Mitchell Starc is battling to regain his Test spot, while Alex Carey is continuing his hot form and Tim Paine is finally back in the runs. These are among the talking points from the opening round of the Sheffield Shield.
Starc is struggling
The tall left armer has never been a consistent Test cricketer but his form has been particularly patchy since the first Test in South Africa last year.
Since then he’s averaged 35 with the ball from his 11 Tests and was largely sidelined during the Ashes, playing just one match.
His value on flat home pitches is undoubted. Yet the Australian selectors will have been disheartened by his lack of impact for NSW against Queensland.
In a low-scoring match on a Gabba pitch that suited the quicks, Starc took just 1-129. He was shown up by the likes of Harry Conway (10-56), Michael Neser (5-98) and Cameron Gannon (5-116).
Taking just one wicket in 39 overs is very poor for any bowler but is particularly concerning for a pure strike bowler like Starc.
With Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood all but locked in for the first Test, Starc faces stiff competition from the likes of James Pattinson and Jhye Richardson for the third pace spot.
He was fortunate Pattinson had no influence in this round after getting stuck on a dud pitch in Melbourne.
Richardson, meanwhile, was solid taking 3-58 from 31 overs at the WACA. Right now Starc is a long way from being a certainty for the Tests against Pakistan.
(Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Junction Oval farce
1287 runs scored for the loss of just 12 wickets. That was the farcical situation that unfolded between Victoria and South Australia on a comically-flat pitch at the Junction Oval.
While the MCG has been unacceptably batting-friendly for several years now, the nearby Junction Oval has offered a better balance between bat and ball.
In the four other Shield matches at the ground in the past 18 months, the average total for all first innings was 288.
Yet so sleepy was this latest surface that SA batsman Tom Cooper, who has played first-class cricket for 11 years, said it was the flattest pitch on which he had ever batted.
Even a very strong Victorian attack of James Pattinson, Chris Tremain, Jon Holland and Scott Boland was rendered powerless by the dopey deck.
Proceedings became really odd, and really discouraging, when SA skipper Travis Head declined Peter Handscomb’s invitation to breathe life into the match with a couple of declarations.
Angered by Head’s refusal, Handscomb proceeded to use over after over of horrendous spin delivered by himself, Marcus Harris and even James Pattinson, who sent down some offies.
This was a terribly bad look for Australia’s revered first-class competition.
Australia’s wicketkeepers are in the runs
World Cup star Alex Carey was a late bloomer – he didn’t become a regular in the SA Shield team until he already was 25 years old. Now he is flourishing as a red ball batsman.
In his last 10 first-class matches, Carey has made 717 runs at 55, including three centuries.
The latest of those tons came in the runfest at the Junction Oval in this opening round of the Shield.
It should be noted that it wasn’t until after Carey was dismissed for 115 that this match fully descended into a circus, with rank part-time bowlers used liberally. Granted, it wasn’t the most meaningful of tons.
But Carey looked in imperious touch throughout this knock, continuing the wonderful form he displayed in ODIs this year.
The left-hander will face a much sterner challenge this week at the bowler-friendly Gabba against a fine Queensland pace unit.
His impressive returns in first-class cricket have positioned Carey as the No.1 contender to succeed Test keeper and skipper Tim Paine when he retires, likely in the next 12 to 18 months.
(Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
Paine eased the pressure on his Test spot by making a commanding 121 against Western Australia at the WACA on the weekend.
He came to the crease with Tasmania in bother at 5-176 and steered them to a good total of 397 with his first ton in the longest format in 13 years.
Australia will hope this can mark a turnaround in form for Paine. He was excellent with the blade early in his return to Tests but since has laboured, averaging only 21 from his last 12 Tests.
Here are the opening round Shield scores of the main Test batting contenders (and a few dark horses): Nic Maddinson (224), David Warner (125 and 0), Will Pucovski (123), Marcus Harris (116), Marnus Labuschagne (69 and 52), Mitch Marsh (41 and 53), Matt Wade (40), Cameron Bancroft (30 and 0), Peter Handscomb (30), Travis Head (51), Matt Renshaw (19 and 12), Joe Burns (13 and 52), Usman Khawaja (1 and 24) and Alex Carey (117).
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
Speaking of Marnus... I'm getting just a tad disquieted by his inability to kick on. Since his Test recall his Test & fc scores have been; 59, 74, 80, 67, 11, 48, 14, 69 & 52. Most of those have been on bowler-friendly pitches and extremely valuable, but a conversion rate 0f 0/6 is going to get him pressured by certain sections of our media if he doesn't convert one soon.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
He's still done well since moving to Vic. Credit to him. Those weren't all 6/600+ sorts of scores. But it's still generally scoring runs in better batting conditons. It would be nice to see him pull out some really good innings in tough batting conditions where other batsmen are struggling if he's to prove that he's worth another shot at test level. (At least if he was picked now it would be on the back of decent form. He was on a hiding to nothing when picked for the test team before as he was actually struggling in first class cricket at the time and picked more on a hunch than anything!)
Omnitrader
Roar Rookie
Thanks Chris, they play at the WACA starting friday, let’s see if he can transfer his home form away.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
He only played one match outside Vic last season, against NSW at Drummoyne where he got 24 and 33. So yes, basically all his runs have been in Victoria, including all three hundreds last year and the double this year. (He technically played 5 matches, but the last one he was injured or sick or something before Victoria's first innings so he didn't bat in that match at all).
Richie
Roar Rookie
Thanks Ronan. Apparently Starc “leaks runs” but was never questioned when our batsman could score runs. He’ll come good.
Richie
Roar Rookie
I agree moose. I’m not convinced he’s recovered from Cape Town(or ever will).
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Of course you can completely ignore the sentence before that, that's your prerogative.
Roar GOAT
Roar Rookie
So Starc gets bagged for bowling pies, but gets out Labuschagne who gets Praise but loses no credibility for getting out to a bloke bowling pies? Irony. I think Starc will come good with a few games under his belt, Pattinson hasn’t convinced me and Siddle needs to not be considered again. It’ll be interesting to see how the next couple of games go and who lines up in Brisbane.
Jero
Roar Rookie
Nes'er's 43.72 batting average in the Sheffield Shield last season was very good, but included 5 not outs in his 16 innings so may be a bit inflated given his top score was 76. Not a middle order prospect, I would have thought. If he gets picked at any stage as an out and out bowler, he'll certainly give us a lot of batting depth. But he's competing with Starc, Pattinson and Jhye Richardson so it's no certainty. All these guys are capable with the bat too.
Burwale
Guest
How bout Nasser as the allrounder. He gets wickets and seems good for 30 with bat. Would anyone really expect Marsh or maxwell or Stoinis to score more regularly?
Jero
Roar Rookie
I would have thought the last 13 summers indicate that they only feel the need for an all rounder for team balance 100% of the time. I’m not disagreeing with you on the point that the selectors are generally looking for a seam up all rounder, though that depends on who’s around. Symonds certainly wasn’t that. I’m not disagreeing with you on Stoinis being the first player they’ll have in mind to replace Mitch if they have to. I’ve said previously that Mitch will continue to feature in the team. I’m simply saying that if he can do it then so could Maxwell. If the blinkers came off. I think you’d agree that he has Mitch covered as a batsman. Stoinis averages 34 at 1st class level, Maxwell 40. Labs doesn’t exactly bowl prolifically either. Prejudices aside, a guy with that sort of 1st class average, who bowls tidily, up to 45 overs even, and is as good a fieldsman as the game’s seen would enter most reasonable and objective conversations as adding to overall team balance and therefore in the frame. Unless of course his papers have been stamped.
maverick
Roar Rookie
I think selectors will only play an allrounder when they feel the need of it for the team balance. And that allrounder will be either Marsh or Stoinis whether anyone likes it or not.And selectors would pick someone who bowls seam up not spin. And you already have Lab to do that. The 10 guys I was talking about are mainly batsman. After all batting is the fundamental job of the position Maxwell is vying for. I will give you a list: Wade,Head,Pucovski,Stoinis,Patterson,Maddinson,Carey,Hughes,Khawaja, Harris,Handscomb. All of these guys have scored more runs than Maxwell over the past couple of years.
Gauss
Roar Rookie
Seriously? You don't follow women's cricket do you?
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
True, that was a bit harsh. Zampa’s not hopeless either, though not a great FC record.
Woody
Roar Rookie
Come off it Ronan. Victoria didn't declare until they had got past 600 and you blame SA for not contriving a result? Handscomb should have declared at lunch on the second day, in fact he would have known well before then that the pitch was a batting paradise.
Jero
Roar Rookie
Stoinis is definitely in the mix, clearly. But it's early days. The next Shield game between Victoria and WA will be very interesting. Who are the 10 players you have in mind? I assume we're talking about a number 6 who can bowl a significant number of tidy overs if required. Which I would have thought narrows things down.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
That's a fair point re how much FC cricket Starc has had (not had). Hence we should wait until the Shield games/Pak tour games are completed and see how everyone is going. Starc will know he's not an automatic selection (the Ashes will have told him that), so he needs to step it up in the next few games; if he doesn't and that's because of an attitude of "I should be picked" , then he probably shouldn't. But he's got the class and he has the opportunity, so it's up to him to cement his place.
Nick
Roar Guru
But only at the moment. That home record should no longer gives him the line of credit it once did. He needs to be treated on the same merits as Burns, Renshaw, Bancroft, Harris etc etc now.
Nick
Roar Guru
It smacked of someone who doesn't actually have the maturity to lead a team. Quite honestly - it sounded like someone who spent a little too long around figures like Darren Lehmann who hammered a message into the team that it was not ok to draw.
maverick
Roar Rookie
Maxwell scored 43,so not a fifty. And his wickets were meaningless since S.Australia already piled up big runs. His economy was nearly 4 too. So hardly an inspiring performance. Stoinis got two 50s and also took couple of wickets on a more sporting wicket. So I guess you get the point. There are atleast 10 guys ahead of Maxwell for test selection. Maxwell won't be in the test team near future.