Overlooked and overshadowed, Joe’s fire continues to 'Burn' bright

Coming to think of it, Joe Burns might just actually fit right into a rock band, if not a metal one. Weirdly enough, he has the look of a guy who’s the lead vocalist, but the actual recognition he gets is that of a bassist. All the bands that you listen to, do you remember the name of the lead vocalist (or) have you ever made an effort to search for it? Most probably.

And he clicked, instantly. Not only did he click on a personal level - scoring 71 and 129 in his first two gigs - but he also struck bodacious chemistry with his partner Warner and the duo, whilst on song, were an audience’s delight.

They tried Matt Renshaw, Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris, but it just didn’t click. One, they weren’t able to stay flawless with their own strumming and two, they were all completely out of sync with Warner. So here they are, the Aussies, in the summer of 2019, once again back with their go-to simplistic perfectionist Burns on the bass to help them run the show smoothly. 

Ideally, he should have been here for the entirety of the year, but he’s not had luck on his side either. Australia’s rinse-repeat formula of going back to the Queenslander when every other opener fails already happened once this year, in February, when he was picked for the Sri Lanka series. That time, due to the band’s lead guitarist and his partner-in-crime missing, the show turned out to be more or less a solo one, and Burns shone like a star, striking a wondrous 180.

We all know how well that went, so here we are. Four hundreds in 18 matches - that too for a 21st-century Australian opener - is no joke, yet it is not often that you come across his name in the headlines. For starters, he doesn’t give you too many show-stopping, eye-catching performances, but when he does, he gets overshadowed.

Burns scored a match-winning 170 in Christchurch in 2016 in a Test between New Zealand and Australia, but you don’t remember that knock, do you? All you remember from that game is Brendon McCullum’s fastest Test hundred. Earlier this year, in the last series of Australia’s 2018/19 home summer, he also became the first centurion of the home summer, but that feat was also undermined very quickly thanks to three other Aussies scoring centuries in the same match right after he did.  

Is it even surprising that Warner got his mojo back the moment he started playing solos with his cherished band member? Of course not. There has been plenty that has materialized - in and around him - since he made his Test debut, but Joe has ‘Burnsed’ his way through this journey called international cricket, unphased by everything. In a way, the 97 he scored at the Gabba against Pakistan might just be more valuable than the other 1,127 runs he’s scored whilst wearing the Baggy Green, for it might have just bought him enough time to show the selectors his importance. 

There have been attempts to put down the fire, but Joe has kept burning, and he will continue to do so. Don’t expect him to steal the show and take the audience’s breath away, for he’s still only a bass guitarist whose primary job is to keep the rhythm going. Right now, for Burns and most importantly for Australia, he has the pick in his hand and will ensure that his band members stay in the groove whilst also running the show smoothly. But will the selectors ever think twice before sacrificing him yet again for a more attractive prospect? Well, your guess is as good as mine.