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Renshaw and Burns to battle Australian Test attack

16th November, 2018
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16th November, 2018
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Two Test batting spots are up for grabs in today’s fourth round of the Sheffield Shield with a huge group of batsmen in contention to play the first Test against India.

Matt Renshaw, Joe Burns and Marnus Labuschagne will today battle Australia’s full-strength Test attack as they compete for spots in the Test lineup.

Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon have been named in the New South Wales squad to play Queensland in the fourth round of the Sheffield Shield in Canberra.

Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch are locks for the first Test after excelling in the UAE, while my gut tells me Shaun Marsh and Mitch Marsh are almost certain to join them in the top six against India.

That leaves two Test batting spots being fought for between the likes of Labuschagne, Renshaw, Burns, Travis Head, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris and Jake Lehmann.

In fact, the field is so wide open that a massive score in this round of the Shield could well earn a shock Test debut for a host of other batsmen. But it seems the aforementioned group are the frontrunners.

This round of the Shield is particularly crucial for Test contenders because once it is finished the Australian selectors may well decide on their squad for the first Test against India starting on December 6.

The following round of the Shield doesn’t wrap up until five days before the first Test and the selectors typically announce their squad more than a week beforehand.

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Renshaw, Burns and Labuschagne have the advantage, or disadvantage depending on the way you view it, of facing Australia’s first choice Test attack over the next four days.

Australian batsman Matt Renshaw

Matt Renshaw at the crease for Australia. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

Runs against that quartet of gun NSW bowlers will surely be weighted more heavily by the Australian selectors. Cameron Bancroft clinched his Test debut last summer by shining against those same four bowlers in the Shield, with a double of 76no and 86 against NSW.

Labuschagne is an incumbent in the Test team having made his debut against Pakistan in the UAE. While he was a surprise weapon with the ball, Labuschagne laboured with the bat and is in a form trough having made just 172 runs at 17 from his last six first-class matches.

It would be a big risk for Australia to pick another out of form batsman to play India given the Marsh brothers have both struggled horrendously in Tests of late.

The brothers together have averaged just 15 with the bat across seven Tests since the Ashes but look set to be saved by Mitch’s vice-captain status and Shaun’s recent runs in ODIs and the Shield.

Unless Labuschagne bats supremely against NSW, the Australian selectors should be looking elsewhere.

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Renshaw and Burns are the two best credentialed batsmen outside of the Test team. The former has hammered six first-class tons this year alone and at just 22 years old is one of the world’s elite young first-class cricketers.

Burns, meanwhile, has a fine Test record, with three tons from 14 matches and an average of 37. The 29-year-old has also been in top form in the Shield, with 941 runs at 52 since the start of last summer.

Burns has been treated very poorly by the Australian selectors, dropped four times already in his brief Test career.

Australia's Joe Burns celebrates scoring a century

I was saying Booo-Urns. (AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)

Ideally, form permitting, Australia would open with Renshaw and Labuschagne against India, with Khawaja and Finch sliding down the order to three and four respectively.

That still could occur if the Queensland openers flourish against Australia’s Test attack in the new few days.

There’s also the possibility Harris could open against India if he dominates in this round of the Shield.

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The 26-year-old Victorian recently made 250* against NSW and has piled up 1,862 runs at 48 over the past three Shield seasons.

The other scenario is that Khawaja and Finch could remain as Test openers, with the selectors instead considering changes to their middle order.

Head played one very impressive knock in his debut Test series in the UAE, a fighting 72 to help Australia to a rousing draw in the first Test. But I doubt his spot is safe, particularly if he doesn’t make runs against Western Australia this round.

Handscomb and Lehmann seem to be the two batsmen pushing hardest for a Test middle order berth. Lehmann appeared to be firmly in contention for an Ashes debut last summer before his form nosedived in the latter two-thirds of the Shield season.

He’s started this Shield season very strongly with 298 runs at 74.

Handscomb, meanwhile, owns a good Test record of 829 runs at 44, and has been solid in the Shield so far this summer with 200 runs at 50. He must be close to a Test recall.

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Whether he earns one likely depends on this round of the Shield, which will be the most significant of the summer to date.

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