The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

More questions than answers after Round 1 of the Sheffield Shield

29th October, 2017
Advertisement
Mitchell Starc will be crucial this summer. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
Expert
29th October, 2017
92
1339 Reads

Mitchell Starc took eight wickets and Matthew Wade failed again as Tasmania were reduced to just 63 in a day of carnage to finish the first round of the Sheffield Shield.

It was Trent Copeland, who is an outside chance if injuries strike the Australians during the summer who did the damage on Day 1 of New South Wales’ fixture at the Adelaide Oval against South Australia, but Starc announced he was well and truly back yesterday.

He ended with figures of 8 for 73 as the Redbacks were knocked over for 206, the Australian quick well and truly announcing his return from injury.

Despite the fact Copeland took six wickets in the first innings, it’s likely he will make way for a returning Josh Hazlewood in Round 2, as the Australian pace attack of Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood attempt to return to full fitness before the first ball of the Ashes on November 23.

Speaking of bolters for the Test team, Nathan Coulter-Nile continues to throw his name in lights, taking three for 18 as the Warriors crashed through the Tigers batting order.

At this stage, it appears he is in a three-way battle with Peter Siddle and Jackson Bird for the gig as twelth man heading into the first Test.

While there are no questions about the make-up of Australia’s pace arsenal for the first Test, there are more than a few questions surrounding the No.6 and wicket-keeper positions.

After the first round, we are no closer to figuring out who is going to slot in either.

Advertisement

Incumbent keeper Matthew Wade is under all sorts of pressure over these three rounds to be played before the Ashes, but he won’t have earnt any brownie points with the selectors after a twin failure in Tasmania’s capitulation at the W.A.C.A.

There are almost no excuses for Wade to be failing with the bat after he was picked ahead of former Tasmanian captain Tim Paine.

Batting at No.5, he returned scores of just one and six, which out of 63 games him the equal second-highest score but is anything but good enough.

His second innings was incredibly concerning. With his six coming from just 18 balls, he flashed at a wide one from Simon Mackin, edging through Josh Inglis behind the stumps. With his team realing, Wade needed to buck in and do the hard yards, even if runs were hard to come by.

Instead, he showed his intent and got out cheaply. It’s something the selectors need to take into consideration ahead of the first Test, even though his main rival for the job, New South Wales’ Peter Nevill made an uninspiring 20 in the first innings and didn’t get a chance to bat in the second before the Blues beat the Redbacks convincingly.

The name thrown up as a bolter for the keeping job, Alex Carey also had his second failure of the match adding just four as the South Australian middle and lower order collapsed at the hands of Starc.

Realistically, the selectors won’t be feeling confident in any of the keepers. Matthew Wade’s ability behind the stumps leaves a lot to be desired, and if he is out of form with the bat, it creates a huge concern over his position in the team. Yet, if neither Nevill or Carey push their point to the selectors, they may still go with Wade.

Advertisement

The question probably stands though as to whether Wade is the right man for the job during the highly-pressured Ashes series. Shots like the one he played in the second innings are nowhere near good enough for a man under pressure, especially when you consider he has gone past 50 just twice in his last 20 Test innings.

Matthew Wade keeping

(AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)

Questions continue to rear their head for the selectors when it comes to the No.6 position. As we talked about yesterday, Glenn Maxwell did nothing to help his chances of selection, while Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh and Hilton Cartwright all had at least one half pleasing result next to their name.

Moises Henriques also struggled against the Redbacks, meaning the Western Australian trio, with teammate Marcus Stoinis shaping as a bolter are in the drivers seat.

After one round though, and considering the tough conditions faced by Queensland and Victoria at the Gabba, it’s hard to come to any definitive judgement on the No.6 spot.

None of the conditions were easy in day-night fixtures played on green decks around the country with rain interruptions, so we will probably get a much clearer picture when the second round gets underway.

There is no question there that Glenn Maxwell will need to score big in at least one of his innings. No matter his record, Cartwright has an edge over him being able to bowl some medium pace, and with a half-century already to his name, he may be a step ahead.

Advertisement

Still, questions need to be answered and at this stage, with a very limited sample space there are more questions than answers for the Ashes team.

Elsewhere, David Warner backed up his first innings 85 with 32, Steve Smith fell cheaply for the second time in a row and Nathan Lyon was again econcomical, picking up 2 for 26 from 14 overs.

The next round of the Sheffield Shield starts on Saturday, November 4 with Victoria to host South Australia at the MCG, New South Wales to play Western Australia at Hurstville and Tasmania taking on Queensland at Blundstone Arena.

close