Melbourne: Ed Cowan may not possess the flair of a "typical left-hander", but former Australia cricket captain, Mark Taylor, feels the opener is sound enough to make big strides into the future.
"He is not your typical left-hander, he`s not as comfortable working onto the leg-side but looks confident cutting and driving," said Taylor.
"He did a very good job blunting the new ball. Cowan was very well disciplined, he left a lot more balls than most in the top order in recent times," the former skipper pointed.
Taylor heralded Cowan as Australia`s top order "banker", proving a critical roadblock against India in a stirring Test debut.
The New South Wales cricketer along with Ricky Ponting resurrected the Australian innings after the hosts lost David Warner and Shaun Marsh in quick succession on an engrossing opening day of the first cricket Test on Monday.
Cowan put on 46-run partnership with Warner for the first wicket before combining with Ponting to splice another 113.
However, Cowan`s dismissal at a crucial time appeared debatable.
Australia were 214 for five when Cowan was given out caught behind off Ravichandran Ashwin. Television replays, however, showed that umpire Ian Gould may have erred.
Although his 68-run knock came at a fairly slow pace, but Taylor felt "his strikerate is ok as long as he goes on to make a big score".
"He made the bowlers bowl to him. He knows where his offstump is," he added.
The 29-year-old spent six years trying unsuccessfully to break into his domestic side, New South Wales, but nine tons since moving to Tasmania in 2009-10 was a reason enough to earn the baggy green.
The batsman was cast aside by the former selection panel but brought in from the Tasmanian wilderness through a new group headed by John Inverarity.
"You couldn`t have asked for a better time to be selected," said Taylor.
PTI
First Published: Monday, December 26, 2011, 17:41