Run of the Bulls no surprise for Law

The rapid rise of Queensland batting duo Usman Khawaja and Joe Burns has come as no surprise to former state coach Stuart Law.

Law, who played one Test and 54 one-day internationals in the 1990s, worked closely with Australia's current Test stars as coach of the Bulls for two seasons between 2013 and January last year.

While he left his post before his former pupils made their stunning impact on Test cricket, the 47-year-old year-old oversaw the pair fine-tune their games at state level before exploding on the international stage.

And he says the mental fortitude of the duo - particularly Khawaja, who fought his way back to fitness after a serious knee injury - has been key to their development.

"To fight your way back from that (knee injury) and to trust your body to hold up at that level is one thing," Law told Crocmedia of Khawaja.

"But to go out and execute as well is another altogether.

"I’m not surprised to see him make hundreds at Test level because he’s been earmarked for success since the first day he stepped on to the first-class stage.

"It was just a matter of understanding his game and understanding what is required to compile big scores under the highest level of pressure.

"When I first saw him at Queensland we were playing in the one-day competitions and he’d score a beautiful 60 and then get out.

"Rightly or wrongly, I kept ribbing him saying '60 isn’t the new 120 mate, you’ve got to start kicking on' and too his credit he’s done that.

"So the success doesn’t surprise me but my god it’s one hell of a purple patch he’s got going at the moment and long may it continue."

Burns produced is best performance at Test level in Christchurch this week, posting 170 in the first innings - his third Test century - and 65 in the second to guide Australia to a 2-0 series win over New Zealand.

The 26-year-old has gained notoriety for more than just his batting feats, with his love of carrots (which apparently help his eyesight) and oysters a key component of his pre-match ritual.

But Law says the Brisbane product's greatest asset is nothing out of the ordinary - good old-fashioned hard work.

"I think he’s started to realise it doesn’t matter how many carrots or oysters you eat, if you don’t go out and execute your plans it’s irrelevant what you ate the night before," Law said.

"I think he’ll go down as one of the most eccentric characters I’ve seen at this stage but the thing I love about him is that he just works hard.

"He hits so many balls and as soon as he’s finished at first-class level he goes back to his club team and works his backside off at training there as well.

"He hits balls, throws balls, gives advice and does everything. So he’s not just about himself, he helps others out wherever possible as well.

"It’s a credit to him that’s got as far as he has and he’ll make sure he does everything right to give himself the best chance of staying there."

While Khawaja has long been earmarked for a successful Test career, the fact he's been able to translate that form into Twenty20 cricket this summer as well has surprised even the most astute judges of talent.

A stylish and orthodox player, Khawaja used that traditional method of run-scoring to plunder 345 runs from just four matches for the Sydney Thunder in the KFC Big Bash League.

It included an unbeaten 109 from 70 balls against the Melbourne Stars in December, with Stars captain David Hussey praising the left-hander after the match and conceding that "I didn't think he was that good at T20 cricket".

Khawaja's BBL form was enough for him to be selected in Australia's squad for the ICC World T20 in India later this year and Law says the 29-year-old has provided an example for other similar-minded batsmen to follow.

"His success has also thrown the T20 world in to a spin because he’s not the biggest bloke and he’s not the most powerful bloke but he can score just as quickly playing normal cricket shots," Law said.

"It’s a great advertisement for youngsters out there that you don’t have to clear your leg and smash it over midwicket every ball."