Who’s the captain of the Australian men’s cricket team? Pat Cummins, of course. Who’s the captain of the NSW Blues (no, not James Tedesco, the OTHER NSW Blues)? Moises Henriques, of course, for the last match of the season and prior to that it was Kurtis Patterson and before that big Moises again and before that … well, you get the picture.
The revolving door of captaincy in NSW cricket mirrors the revolving door of Sheffield Shield cricket in most states throughout Australia.
Who opened for NSW in their last Shield match? Well, Ryan Hackney and Blake Macdonald, of course. Unless you’re a student of Sydney Premier Cricket, those names would be mostly unfamiliar.
The Sheffield Shield frequently finds itself undermined by a lack of quality throughout the season which then manifests itself on the international stage.
Outside of a few fringe back-up state cricketers who have made a name for themselves in the Big Bash League, the majority of players in the Sheffield Shield are relatively unknown to the general public.
Naturally, these cricketers are necessary because they fill the void when the international players are gone, and you can’t begrudge them the experience, but the problem exists when players opt to rest from Shield matches because of workload.
NSW had to settle for a draw against South Australia at Karen Rolton Oval. (Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images)
Why not play the Shield match but rest from a few one-day internationals?
I’ve attended a few state one-day games, finding it hard to justify to my boss why I should take off a weekday to watch a Shield match, and each time, I’ve been able to witness some of the big names of Australian cricket play, guys like Jason Behrendorff, Cameron Bancroft, Travis Head, Alex Carey and Nathan Lyon.
I met Jason Gillespie, had a long yarn with Lyon (and his parents) and managed to grab a brief chat with Daniel Sams. My son, who’s five, will forever remember meeting Lyon; he reminds me every time he sees him on TV.
The solution is simple. Make the Australian players available for more games.
Create separate squads with separate captains for the red and white ball sides. Free up the best players to represent their states.
Michael Neser bowling to Steven Smith? Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Lyon testing out Usman Khawaja, Cameron Bancroft and Matt Renshaw?
Spencer Johnson to Cameron Green? Todd Murphy against David Warner? These are the challenges every young player craves and the fans want to see. If Test cricket is the priority that Cricket Australia claims it is, then the Sheffield Shield must be the strongest competition that it can be.
Bring back the natural character of the wickets.
Outside of only a couple of wickets, Shield pitches have generally been too green or too flat. This leads to run fests (hello Karen Rolton Oval and Park 25) or low scores (early-season Gabba wickets). Having to play high-quality spin late on days three and four in Adelaide and Sydney prepares players for the next level.
Opening against the likes of Cummins, Hazlewood, Starc and Lyon on a green Gabba surface? That matures young openers quickly.
Finally, begin Shield matches on a Friday to help encourage patrons to attend. Play a day/night Shield round to keep up those skills. Most importantly, make sure that the best players, the international players from each state are available for most of the opening rounds to add more experience and to mentor the youngsters in the side.
Excuse those in the first-choice Test XI from playing white ball internationals to represent their states to nurture and develop the young talents coming through.
There are a few who regularly play in the Shield, mostly for Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia, but there needs to be more.
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