Faulkner refreshed ahead of county stint

Three years ago James Faulkner was on top of the world, lifting the World Cup trophy, named player of the match in the final against New Zealand, and seemingly ensconced in Australia's long term plans across all formats.

Since then, however, the Tasmanian has struggled to recapture that form. He carried a knee injury into that World Cup, but pressed on through the tournament with it as Australia claimed a record fifth title. 

He paid the price though, and has battled the knee complaint ever since, and with it struggled to find the form and rhythm that made him one of the first names on the Australia limited-overs team sheet in the previous two years.

Faulkner, though, claims he is "reinvigorated" and "ready to go" as he prepares to head to the UK for a stint in the domestic T20 competition there.

"A bit of freshening up and the body is feeling good. My knee is as good as it has ever been," Faulkner told Indian website Sportstar Live.

"I am reinvigorated and ready to go again."

It has been a long road back for Faulkner, though. The hero of a memorable ODI epic in Brisbane against England in early 2014, Faulkner was overlooked entirely for Australia's Champions Trophy squad last winter. 

He returned to the ODI team in October against India, but was promptly dropped after one match, getting a second game when Kane Richardson went down with illness.

Since the World Cup final, Faulkner has scored 218 runs at 19.81 with a strike rate of 80 in ODIs, compared to a career average of 34.40 at better than a run a ball. Once known as 'The Finisher', his harshest critics claimed he was 'finished'.

There were glimpses though: Faulkner's bowling returns changed little in terms of statistics, while others hurried to catch up to his variations and clever slower-balls, and he even claimed an ODI hat-trick against Sri Lanka in August 2016.

"He (Faulkner) hasn't consistently been in Australia's best XI for a long time now," Australia assistant coach Brad Haddin said a year ago. 

He found some form with the bat in an underwhelming Big Bash season for the Melbourne Stars, but a run in the PM's XI side did little to enhance his cause as he hit two from nine balls and saw 20 runs taken off two overs. 

He was the subject of speculation he would be leaving the Stars, and went unsold at the IPL auction this season, while Tasmania coach Adam Griffiths admitted the state would need to make a decision with the allrounder off-contract after the 2017-18 summer.

Having been off the park to focus on his fitness – he has played just three Premier Cricket games in Tasmania since the Big Bash, Faulkner will continue to build up his fitness before jetting off to the UK to rejoin Lancashire for the domestic T20 campaign in July. 

"I wasn't getting any break at all. It takes a toll on your body," he said.

"It might be a blessing in disguise that I have had this time, just to get everything right … to play the game, enjoy it, and put good performances up."