Xavier Doherty

Xavier Doherty first came into the prominence after some impressive performances for Tasmania in the domestic One-Day tournaments. He was named the state's One-Day player of the year in successive seasons (2006-07 and 2007-08). He had to wait longer to make his ODI debut for Australia.

It came in 2010 against Sri Lanka. He did well in his first outing, picking up four crucial wickets to turn the game in Australia's favour, but that performance was outshone by the brilliance of Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga, who put on an impressive partnership to help Sri Lanka win from an improbable situation.

He made his Test debut in the first two games of The Ashes, 2010. He was picked ahead of the likes of Nathan Hauritz and many people doubted the credibility of the selection. He gave more fodder to the doubters, picking up just three wickets and conceding 306 runs in two games. Despite this he was assured of a place in the squad for the 2011 World Cup but a back injury forced him to miss the tournament. He was dropped soon after and was recalled to the Test side in 2013 for Australia's tour of India. He played the second and the third Test in Hyderabad and Mohali, respectively, but again failed to impress and was left out of the side.

However, Doherty's left-arm spin has been quite handy for Australia in the ODI format and has been a regular member in the squad. He played a few T20Is for his country, including the 2012 World T20, but was not preferred for the 2014 edition, and was dropped from the T20I squad. Although he has played only a few games for Australia since the 2014 World T20, the selectors picked Doherty as the lone front line spinner in the squad for the 2015 World Cup.

Doherty remains an useful option in ODIs but has his task cut out in stepping up his game for the Test matches.

By Ganesh Chandrasekaran