The next best uncapped Test players from each state

A good try Patrick but as you are a student journalist you need to do a hell of a lot more research than this. Any research even. Or you won’t be taken seriously

Jake Doran? What have you been drinking?

Warnie reckons Meredith would be a great pick if we wanted some variation in the attack with his 145+ clicks. Thing is, we already have 4 145+ click bowlers in Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood and Pattinson - so the only variation Meredith brings to the attack is his first-class economy of nearly 4. You can probably connect the dots as to why there's not a single other soul supporting him.

Yeah sorry mate this one's a bit of a mess As many have pointed out, your very first line is particularly damning as your entire article proves the opposite. I decided to give you a chance after that, but I was out pretty soon after, when you called Daniel Hughes a no.3 (he opens) and Doran an opener (he's never opened). As for your picks, Hughes is a bit of a no-brainer and Green is quality, but otherwise pretty contentious. I'd have thought seeing as Neser's become the new Bichel in terms of 12th man selections, he'd be the first man considered. But obviously not, seeing as Swepson's first-class average of 35 is too difficult to pass up. Your choice for Victoria is quite frankly, bizarre. You're picking McGurk due to him being a player for the future, yet you're missing the guy that Australia's hyped the most, Pucovski? Otherwise, you could have chosen two of the most consistent Shield bowlers of the past decade in Boland (225 wkts at 27) and Tremain (244 wkts at 24)? Tasmania is always going to be difficult, but I think you should have really outlined that in your spiel about Doran, because hyping up a first-class batting average of 27 for an opening spot does not do your article any favours. Neither does talking about Kumara and Pradeep as "some of the best Test bowlers". I'd have said Gabe Bell. Small sample size, but 83 wickets at less than 25 in 22 first class games is pretty solid. And South Australia, lol. Heard of Carey? The guy who out of everyone is literally guaranteed to get a baggy green?

Finch wasn’t ignored, he didn’t play till then because anyone with half a brain up until he was picked could see that he was never going to make it as a test player (and certainly not as an opener). He should never have played. Hughes is a much better red ball batsmen than Finch.

This is the exact same players that i would choose from each state too. And it was quite an easy choice for me. Which probably means we dont have too many test ready players coming thru at the moment. Hopefully that will change next season.

Excellent death bowler in the white ball formats too, which is something I feel our international side really looks to lack at the times aside from Starc. Keen to see how he progresses over the next season or 2.

Maybe someone can shed some light on Seb Gotch's keeping prowess as it seems odd he is over looked in discussions. FC average of 38 compared to Carey's 34 means he can hold a bat but can he hold a catch? :cricket:

Good comments there Tom, Nathan Ellis looks very lively and swings the Duke at great pace. Bryce Street looks an old school opener, lots of patience.

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Still shouldn’t be any thought of him been dropped at the moment. A 50+ score every 3 innings for their first 17 tests should lock them in for an reasonable period (provided domestic form is also solid), not have them ‘on shaky ground’, especially considering we have no one to come in that would be guarantee to do better.

Compared to Smith, Warner and Labu, he’s on shaky ground. Too many 40s.

And would imagine any of Carey, Inglis even Whiteman are ahead of him with the gloves; he appears to only keep occassionally given how many keepers Tas have/have had on their roster. If he was to be a batting-only candidate he'd need a huge season or two to leapfrog some others

Jake Doran and Jake Weatherald are nowhere near selection in the test side. Daniel Hughes could force his way in but as opener, not 3. It would be Burns making way if he doesn't have a good summer. Can't see Labuschagne going anywhere! From Tassie I'd have picked Riley Meredith or Gabe Bell, while for SA it would surely be Alex Carey.

I don’t think Hughes should be in the selectors eyes. If he hasn’t been banging down the door with good performances already at the age of 31 he needs to be passed by. He’s not another Hussey or Finch who both got ignored until their 30s

A few things I don't get about what your have said. Hughes to replace Khawaja at 3? Pretty sure Marnus well and truly has that spot covered. Jake Doran an opening prospect? He doesn't even open for Tassie, and on top of that hasn't even consolidated a permanent spot. My two cents on the players to look out for over the next season or two. Not necessarily the best, but definitely some of the most promising and exciting prospects Bryce Street. Qld opener, 2 centuries and 2 50's from his first 8 matches. Bats for days. Scored the highest 2nd XI score ever earlier in the season when he made 345 against the Vic 2nd XI. Sam Heazlett is a very promising 50 over opener. Let's just ignore that one ODI he played before he even played for Qld, that was a terrible selection no doubt on the back of Greg Chappell and his weird youth fetish. Since then he has gone on to average a tick under 54 in 50 over cricket. Dan Solway. Currently averaging 55 after his first season of shield cricket. Should have debuted a few years ago, but NSW went for "youth and potential" over runs and results. Solway has amassed a huge amount of first grade and 2nd XI runs over the last 3 or 4 years. Will Sutherland. Will be a very good bowler. 18 wickets at 17.61 in his first shield season. 22 wickets at 28 from his first 13 List A matches Nathan Ellis. Most would have seen him perform admirably for the Hurricanes in the big bash, but he has starred for Tasmania so far. 18 wickets at 16.72 from the two shield matches he played, and 12 wickets at 22 from the 7 List A matches. A few to look out for over the next few years.

Like others, I can’t agree with the premise that Australia has a wealth of talent- batting wise at least. Take out Smith, Warner, and Labuschagne, and theres only a handful of guys with 40+ FC averages. In terms of the strongest uncapped player for each state: NSW: Agreed on Hughes. Hasn’t played all that much FC cricket, but has been solid. Terrific one day player too. QLD: Neser- His last two shield seasons have been monumental (33 wickets @ 17.3 last season, 33 wickets @ 23.03 & 481 runs @ 43.72 the season before). Swepson’s improving, and whilst his record is much better than most current Australian spinners, a FC bowling average of 35 is hardly excellent. WA: Green. No arguments here. I don’t want to get too carried away with him, but he’s one of our best young talents. Victoria: Pucovski- has to be miles ahead of Fraser-McGurk, with 4 FC hundreds, including a double, and an average north of 40. Tasmania: Gabe Bell has 83 wickets @ 24.85 in his 22 FC matches to date. Surely this puts him ahead of Doran, who has an ordinary FC batting record, and is stuck in a state with a multitude of wicketkeepers. South Australia: Carey- Probably in a 2 horse race with Inglis to be next Test gloveman. Has a virtually identical FC average to Weatherald. When you consider that keepers are entitled to average less, this really isn’t a competition. Weatherald is surely behind Warner, Burns, Harris, Bancroft, Hughes, and arguably Renshaw for a Test opening position. Plus then theres part-time openers like Khawaja, Maddinson, and Finch, who all have a better record. By comparison, Carey only has Paine, and arguably Inglis in his way. At a stretch you could throw in Wade or Nevill, but neither seems likely to keep in Test cricket again.

Head should not be even close to be considered on shaky ground yet. He's averaging 42. He's more than earned a bit of rope.

This is the first time I have seen anyone talk Doran up for a long time. He had a brief period in the 2nd half of the 2017/18 season where he looked like he finally may have worked his game out at shield level, but then never followed through with it the next season.

True. Possibly suspect on spinning decks. But a good consistent Shield record and did well briefly in tests. But needs to come back and remind us about him.