The second round of the Sheffield Shield concluded on Monday and some new names have been thrown into Australia’s Ashes selection mix.
There were few performances which stood out more than that of 24-year-old Cameron Bancroft. The wicketkeeping spot was seen as a battle between Peter Nevill, Matthew Wade and Alex Carey, but Bancroft might have put himself into contention with a pair of brilliant batting performances.
Bancroft being an opener for Western Australia gives him an edge over the others and with Matt Renshaw struggling for runs, his chances suddenly look bright.
The fact he scored runs against Australia’s Test attack makes it all the more impressive.
The other young player who impressed was Jake Lehmann. Lehmann scored both a century and a fifty to make things interesting. Callum Ferguson also got an unbeaten 182 to put himself in contention.
Glenn Maxwell will breathe a sigh of relief as he finally found some form. He scored back-to-back fifties, while Shaun Marsh also continued some good form to keep his chances alive.
Australian captain Steve Smith scored a hundred and a fifty, while first drop Usman Khawaja did well enough to remain one of the top run-scorers in the competition.
The team management will also be happy to see Peter Handscomb scoring runs as he is an important member of the middle order. The biggest disappointment of the first two rounds was the performance of young opener Matt Renshaw.
Renshaw came into the competition needing runs after going through a tough period with the bat. With four failures in a row, his chances of making the Ashes squad look bleak.
The Australian bowlers looked in fine form though, with Mitchell Starc topping the bowling charts. He became the first bowler to claim two hat-tricks in a first-class match in Australia. Meanwhile, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon all looked in fine touch with the ball.
(AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
Chadd Sayers and Jake Ball both had a good game and have been among the wickets in the first two rounds. It will be interesting to see if New South Wales will rest Starc and Cummins for Round 3 with the first Test approaching.
Undoubtedly the biggest winners from Round 2 were Bancroft and Lehmann. The performance of Bancroft, in particular, puts pressure on the selectors to pick him ahead of Renshaw.
Bancroft also has a double hundred in county cricket as an opener just a couple of months ago and he has been safe behind the stumps as well. He surely has emerged as the dark horse for the Ashes selection, given playing him as an opener also means Australia can play an extra batsman or a bowler at No.7.
Lehmann played with great freedom in both the innings with the bat and scored runs freely. He puts his name up for selection and the No.6 spot might not be an as easy decision as it was thought before the start of the Shield season.
The spot, which was seen as a toss-up between Hilton Cartwright and Glenn Maxwell, doesn’t seem straightforward. With young Lehmann showing tremendous form with the bat and Shaun Marsh also in contention, things are very interesting indeed in the lead-up to the Ashes.
KopaShamsu
Guest
australian selectors should not go within 10 miles of renshaw,i do not need him to make centuries,he is 22,looking at his physique he has another solid 13-14 yrs to make enough runs,he will learn it.now let him keep doing what he is doing,keep playing balls and wearing down the bowler,thats what australia needs ,to get through those crucial difficult period,if i am not making mistake,despite being out of form he played over 15 balls to make a run,in the other innings played over 100 balls to make 20,played 70 balls to make 15 runs,i would consider it as fantastic with respect to what i have seen from other "brilliant" openers australia tried,as a genuine cricket lover i would request no need to make another joe burns out of renshaw please,forget doing any experiment with him.
Curious George
Guest
Chris, do you think Bancroft is a lock for the 1st test?
Curious George
Guest
https://www.cricket.com.au/news/josh-hazlewood-jackson-bird-ashes-preparation-sheffield-shield-brisbane-starc-cummins-australia-ncc/2017-11-09 This means that Maxwell will definitely be selected as a "spin" option if required What a terrible taste of pain
Tanmoy Kar
Guest
Let Renshaw play first two Tests, Lehman be at No.6 and replace Wade with Bancroft at No.7. let Australia play with 4 bowlers as they are in very good form.
rock86
Guest
Yep, by all of these stories we're going to have a massive squad taken to the Gabba. Also, on the other teams front, from all reports it looks like England will be adding another player to their squad later this week..................
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
Yeah I would think so too. There haven't been too many wicket keeping opening batsmen in recent times. Gilly did it in ODI's but not many have done it in tests. I remember Nayan Mongia used to do it for India for a while and Farookh Engineer from India has done it in 48 innings. so not many, so wouldn't assume Bancroft will be doing that in the first test. I would also love to see Renshaw open the batting in the first test and I think he will get a go at least for the first test.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Bancroft may well have kept and opened in that match for WA, but there's no way that he'll get picked to both keep and open in test cricket. It would be one or the other. He was close to debuting as an opening batsman a couple of years ago before the Bangladesh tour was postponed, but now he looks most like a late contender for the keeping spot rather than the opening batting spot. Renshaw should, and I'm pretty sure will, get at least the first couple of tests. He did at least manage to spend time in the middle in the latest shield match. Hopefully he can build on that in the next one and get a bit of fluency in his batting to have some form going into the first test. But I'd be pretty shocked if the selectors dropped him. (Though I can imagine, if he struggles again in the next match, that they would probably be a little worried about him!) At the same time, both those first two matches were played in pretty tricky conditions. Neither team passed 200 in any innings in the Qld v Tas match, (though Qld were just 3 down for over 150 in chasing the target, so you'd have to think they'd have been able to get there in the final innings). He hasn't had a chance to bat in some decent batting conditions yet. Hopefully he can get some batting better conditions in the next shield match to just be able to find some timing and fluency.
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
Wade is not a sure starter anyways. It will be between Alex Carey and Peter Nevill for the Gabba. I am thinking it will be Nevill due to his experience at least for the first test. Not sure about Lehmann being picked in the Ashes series, he may be but I guess Cartwright/Shaun Marsh might get the first look in. It is interesting when NSW dropped Chris Rogers for being 35 from the state side (in spite of being the highest run getter last season) but Shaun Marsh is still in line for an Ashes selection at the same age.
Curious George
Guest
"Selectors pick the team according to facts not personal views." You are kidding me right Clarke and the good time gang picked their mates and same thing happens with snowflake Smith and the sunshine crew Here is the definitive XI for Brisbane (Smith's Picks) Warner Maddinson Henriques (could not even be in grade cricket) Smith (snowflake) Handscomb Maxwell Wade Cummins Starc Lyon Hazlewood 12th man: Hughes (Dan)
Ben
Roar Rookie
CG, we all know you have something personal against Maxwell and wouldn't pick him even if he made 200. Selectors pick the team according to facts not personal views.
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
well he is one of the top contenders for the number 6 slot in the batting order and will most likely feature in the Aussie test X1 at the Gabba.
Curious George
Guest
Giri, I think Lehmann will get a start in the 4th or 5th Ashes test and replace Maxwell who by that time will hae had ducks and scores of below 10 Wade will also have socred low and australia will have lost a test Also, Stokes will be back in the pommy side by 4th test and score big, like 140ish
Curious George
Guest
Maxwell is the future........of the Carribean T20 league or the pauper payday of the Bangladeshi T20 cup. Not Aussie test batting
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
I think from what I can see, Maxwell has done enough to get picked for the first test at the moment. Cartwright would have to wait. Even though Lehmann and Bancroft are great talents, they most likely will not be considered for the ashes.
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
I agree, Sayers or Bird will just be backup options to Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood combination. The selectors will most likely stick with the "Safe" X1 at least for the first test. They will bring back Nevill in the place of Wade (he is going through a disastrous time with the bat) and will play either Maxwell or Cartwright at number 6. Renshaw as you said will mostly start in the X1 for the first test. But again Bancroft and Lehmann are the future of Australian batting. They will surely get a go once the Ashes is done, if not picked during the Ashes.
Ben
Roar Rookie
If Maxwell got a 100 would you pick him? Maxwell did better then Cartwright overseas and now in Australia. He is in better form at the moment.
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
I think the only changes would be Maxwell for Cartwright and Nevill for Bancroft. I don't think the selectors are going to go with Bancroft for the first test in spite of his good batting performances unless he is considered for the number 6 spot. The top order seems fine Renshaw (At least for the first test) Warner Khawaja Smith Handscomb Maxwell Nevill (WK) Starc Cummins Hazlewood Lyon Even though there are other candidates, the selectors might want to take the easy way out and choose a team similar to what I have mentioned above.
dan ced
Guest
Yep, only person who will be dropped is Wade, for Carey.. very slim chance that Sayers could pip Cummins or Hazelwood but probably not at the Gabba. They will give Renshaw 1 test to prove he can score runs again, they will let Maxwell have a chance on home soil, but if they fail they are a chance of being replaced by Bancroft/Cartright/Lehmann etc.
Curious George
Guest
Giri, who do you think will make Aussie XI for first test? Im thinking Renshaw Warner Khawaja Smith Handscomb Cartwright Bancroft (wk) Starc Cummins Lyon Hazelwood This is an XI that will win us the test. Picking Wade and MAxwell is a way to lose the test.
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
Probably not now but if he fails in couple more innings ahead of the Ashes, it might be difficult for the selectors to pick him. He needs to spend some time in the middle and score some runs.