Turner puts his hand up for crucial T20 role

Having spent BBL|10 batting at No.6 for the Perth Scorchers, Ashton Turner says he has the skills and form to fill the crucial role in Australia's middle order.

Turner is one of four players who could slot in at No.6 after skipper Aaron Finch said the top five would be occupied by himself, Matthew Wade, Josh Philippe, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis in the upcoming five-match T20 tour of New Zealand.

Competing for the No.6 'finisher' role with Turner are Mitch Marsh, D'Arcy Short and Ben McDermott, all damaging players capable of clearing the boundary at will.

But Short and McDermott of the Hurricanes spent most of this summer's KFC BBL taking on the new ball in the top order, while Marsh and Turner batted five and six, respectively, for the Scorchers.

The 28-year-old has now played 108 T20 games, to go with 17 international caps, and says he is ready to take on the Black Caps if selected.

"I've spent my whole career batting in the middle order for various teams, whether it's for Western Australia or in the Big Bash for the Perth Scorchers or when I've got to play for Australia," Turner said today.

"It's certainly the role I feel the most comfortable playing.

"I feel like if selected I've got the skills and I feel like I'm playing well enough to do a good job for the team but that being said, there's some quality guys in our squad who also bat in the middle order.

"I've got no doubt whichever way the selection hammer falls that the XI we put out onto the park are going to be really competitive."

Since the last T20 World Cup in 2016, Australia have struggled in the No.6 position.

Thirteen players have batted at No.6, collectively averaging 10.21 at strike rate of 98.25.

On average, the No.6 batter faces just 10 balls per innings to underline the role's requirement of immediately scoring at a high rate.

Turner, who has batted at No.6 in Australia's T20 side three times in the past five years for just eight runs, says he has adapted his training to suit the demands of a T20 middle order role where immediate boundaries are required at the back end of an innings.

"Quite often the role of a middle order batter is to walk out and you might have to try to find a boundary in your first or second ball," he said.

"That's something you don't prepare for in red ball cricket, so I like to think my training reflects that.

"I don't train for as long in T20 cricket but it's a really high-intensity and certainly a skill to be able to walk out to bat and not face dot balls, to score really quickly and potentially need to find the boundary early.

"It's a skill to be able to get off strike and get your mate who is at the other end on strike and being really adaptable.

"I like to think my training reflects all situations."

While Turner might have the lowest BBL|10 aggregate and average of his main competitors, he does boast the best strike rate of 152.

And the right-hander says he no longer judges himself on the runs alone but the situation where they are recorded, a by-product from lessons learned across eight years as a professional cricketer.

And one experience he will hold onto is his match-winning 84no from 43 balls against India in Mohali two years ago that helped Australia chase down a record 359 to keep an ODI series alive.

"When I first started playing Big Bash cricket and domestic cricket I didn't know how to judge my performance," he said.

"When I first came into the team I was batting at six in a really strong team for the Perth Scorchers and I probably was a bit harsh on myself. I couldn't understand why I wasn’t scoring as many runs as guys who were opening the batting.

"As I've got older, a bit wiser and had a bit more experience I probably have different KPIs for myself. I hold myself to different standards.

"Opening batters go out and be the leading run scorers in the tournament. For me it's about doing what the team needs and trying have an impact in the game, whether that be two balls at the end of the innings or I get to face 20 balls. That can determine how much of an impact I can have.

"Guys who are batting in the middle order, batting at five, six or seven probably won't be at the top of the run-scoring charts. Quite often you will see those guys batting in real high-pressure situations – four runs to win off the last ball or situations like that.

"I judge myself on how I perform in those satiations (more) than I do on averages or anything like that."

Qantas T20I tour of New Zealand 2021

Australia squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.

New Zealand squad: TBC

1st T20: February 22, Hagley Oval, Christchurch, 5pm AEDT

2nd T20: February 25, University of Otago Oval, Dunedin, 12noon AEDT

3rd T20: March 03, Sky Stadium, Wellington, 5pm AEDT

4th T20: March 05, Eden Park, Auckland, 5pm AEDT

5th T20: March 07, Bay Oval, Tauranga, 12noon AEDT

All matches will be shown live in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo