Veteran pair Australia's only concern

A week after arriving in London bearing harsh scrutiny and heavier expectation, Australia’s cricketers indulged in a deserved day off in the capital today with their sole misgivings being the immediate future of veterans Brad Haddin and Chris Rogers.

Coach Darren Lehmann was today reluctant to comment on the two matters that are contrasting in nature but intertwined by the fact that the players involved are nearing their 40s and any setbacks at that stage of a career can quickly become indelible.

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Rogers is likely the greater worry if only because the source of his issue is less straightforward to trace.

The 37-year-old was forced to retire from the batting crease early on Australia’s triumphant day four at Lord’s yesterday when he was overcome by dizziness that caused him to spend some time on his haunches before being able to return to the dressing room unaided.

Captain Michael Clarke claimed post-match that the incident was reportedly unrelated to the serious case of concussion Rogers suffered in the West Indies – and which caused him to miss two Tests there – or the similarly hefty blow he took to the head at the start of day two at Lord’s.

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But Lehmann stopped short of giving Rogers, who spent much of Sunday afternoon viewing Australia’s surge to a 405-run victory from the players’ balcony, a clean bill of health and it seems unlikely he will front in his team’s upcoming three-day tour match against Derbyshire.

"He's all right, we'll just have to wait and see what the medical staff come up with,” Lehmann said, before going on to outline the innate value that Rogers brings to the squad with his vast experience in British conditions.

“He's important to us for a period of time.

“I think he's made it clear he's not going to come on the next Ashes tour, although he'd probably like to as a tour host.

“He knows these conditions so well, he loves England and he helps our batters out, that's the most pleasing thing.

“He helps our batters and bowlers about conditions here and for example (where he has captained county team) Middlesex and Lord's (Middlesex’s home ground), all the angles you've got to play with and the slope. 

“He knows them so well, he's a very important part of this tour.”

The scenario for Haddin is different in that he did not play at Lord’s having withdrawn two days prior to the match for family reasons.

And while he was a visible presence during the Test as he went through fitness sessions and training drills, the salient question for him is whether he is up for the intensity and demands of a five-day Test match.

While his replacement Peter Nevill filled in more than admirably, with an assured 45 in his only time at bat and seven catches – the most by an Australian ‘keeper in a Test debut for around 50 years – Haddin remains Australia’s number one gloveman and his place is there to be reclaimed.

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Haddin’s name was not among the handful of players (mainly the fast bowlers who performed so brilliantly at Lord’s) who will remain in London before rejoining the squad before the third Test in Birmingham.

And the period in which players’ partners and families join the team formally ends today, so his availability for the next Test starting July 29 might be dictated by the role he is able to play in the three-day match against Derbyshire that begins on Thursday.

Should the 37-year-old feel he is right to return, then it’s expected the selectors will make a straight swap but – as is the case with Mitchell Marsh who appears certain to be retained in favour of fellow allrounder Shane Watson – nothing can be taken for granted in matters of team make-up.

“We’re just trying to work out what happens moving forward and hopefully he (Haddin) will be available for the Derby game,” Lehmann said today when asked about the scenario for the wicketkeeping role.

“Selection's always difficult, so Rodney (Marsh, chairman of selectors) and I will have to sit down and work out which way we go.

“(But) we have to get Brad back playing cricket before we cross that bridge.

“It's always tough to have those decisions to make, one forced (Nevill for Haddin) and one unforced (Marsh for Watson).

“We were really pleased with both performances from Mitchell and Peter, I thought they did a really good job for us and injected some enthusiasm in the group, played really well and did their job.”

While pace bowlers Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, along with the world’s re-crowned top Test batsman Steve Smith, will be rested from the Derbyshire game, Clarke has indicated he will play and lead the team.

For England, more difficult decisions loom with their selectors to meet tomorrow to decide if changes in personnel are needed in the wake of their humbling loss, even though that same team played so well in Cardiff a week earlier.

From where Lehmann sat yesterday, it was easy to glean which seat he would prefer to occupy over the coming eight days before the Ashes battle resumes at Edgbaston.

“It's a good thing for us to have that short break, they (England) have got a bit more time to think about it,” Lehmann said today.

“The media gave us a pretty torrid time in Cardiff and fully deserved, we didn't play well enough.

“So it'll probably be the same for them (England) for a bit.”

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