Wade loses ground in Australian keeping battle, Maxwell fails and Bird strikes

Australia’s incumbent wicket-keeper Matthew Wade hasn’t helped his chances of selection for the first Test after being dismissed cheaply in Tasmania’s opening round Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia.

Wade, who always seems to have held onto the keeping spot in the Australian side thanks to his batting, is under extreme pressure during the first three rounds of the Shield thanks to some indifferent form with the bat.

It’s the same form which saw him replaced by fill-in wicket-keeper Peter Handscomb on Australia’s recent ODI tour of India.

The 29-year-old kept reasonably well on the first day, letting through just four byes, but thrown into a tough situation, he quickly was back in the pavilion for one, snicking a ball from Simon Mackin.

It’s hard to make judgements based on one innings, but coming in at 3 for 94 with Tasmania chasing Western Australia’s 323, it was the ideal opportunity for Wade to prove his technique and build on his lacking form. Instead, he has left the selectors with more questions than answers – ones he needs to answer in a hurry.

His closest rival, Nevill, failed to claim a dismissal in New South Wales rout of South Australia, but battled through 27 balls to get to stumps on five not out. There’s a big day ahead for Nevill as he looks to give the selectors a reason to force Wade out of the side.

Nevill’s technique has always been a selling point to selectors, and it’s something that was out in force against a fired-up Redbacks attack under lights last night.

Bolter Alex Carey did similar to Wade in that he only made 12, but out of a total of 92, it doesn’t seem nearly as bad, especially as he was the last man out trying to go for it batting with the tail.

He then completed a sharp catch in front of first slip to get rid of Warner and didn’t let through a bye in 55 overs.

For now though, it seems Wade has lost some ground to Nevill, who we will be able to give a thorough assessment of tomorrow.

The all-rounder spot is the other one serious discussion needs to be given to after another tough day for the batsmen across the country.

It might be a bowler-friendly deck at the Gabba, but a failure for Victorian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has put a dent in his chances of being selected for the first Ashes Test.

(AP Photo/Jon Super)

He was dismissed for just seven early on the second day’s play. While he earnt credit points for surviving through to stumps at the end of a rain-shortened first day which yielded 13 wickets, Maxwell would have taken two steps back after his innings was cut short by young Queensland debutant Brendan Doggett.

While it’s worth noting the conditions likely to be faced in the Test series are going to be far easier than those for the opening round of the Shield on a green Gabba deck, the pink ball, day-night Test scenario will still come into play and a failure from Maxwell isn’t going to put him in the good books with the selectors.

Jumping to conclusions is something that must be done carefully, but in Australian conditions, it’s highly unlikely a spinning all-rounder is going to be picked. For it to happen, Maxwell must mount a case which is simply not able to be ignored, and that means making the most of all six of his pre-Ashes innings.

It’s even more important given he hasn’t bowled yet in the low-scoring clash against Queensland.

Things don’t read any better for Maxwell on the other side of the country either, with Western Australian Mitchell Marsh pushing for a spot.

The problem for Marsh is that he won’t be bowling until December at the earliest, or probably January after he left Australia’s tour of India in March to undergo a shoulder reconstruction.

It means that if Marsh is to regain a spot in the Test side, he will have to do so purely through his batting. That seems unlikely given an unwillingness to make changes to the top five, and the technique of Marsh being questionable enough that he may not deserve a spot in the top five, even if injuries strike.

The need for an all-rounder, in conditions not likely to be conducive to getting a result if the last few summers have been anything to go by, seems paramount.

More likely than Marsh for that reason would be new Western Australian teammate Marcus Stoinis. He struggled with the bat during the first innings against Tasmania though, only making nine, but his five overs were quality, going for just nine runs.

The intriguing thing about Stoinis is that the selectors seem to like him, based on previous selections for the One Day International squad. While it would seem unlikely he will receive a Test debut this summer, the fact he bowled before Hilton Cartwright – and let’s be honest, he’s a better bowler than Cartwright – shows he is well and truly in line.

(AAP Image/SNPA, Ross Setford)

Cartwright outshone everyone with the bat on Day 1, but you’d expect he needs to find a way into the attack on Day 3 and over the next two rounds.

The other option touted for the No.6 spot is Moises Henriques, but he hasn’t done anything for his chances at this stage. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t get a bowl as Trent Copeland ripped South Australia out for just 92, then got himself out for a tough 11 from 40 balls in testing conditions.

The No.6 spot is a tough one to judge at the moment and while we are likely to learn more in the coming days and rounds, it’s ripe for the taking.

Two good performances for any of those players mentioned, and they could make the spot their own before the selectors announce their first team of the summer for the first Test in Brisbane, starting on November 23.

Quickly running across the rest of the likely Ashes squad, and it was David Warner who stood out. Despite his innings being far from chanceless, the Australian vice-captain hit a patient 83 in trying conditions.

Steve Smith was dismissed for three, while New South Wales’ ploy of leaving out potential bolter Ed Cowan backfired, with Nic Maddinson falling for five.

Earlier, Mitchell Starc and Patrick Cummins took just two wickets each as 31-year-old Trent Copeland, who has three Tests to his name took six.

Another bolter in the form of Chadd Sayers took two for South Australia, leading the charge as they tried to limit the all-star Blues line-up.

Should an injury occur to any of Australia’s frontline quicks though, Jack Bird has thrown his name further into the ring, picking up 4 for 63 from 28.1 overs at the WACA.

Usman Khawaja bounced back as well on Day 2. With Victoria also falling cheaply, the pitch began to play a fraction better at the Gabba, Khawaja finishing 99 not out at stumps to set up a sleepless night.

Matt Renshaw looked solid early, doing the hard yards to get himself in, but for the second time in two days, threw it all away, playing a poor shot on 16 to get himself out.

Day 3 of the Western Australia versus Tasmania and Queensland versus Victoria matches, as well as Day 2 in South Australia versus New South Wales continues today from 2pm (AEDT).