It is a tough road ahead for Darren Lehmann - prior to his injury he was statistically one of the top 5 batsmen in the world for 2003. An average of 75 is nothing to be scoffed at.
But his lay-off has been sufficient for another player to emerge. Simon Katich has performed equally well to Martin Love but has the added advantage of bowling abilities (although I'm still not convinced).
The equally important issue now is: Will Martin Love ever finish his international career or will he have the distinction (and the scar) of finishing his career with a Test century - presumably one of the only batsmen to have been dropped and never played again after a century.
Lehmann's test form is more than enough to warrant a Test re-call - the fact he missed a ODI spot doesn't surprise me but it says a lot about his position. His spot will be in the middle order, in Test matches only, and so far as he continues his Test form. One bad series and he is gone. A couple of poor scores with no scores of merit and he is gone.
I feel sorry for him, his age plays a huge factor. But when you have Simon Katich, Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Andrew Symonds (apparently) all starting to press their claims for selection - where do you go besides picking the best available team even if it means dropping someone who has performed as well as Lehmann.
If Love's dropping after a triple figure score is anything to do by, it may well be goodnight Darren Lehmann soon.
Geez that's a tough call, but you can't pick everyone who has earned their spot - there are 11 positions.
