. Ultimately it would be great to see him open, Marsh at three and captain Clarke at number 4. That would be a basis for some smart batting. Trust me.