How your team went in the first half of the 2016-17 Sheffield Shield season

With the Big Bash fast approaching and the Australian public focused on the Test series against Pakistan, it is time to squeeze in a quick review of the first half of the Sheffield Shield season, which concluded a few days ago with Round 5 having been completed.

Round 6 of the Shield doesn’t kick off until the second of February with the Big Bash dominating the domestic scene over the summer holidays.

So how did your team do and who has performed well over the first five rounds?

Let’s start with the defending champs and current table toppers, the Bushrangers.

Victoria

The Vics have been flying this season, despite the brew-ha-ha in the media over the batting order and the role of gun all-rounder Glenn Maxwell in the side.

Their success has been based on a very high-performing bowling line-up consisting of the core of Chris Tremain, Scott Boland and Jon Holland and a very long batting line-up that has been able to produce at least one great performance in the top six in every innings.

The bowlers

With three of the top four wicket-takers in the competition this season, the Bushrangers have been the outstanding bowling team. Indeed, their top two bowlers – Tremain and Holland – could be pushing for Test selection should any spots come up during the Pakistan series or in India, where both could be seen as good options.

Holland could be an ideal second spinner, his left arm orthodox complementing the right arm off-spin of Nathan Lyon, while Tremain is a quick who can bowl a lot of overs and has been known to extract life out of dead pitches. He could be handy in India if Australia do opt for three seamers and one spinner.

The batsmen

In the batting department, the Vics have benefitted from multiple contributors; when one batsmen fails, another inevitably has stood up this season – a good sign for the reigning champs.

Marcus Harris has been outstanding since his move over from Western Australia and seems to be enjoying the change of scenery (and perhaps change in coaching staff).

Peter Handscomb has finally made the step up to Test cricket that all who have watched him closely over the past few seasons knew he would; let’s hope he has a great Test series against Pakistan and becomes a regular in the Test line-up.

Cameron White has also been in great form, and it is largely thanks to these three batsmen that the Bushrangers find themselves in top spot with four wins and one gutsy draw from their five games played.

South Australia

Currently sitting in second spot with three wins and two losses, as their record suggests, the Redbacks have been a bit hit and miss this season.

The bowlers

Chadd Sayers has been in great form with the ball, leading the list of wicket takers for the competition and picking up three game-changing five-wicket hauls.

Rather surprisingly after the elevation of Daniel Worrall to the Australia A team and then the ODI team over the winter, it has been Kane Richardson, the forgotten SA seamer, who has been the next best bowler for the Redbacks, with Worrall only having played in two of the five matches. Richardson had a great finish to the first half of the Shield season with a match haul of 6/87.

Joe Mennie has been dependable as always, without being destructive, while Adam Zampa continues to disappoint at first-class level and Travis Head looks to be further developing his handy off spinners.

The batsmen

Travis Head is on his way to his best Shield season so far, averaging over 60 this year and having made some telling contributions with a hundred and a fifty against the best bowling line up of the competition, Victoria.

Together with youngster Jake Weatherald and veteran Tom Cooper, these three have been the key performers. Weatherald, in particular, looks like a good prospect for the future.

You can’t help but feel sorry for Callum Ferguson who, after the elation of being picked for the Hobart Test, has been in a real rut since, now averaging under 20 for the season.

Jake Lehmann has looked good at times, but has failed to contribute in the middle order on a few occasions when the team was collapsing. His match-winning unbeaten half-century in the final match of the year augers well for the second half of the season. Young keeper Alex Carey has been consistent and tidy – one to keep an eye on.

Queensland

With two wins and three losses, the Bulls are showing a lot of potential but have yet to settle on a first-choice bowling line up and therefore have struggled to bowl sides out for under 400. Their batting has been okay at times but they have suffered from some major collapses as well.

The bowlers

As a mate of mine from Brisbane recently said Queensland has a number of pacemen who would be considered a “decent third seamer,” but they lack a strike bowler and this has been evident in their performances this season so far.

George and Feldman have been consistent, toiling away with their medium fast offerings without ever threatening to take the game away from a batting side. Feldman is the only Queenslander to have a five wicket hall this season – and he only has the one (5/68 in a losing cause against NSW).

The young leggie Swepson has put in some encouraging performances and should be persevered with over Floros, who doesn’t seem to offer much. Wildermuth also looks to be developing well as a genuine all-rounder.

The batsmen

Queensland’s best batsmen – Khawaja and Renshaw – have unfortunately only played three and two games respectively due to commitments with the Test team and injuries.

Without them, Queensland have struggled to consistently put on big totals. Of the other batsmen, Marnus Lanuschagne has at times shown some of his good form from the Matador Cup and Hartley continues to make runs at number seven, making us all wish he was picked for Australia in his prime.

Unfortunately for the Bulls, Burns has looked short on confidence and Heazlett looks to have the second year blues, a fate many observers predicted for at least some of the young batsmen who dominated the competition last year.

Wildermuth has made some valuable contributions from number six and Neser has too at number eight, but the Bulls need regular contributions from the top order, which has been hard to come by this season.

New South Wales

With two wins, two losses and a draw, the Blues have made a decent start and look set to make a move up the ladder in the second half of the season. With the possibility of Pat Cummins strengthening their bowling unit and Peter Nevill bolstering their batting in the remaining Shield games, NSW could be a team to watch out for.

The batsmen

Kurtis Patterson has been the standout for NSW this season, with many cricket fans surprised to see his teammate Nic Maddinson promoted to the Test team ahead of him, despite poorer returns both this season and last.

If Patterson can continue his good form and notch one or two big centuries in the back end of the Shield season, he could ensure he is next cab off the rank should a spot open up in the Test team middle order.

The Blues’ openers, Cowan and Hughes, have both had average seasons which has meant NSW have often found themselves on the back foot early in their innings. Both Henriques and Nevill have essentially played one good innings apiece, not enough to win their side many games.

The bowlers

The NSW bowling attack has looked its most threatening when they are playing on a spinning deck and Nathan Lyon is not bowling – O’Keefe and Somerville have far outperformed their more highly decorated Test peer this season.

Copeland continues to competently bowl medium pace stump to stump stuff that is economical and does the job, but Doug Bollinger seems to have waned somewhat in penetration as the campaign has gone on.

Debutant Stobo had a great start with seven wickets in his maiden outing, while youngster Harry Conway is a work in progress. With Copeland and O’Keefe injured towards the end of the year, NSW will be looking forward to their return for the second instalment and hoping that they will be complemented by a certain Mr Cummins.

Tasmania

Bottom-dwellers Tasmania have begun to show some form in the past few games, coming agonisingly close to a win against Victoria in the last game and putting up a good fight to draw against NSW and to comfortably beat Western Australia in the previous round.

However, just one win from five games sees their chances of making the final slim.

The batsmen

It will come as no surprise to anyone who follows the Shield regularly that George Bailey tops the run scorers for Tasmania so far this season. If it wasn’t for his poor form in the ODIs, Bailey would be mentioned more frequently as a potential candidate for the Test team to tour India.

If he continues his good form in the format that counts – first-class cricket – he may well be in contention when the squad is announced.

Young Beau Webster continues to develop well after having impressed with Australia A over the winter. Doolan was looking in good nick before being struck down with concussion, ruling him out of two matches, while the former Blues duo of Silk and Doran continue to frustrate with glimpses of form, but ultimately neither of them have successfully made the step up and consistently made the runs expected of them.

James Faulkner is showing some good signs with the bat. If only he could do the same with the ball, we would have a genuine all-rounder on our hands!

The bowlers

As with their batting, Tasmania have relied heavily on their international star in the bowling – Jackson Bird has been hitting the right lines all season and leads the list with 18 scalps.

Other medium-fast bowlers Stevenson, Milenko, Rainbird, Kingston and Faulkner have been average at best.

We may expect to see more of Andrew Fekete and Rainbird in the second half of the season. Leg spinner Boyce has not enjoyed Hobart so far and is not getting much of a look in since his move from Queensland. Part time spinner Beau Webster has bowled more than twice the number of overs and taken a few more wickets too.

Western Australia

Perhaps the disappointment of the season so far, the highly-fancied Warriors have underperformed in all areas, and have been hit by a raft of injuries to their key fast men.

With their only win coming in the last game before the break, Western Australian fans will be hoping that was a turning point for their season and they will come back refreshed and ready to go in February.

The batsmen

If one were to look for a single reason why Western Australia have struggled this year, it has to be the collective failure of most of their top six. Cameron Bancroft and Michael Klinger, arguably their best two batsmen, have both been poor this season, and have not been helped often by Adam Voges or the middle-lower order batsmen like Cartwright, Whiteman and Agar.

Jonathan Wells looks to be enjoying the warmer weather in Perth and has been a revelation this season as opener, while Ashton Turner is having a breakout year with the bat and looks to be one to watch if he can continue this form.

Western Australia fans will hope he can, and that he will start getting some more consistent support from more senior batsmen in the second half of the season.

The bowlers

Much like Victoria, Western Australia have relied on a core of three key bowlers to take most of their wickets – Mackin, Behrendorff and Agar. Unlike Victoria, these three bowlers have not played in all five matches with Agar and Behrendorff both having been affected by injury, and Mackin only making the side once Nathan Rimmington and Ryan Duffield had been tried and discarded.

The selectors have persevered with Moody, although you’d expect that once one of Behrendorff, Joel Paris or Nathan Coulter-Nile are fit again (all three are currently injured, but may be available in time for Round 6 in February), he may have to step aside given his poor performance so far.

Cartwright has not had the returns he would have hoped for, while Mitch Marsh continues to impress with the ball in all formats he plays.

If Western Australia can get all of their fast men fit for the one game, they would have a formidable line-up. As it is, they have had at least one, often two, weak links in their bowling for every game, and this has allowed the opposition to get on top and make big totals.

So far, the Victorians are looking good for a third Shield title in a row, with South Australia and NSW the most likely challengers. Queensland have potential, but they don’t have the bowlers to get over the line and into the final. Western Australia and Tasmania are too far off the pace to catch up, although both have the potential to trip up other teams in their journey up that table for a place in the final.