Image courtesy of: The Mirror
Rogers is ready to put England to the test
Many cricket pundits and former players have already declared England the winners of the Ashes, despite the historic series not having gotten underway yet.
While many of the pundits and ex-players have a strong case, given Australia’s Test record in the last six months, newly recruited Australian batsman Chris Rogers believes the national team are being “a little bit undervalued”.
“I think we’re being a little bit undervalued in many respects,” Rogers said. “We’ve got a very good side – I’ve played against all these guys in the Australian side and I know the amount of talent in the squad.
“I’ve no doubt we can prove a lot of people wrong – if all of us play well together and find form we can shock a few people, no doubt. An Australian with his back to the wall is something to fear.”
Rogers himself has been undervalued for most of his career as he has constantly been snubbed by the national selectors in favour of far more flamboyant and flashy players, who have a real knack for thumping the ball out of the ground.
But, after the retirements of both Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey, Australia have finally given the 35-year-old a chance to shine and be the hero who won the Ashes for Australia and brought the coveted urn back home.
Aaron Finch, who can be described as a Twenty20 specialist, told the Age that Rogers has only ever represented Australia in one Test due to the fact that he is not the most technically gifted batsman.
“Nobody really knows how he does it because his technique is not great to look at,” Finch said.
However, after having finally gotten his opportunity on the biggest stage of them all, Rogers knows failure is not an option.
Rogers also admitted that he had gained a lot of inspiration from watching clips of former Surrey batsman Mark Ramprakash, who never really managed to secure a permanent spot for himself in the England side, but instead made himself into a county cricket legend.
“What stuck out for me was not the shots he played but the fact it just looked like we were never going to get him out,” Rogers said. “That left a lasting impression on me – it wasn’t that pleasurable at the time but amazing to watch – and I think that’s important to be a top player and one who scores a lot of runs. Hopefully that’s one of my strengths.”
The 35-year-old has also recently proved that he is more than capable of holding his own out in the middle, especially after having compiled 790 runs in eight matches for Middlesex at an absolutely outstanding average of 65.83.
“I’ve tried hard to put myself under pressure, knowing the intensity that’s going to come at Trent Bridge is going to be huge,” Rogers said. “So I think it’s worked in my favour, and to have a few warm-up games has been good, especially scoring a few runs. I do enjoy playing over here, the conditions are a little more diverse and it helps with your game, so hopefully I’ve benefited from it.”