Burns as versatile as they come

"I think on Boxing Day, you're happy to bat anywhere from 1 to 11. It doesn't really matter."

It's a clichéd response you'd expect to hear from any young cricketer, especially a laidback 25-year-old like Joe Burns, who's just days away from making his debut on Test cricket's biggest stage.

But Burns is different. He's one of the few players who can legitimately claim to be comfortable in any position in the order. He's tried most of them before.

Burns's fluctuations up, down and back up the batting order began from the start of his first-class career, which came at the backend of the 2010-11 Sheffield Shield season.

He debuted at No.4 against South Australia (where he scored 140), was shifted down to No.5 for the next match, and then moved back up to No.3 the following week.

Image Id: ~/media/FBBCDC259978432FBCED87E8CB09B7C7

He's spent the past 12 months as an opener and on Friday, he's expected to slot into the No.6 spot vacated by the injured Mitchell Marsh.

So when Joe Burns says he's "happy to bat anywhere", he means it.

"I guess that's the nature of my experience in Shield cricket with Queensland," Burns told cricket.com.au on Tuesday.

"I've had the opportunity to bat with Queensland in different positions and do well in different positions.

"When you're faced with different situations like that you really do learn a lot about your game and how to attack different scenarios.

"I think as a professional cricketer, you have to adapt.

"You're faced with all sorts of different situations every game so I guess being in those different situations is something I do enjoy.

"So wherever I'll bat, I'll take it from there."

ABOVE: Joe Burns discusses his superstitions and reveals he will be under the lid in the Boxing Day Test

Burns's versatility was one of the main reasons he was drafted into Australia's Test squad for this third Commonwealth Bank Test, a point made several times by coach Darren Lehmann when announcing the Queenslander’s selection on Sunday.

Burns is Lehmann's kind of cricketer; an attacking player, a cricket 'nuffy' and one who shares his coach's philosophy that cricket, even at the high-pressure international level, is meant to be enjoyed.

ABOVE: Joe Burns was in pretty good touch in the BBL just hours after being called up

It's no surprise that Lehmann's imprints are all over Australia's 441st Test cricketer; the pair's relationship dates back to 2011 during his coaching tenure at the Bulls, a stint that included silverware in both the Sheffield Shield and domestic 50-over tournament.

Image Id: ~/media/BFA602D9AA364D85A6C30F5563B9DC09

"I guess he taught me how to play professional cricket and everything that goes with it," Burns said of Lehmann.

"It's very special for me to have him as my first Australian coach.

"He's a fun-loving guy, he brings a lot of enjoyment to the group and it makes it even easier to come into the group.

"One thing that he taught me is not to take cricket too seriously.

"It's a game, it's meant to be enjoyed and I've always tried to play my cricket like that."

ABOVE: Darren Lehmann annoucnes Joe Burns's inclusion in the Test team

While Burns started his first-class career in the middle order, he's spent the past one-and-a-half Shield seasons dealing with one of the toughest jobs in Australian domestic cricket - opening the batting for Queensland, who play half of their matches at the Gabba, a haven for fast-bowlers.

Image Id: ~/media/68FB0A782D4E4F089ACE2C1A13F89A3C?h=778&w=1200

It's something that has yielded mixed results; he's averaged in excess of 50 at the top of the order, but posted two centuries and seven fifties, a lack of conversion that has resulted in no shortage of frustration for the right-hander.

Having opened the batting in his junior days, it was something that Burns almost fell into at the Bulls.

When Queensland found themselves short of options at the start of last season, Burns volunteered and was given the full backing of a selection panel who believed he had the technique to handle the swinging ball.

He managed only one century in his first summer at the top of the order, but his off-season pledge to convert starts into hundreds yielded the desired result in a match against NSW Blues six weeks ago.

Against an international quality attack of Doug Bollinger, Gurinder Sandhu, Sean Abbott, Nathan Lyon and Steve O'Keefe, Burns steered the Bulls out of early trouble and then unleashed a flurry of boundaries on his way to a career-best 183 from 255 balls, an innings that featured 17 fours and four sixes.

Most importantly, the match was played in front of a small Gabba crowd that included national selectors Trevor Hohns and Mark Waugh - even though Burns didn't know they were there.

Image Id: ~/media/1805FA9F4D4F4BE19FA079E6861BB736

It was a performance that Burns rates as the best of his career, the piece de resistance of a change in the batting order that he says, more than any other change beforehand, has taken his career to a new level.

"I think (opening) is the thing that's helped my batting the most over the past 18 months," Burns said.

"I've really learnt more about my game and it's challenging up at the Gabba against the new rock.

"I enjoyed the challenge of moving around (the middle order), but I guess opening in the last season-and-a-half, I've felt a little more settled and it's helped with my training and preparations."

Image Id: ~/media/FB8C720C46BE4A5CBCFFCFF9548E1E78