Ashton Agar was informed to maintain his “chin up” and stroll tall by nationwide selectors after being missed for 2 Tests in India, however declared there was “no bitterness” concerned within the determination to ship him house early.
After arriving again in Perth on Thursday Agar, who was the one left-arm spinner picked within the preliminary Australian squad however was unused in two Tests earlier than selectors parachuted in Matt Kuhnemann, stated the message to him was effectively communicated.
At 29, the snub might make it arduous for Agar to get again into the Test crew, given he’s slipped down the pecking order, however he was circumspect about the place he sits.
“It’s not an ideal situation, but you just try and make the best of it,” he stated.
“I’m 29 now and been through plenty of ups and downs in the game. I’m in a fortunate position so it’s nothing that stresses me out too much.
“There was really clear messaging, they communicated with me and it’s a clear path forward with that message – it’s chin up, walk tall and try to improve.
“There’s no bitterness around this sort of stuff any more; that’s an old school mentality. I just try and give as much as I can and help where I can.”
Selector Tony Dodemaide stated Agar had “worked his backside off” in India however that selectors didn’t really feel he posed as a lot of a risk to India’s batters as Kuhnemann.
Agar, who will return to India with Australia’s ODI crew for a collection in March, stated a scarcity of red-ball video games in recent times didn’t assist his trigger.
“It’s been pretty hard for me recently to be fair, I’ve played, like, three red-ball games in three years,” he informed Channel 10 in Perth.
“It’s hard to expect that part of my game to be in tip-top, perfect shape. But I’ll always compete as hard as I can and give as much as I can to a team. It’s just whether I get that chance. I’ll play as well as I can and see what happens.”
The West Australian was assured he had the resilience to maintain pushing his nationwide trigger.
“I do feel like I am pretty resilient and try to front up every day with a smile on my face and be part of a team,” Agar stated.
“Going go India is really hard; individually it’s hard and it’s bloody hard as a team, especially against that team at the moment – they are unbelievable.
“I think controlling my attitude had been a strength of mine over the last few years and I am certainly enjoying my cricket a lot more because of that. You definitely bounce back a little quickly from setbacks.”
Source: www.news.com.au
