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Week two of the Sheffield Shield is in the books and as we look to make sense of the first six rounds of the competition, let’s track who is doing well, who needs some more improvement and who might be a chance in the refreshed Australian Test setup.
3 Sentence Summary
Queensland dominated a match that was decided on the first day. Matt Short proved he can bat in the long format as well as the short formats making an even 100 for the match. In response, Queensland dominated with centuries to Matt Renshaw and Jack Clayton as well as a 90 to Michael Neser setting the pace.
Who pushed Test claims?
Matt Renshaw: Making 135 and showcasing his ability to read the situation and to score accordingly must go a long way towards helping him push his case for David Warner’s position.
Michael Neser: What more does Neser have to do to edge ahead of some of the exhausted quicks that have served Australia for so long? Despite his form, the selectors will undoubtedly find a reason to keep him out.
Who did not push Test claims?
Marcus Harris: Harris probably needs a few more runs than 0 and 10 to solidify his spot as “next cab off the rank”. Todd Murphy: He lacked consistency in his bowling, but he will want to work on bowling his best ball more consistently in the right areas. He failed to either build pressure (just 4 maidens in 36 overs) or take wickets (1/109).
3 Sentence Summary
New South Wales regressed from its Round 1 performance, stumbling into two collapses in both innings. South Australia made enough runs and bowled exceptionally well to win the match. Both sides have work to do for Round 3 to build consistency.
Who Pushed Test Claims?
Nathan McSweeney & Nathan McAndrew: The Nathans drove South Australia’s push for victory, McSweeney with 100 and McAndrew with 10 wickets. Both are prospects to watch for the future.
Who did not push Test claims?
Kurtis Patterson: Something is wrong with Patterson. He looks lost when he bats and may need some time away from the game to reset and refresh. Hopefully, he can turn his season around very soon.
3 Sentence Summary
The winner in this game was the 22 yards of dirt dug up from the road in front of the WACA and placed in the middle of the square. Unusually for the WACA, Corey Rocchiccioli found turn on Day 1. Western Australia’s slow batting squandered its chances of winning.
Who Pushed Test Claims?
Cameron Bancroft: 91 added to 122 makes for good results. Bancroft has taken full advantage of two batter-friendly surfaces to make two good scores. Now if only Western Australia batted faster to give him further chances to push his claim. Just a thought.
Jordan Silk: A first-class average of 32 speaks more to the leanness of his past few seasons, but Silk has begun the new Sheffield season strongly. He is probably a fair way down the pecking order, but if he builds consistency, then anything is possible.
Who did not push Test claims?
Caleb Jewell: He received a gem of a delivery first ball from Lance Morris in the first innings. However, with a golden opportunity handed to him in the second innings, he got a start and, once again, failed to handle Morris’s pace. He will need to improve that aspect of his game if he has a shot at the international arena.
This looks at the best players in each position and fits them in where appropriate. Players can be moved down a rung in the batting order from where they normally bat, but they cannot move up. For example, Matthew Renshaw could open or bat at 3, but since he did not make runs in the middle order, he would not be eligible to bat in the middle order. The objective of this is to track consistency across the Shield season. At least one player from each side should be selected unless one team utterly dominated that round.
Cameron Bancroft
Matt Renshaw
Sam Whiteman
Jordan Silk
Jack Clayton
Matt Short
Matt Gilkes
Michael Neser
Nathan McAndrew
Jack Nisbet
Mitchell Swepson
Stay tuned for Round 3!