Six contenders to replace Rogers

With Chris Rogers set to retire following this winter’s Ashes, Australia’s selectors will need to scour the domestic ranks to find a new Test match opening partner for David Warner.

Fortunately for Rod Marsh and the National Selection Panel there is no shortage of talented top-order batsmen plying their trade around the country.

Here are six possible contenders, presented in alphabetical order, who could replace Rogers should the veteran opener officially call time on his Test career ahead of the two-Test series against Bangladesh in October.

Cameron Bancroft

A breakout season with the Alcohol.Think Again Western Warriors has the 22-year-old right in the mix to leapfrog his peers and into Rogers’ vacant opening position.

The lissom right-hander’s zen-like powers of concentration were evident when he occupied the crease for more than 13 hours to notch a 567-ball 211 against an international-strength NSW Blues bowling attack in Perth.

The patience and calm Bancroft carries to the crease is the perfect foil for Warner’s intense, frenzied approach, complementing the explosive left-hander much like the outgoing southpaw.

Bancroft played all 11 Bupa Sheffield Shield matches for the Warriors in 2014-15, scoring three tons in 896 runs at 47.15, teaming with skipper Adam Voges and Michael Klinger as the competition’s top three leading run-scorers.

Joe Burns

First introduced to the Australian public as a dashing middle-order batsman in his two Tests at No.6 last summer, the Queenslander is better known as an opening bat in the Sunshine State and the four-day format.

While Burns showed he had the destructive stroke play to challenge international bowling attacks with twin half-centuries against India in the New Year’s Test at the SCG, the record-breaking Shield season by Adam Voges and the return of Mitchell Marsh from injury saw the 25-year-old lose his place in Australia’s Test squad.

But with a Baggy Green and more than 50 first-class matches under his belt, Burns is right in line to move up the order and partner Warner in the Test team on a long-term basis to form a brutal one-two, left-right combo for Australia.

Ten matches for the myFoot Dr Queensland Bulls last summer produced 793 runs at 52.86 including a match winning 135 not out to guide the Bulls to victory against South Australia at the Gabba.

Ed Cowan

After starting the Sheffield Shield season with four centuries in five matches, Cowan’s technical adjustments made in the off-season to create more scoring options paid dividends immediately.

It’s been almost two-years since the 32-year-old last donned the whites for Australia, but the experience of 18 Tests and having opened the batting with Warner behind him, Cowan is a safe, measured option for the NSP.

In his last season for the Tasmanian Tigers before returning home to Sydney and the Blues, Cowan tallied 815 runs at 47.94.

Usman Khawaja

A severe knee injury ruined Khawaja’s hopes of an international recall last summer after the elegant left-hander kicked off the season in sparkling touch.

Khawaja finished the Matador One-Day Cup as the tournament’s leading run-scorer, notching 523 runs at 74.71 opening the innings and was simply breathtaking in his majestic 166 that propelled Queensland to chase down 399 against Tasmania at North Sydney Oval.

A torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee suffered in a Sydney Thunder pre-season training drill ended his summer prematurely, but the 28-year-old has not been forgotten by the NSP.

Khawaja has been handed the reins of Australia A for their tour of India this winter, and can use the spin-friendly conditions as an audition for the Bangladesh Test series following the Ashes.

Nic Maddinson

One of the cleanest strikers of a cricket ball in the world when in peak form, Maddinson’s power game has seen him become one of the most feared limited-overs batsmen in Australia.

But another solid Shield season with the Blues saw the 23-year-old picked for Australia A’s two four-day matches against India A, joining Khawaja, Bancroft and Burns in the subcontinent.

If Maddinson gets the nod as Rogers’ successor, Australia could field their own version of West Indies master blasters Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, teaming two of the country’s most dynamic left-handers to form a blockbuster opening stand.

Maddinson’s 2014-15 season produced 483 runs in nine innings at 53.66 with one century and three fifties.

Shaun Marsh

The NSP might not have to look far if it decides to promote incumbent Test No.5 Shaun Marsh up the order in October.

Marsh has spent most of his 12-Test career batting at first-drop, but over the past 18 months the left-hander has slotted in at No.4 and No.5 when awarded an opportunity.

While he might be light on short-term experience at the top of the order, Marsh has opened the batting in one-day international cricket 20 times for Australia, scoring five fifties.

At 31, Marsh is in his prime as a batsman, and played three Tests and 11 first-class matches last summer, recording 960 runs at 56.47 with three tons, and like Warner, can smoothly shift gears when needed at the highest level.