Brad Haddin’s service to Australian cricket demands clarification over his current status from selectors, according to allrounder Shane Watson.
The NSW star leapt to the defence of his Blues team-mate after Haddin was omitted from Australia’s one-day squad on Tuesday for the second time in a row.
While selectors claimed Haddin’s original omission for the first three games of the triangular series was simply a rest, no reason was given for why the 34-year-old hadn’t been recalled for Friday’s match against Sri Lanka in Sydney and the clash with India in Brisbane on Sunday.
And with the veteran wicketkeeper having contradicted selectors by saying he’d been dropped, Watson says the 43-Test player deserves to be told just where he stands even if it’s bad news.
“I actually feel really sorry for Brad at the moment. He’s been left in a bit of limbo unfortunately,” Watson told reporters on Wednesday.
“He doesn’t know which way he’s going, whether he’s being rested or dropped … someone who’s played an important role over the last five years in all forms of the game for Australia I think definitely deserves to be told either way what his future holds.
“If I was in that same situation, I’d be pretty disappointed.”
Both Watson and Haddin will play for NSW in a Sheffield Shield clash with Western Australia starting in Perth on Friday as the pair aim to show they’re good enough to warrant a spot on next month’s tour of the Caribbean.
Watson, who has been sidelined with injury all summer, is all but assured of an international recall if he can prove his fitness and he feels Haddin should be retained ahead of Matthew Wade as Australia’s Test wicketkeeper as well.
“There’s no doubt that I think he’s still got a fair bit of cricket left in him. He’s a very talented cricketer – he’s still very fit and hungry,” Watson said.
“I think this mental burden that’s there of not knowing either way has maybe taken its toll a little bit.”
But Wade’s Victorian team-mate David Hussey says now the left-hander is firmly in the international set-up he’s going to be hard for Haddin to dislodge.
“He’s a fighter, Matty Wade,” Hussey said.
“His biggest attribute is he competes in any situation … he’s doing very well for Australia at the moment. Brad’s a fantastic cricketer and for him to be mentioned in the same breath as Brad is a fantastic accomplishment for Matt.
“If he continues doing what he’s doing everything will take care of itself … I think Matt is ready to play Test cricket.”