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Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Australian pacer Xavier Bartlett said that he has been working on his defensive bowling skillset and batting as the Aussie bowling line-up prepares to enter a transition phase within the next few years, with earning the prestigious Baggy Green cap for Aussies in the longest format as a goal.
Bartlett was speaking to ANI amid PBKS' unbeaten run in the Indian Premier League (IPL), having won five and one match ending in a no result, giving them 11 points and leaving them just a few more away from the playoffs. The 27-year-old has featured in all games so far, having taken four wickets at an average of 57.00 and an economy rate of 10.52, with best figures of 2/9. The Queensland pacer has been impressive for Australia in his brief international career so far, taking 24 scalps in 21 T20Is at an average of 22.04 and an economy rate of 7.95, with best figures of 3/13. In five ODIs, he has taken 15 wickets at an average of 11.13, with two four-wicket hauls and best figures of 4/17. In his short international career so far, he has taken wickets of some of the world's current best and legends alike, including Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Tim Seifert, Shai Hope, Suryakumar Yadav, Aiden Markram and Shubman Gill across limited-overs cricket. After these fine performances in the limited-overs cricket, Bartlett has his eyes set on wearing the baggy green and has enjoyed learning from the 'Big Three' pace trio of Pat Cummins (32), Josh Hazlewood (35), Mitchell Starc (36), who are heading into the final stage of their careers and could pave way for a new generation of pacers near the end of this decade. In a bid to make himself a regular in the line-up across formats and earn the Test cap, Bartlett has been working on his skills as a defensive bowler and trying to bat as well as he can. With an average of 16.11 and a strike rate of over 125, including a fifty in 59 T20 innings, Bartlett, who has 548 runs in the format, can clearly tonk a long ball, having played a vital 11* run cameo against Gujarat Titans (GT), holding one end steady with his "good mate" Cooper Connolly during a chase of 163, which got chaotic courtesy a spicy Prasidh Krishna spell which collapsed GT from 110/2 to 118/6. "Having those three boys (Cummins, Hazlewood, Starc) in particular, it has been amazing for my career. They are three of the best we have had, and they are getting younger with the performances they have been putting out, it is amazing to watch. For me, it is about adding more attributes to my game, developing my defensive skills, as I have been doing for the last 12 to 18 months and trying to take that next step. Learning from these three boys (the Big Three pace trio) and knowing them has been amazing. I am still trying to work on my game, trying to add whenever I can with the bat. Hopefully, I continue to grow and get better each passing day and every competition," he said. Xavier has represented Queensland in 32 first-class matches, having taken 111 wickets at an average of 25.77, with seven four-fers and three five-wicket hauls, is no different from many other cricketers from the country, aspiring to wear the prestigious Baggy Green Test cap. "You grow up wanting to play Test cricket for Australia and get that Baggy Green. But we have so many great bowlers in Australian cricket. So it is about trying to buy me some time, make sure I am number one, stay fit and on the park and finally, putting in good performances. The rest will take care of itself," he signed off. (ANI)
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