MELBOURNE: Queensland batsman Joe Burns is determined to avoid membership of the burgeoning club of Australian batsmen who have made brief cameos in the test team before permanently falling into obscurity.

The 25-year-old was the only member of the team that defeated India 2-0 in the 2014-15 series not to be picked for the 17-man tour squad for the Caribbean and England in June and July.

The highly-rated right-hander’s spot was usurped by 35-year-old Western Australian Adam Voges, who amassed more than 1,300 runs in Australia’s domestic Sheffield Shield to lead the run-scorers in a stand-out season.

Though Voges dazzled selectors, Burns also had a decent Shield and might feel unlucky after scoring consecutive half-centuries in his second and last test against India in January.

“Sometimes tough calls are made and 50-50 calls can go against you but you can’t get too down about it,” two-Test Burns told the Brisbane Times.

“You have to focus on what’s important and the things that you need to continually keep doing to keep performing.

“I think I’m not going to get too caught up in getting down in the dumps about it.

“I think it’s natural to be disappointed when you get left out of the Australian cricket team. It’s a great team to be a part of and I guess that’s why it hurts not to get the chance to play.”

Australia’s recent history is littered with batsmen who have been thrown into the spotlight after years of toiling in the fringes, then promptly banished after a handful of games.

Tasmania batsman Alex Doolan had a brief flirtation with Australia’s number three spot in the batting order last year but was dumped after his fourth test produced consecutive failures.

Erstwhile one-day captain George Bailey failed to perform in the 2013-14 Ashes and has not had a look-in since.

Three-test all-rounder Moises Henriques enjoyed a promising debut in India with two half-centuries but was discarded before the end of the ill-fated 2013 tour that saw Australia whitewashed 4-0.

On his 2012 debut against South Africa in Brisbane, Victoria left-hander Rob Quiney scored nine, which was memorably described as “the best nine” then-coach Mickey Arthur had seen.

He was dropped one test later after two consecutive ducks and Arthur was sacked the following year.

Burns will head to India with Australia A and other test discards, including Bailey, Usman Khawaja and spinner Ashton Agar.

“I want to play for the next decade for Australia and I think being able to perform on the sub-continent is going to play a big part in that,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2015

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