The last round of the Sheffield Shield before the Test squad flies to New Zealand, and considering that 19 days had elapsed since the end of the West Indies Test, surely all the Test players would play this round to get some fine tuning, right? Especially since the Shield is so important to producing quality players? Looks like Cricket Australia had other ideas, strange considering their oft-stated mantra that they are prioritising Test cricket.
All that aside, let’s dive into this round.
Tasmania vs Western Australia: Blundstone Arena, Hobart
3 Sentence Summary: In typical Hobart fashion, the Bellerive Oval pitch flattened out as the match progressed. Tasmania chose to consolidate their spot at the top the table and play for a draw. Still, with 450 to get on a deck that was getting better for batting, Western Australia had 96 overs to get them, and had they pushed, they probably could have chased it down at 4.7 per over, but after the Camerons (Bancroft and Green) got their 100s, they also called it a draw.
Western Australia’s Cameron Green plays a shot. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Who pushed Test claims? Caleb Jewell’s 227, Beau Webster’s 100, Bancroft and Green both making 100? They’re all good, but Joel Paris’s continued omission from the Test side makes no sense. His 7 wickets in the match (3 on a reasonably placid deck) shows why he must be considered as an injury replacement should injury strike one of Australia’s Test quicks.
Who did not push Test claims? Tim Ward has represented Australia A twice but lasted just 5 balls in a match where a lot of runs were scored. He would be disappointed to have missed out and will be hoping that his form turns around.
New South Wales vs Victoria Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
3 Sentence Summary: Sydney’s severe thunderstorms denied Victoria a shot at gaining first place in the Shield. Making 6/454dec, Victoria had their foot on NSW’s throat at 8/116 when thunderstorms prematurely ended the match. With two rounds to go Victoria has a great chance to finish top of the table, especially with a match against frontrunners Tasmania in the next round.
Who Pushed Test Claims? Scott Boland backed up century makers Will Pucovski, Nic Maddinson and Peter Handscomb very well with the ball claiming 8 wickets. It will be interesting to see if he gets a run in New Zealand in conditions very much suited to his style.
Scott Boland goes close to another wicket for Victoria. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Who Did Not Push Test Claims? Let’s focus for a moment on the fact that NSW was missing Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins from their first choice XI. Whilst the result may not have been different, the contest would have been much more even with those four players in there and the Vics would have had an opportunity to test themselves against the best in Australian cricket.
If Cricket Australia is genuine about their commitment to Test cricket, then ALL their Test players must play in the Sheffield Shield when doing so makes sense. With a 19-day break from their last Test match, there was no excuse for them not to play.
South Australia vs Queensland Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
3 Sentence Summary: In terms of excitement, this was the match of the round. Another game where the pitch got better to bat on as the game progressed. Guided home by stand in captain Marnus Labuschagne, Queensland won a thrilling contest on Day 3, but Marnus will not want to watch the replay of his dismissal again.
Who Pushed Test Claims? It is unusual that a guy who made 26 and 46* should get the nod, but Ben McDermott’s two innings, both under enormous pressure, helped get Queensland the win. His 46* in the second innings was pivotal to helping Queensland chase down what could have been a very tricky total.
Queensland and Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Who Did Not Push Test Claims? Nathan McSweeney had a chance to put his name up in front of selectors, but unfortunately, was part of South Australia’s 3/0 loss in the first innings. He will be hoping for better consistency going forward.
Best XI across the first round:
How this is selected: 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 the consistency across the Shield season. At least one player from each side should be selected unless one team utterly dominated that round.
Nic Maddinson
Caleb Jewell
Will Pucovski
Peter Handscomb
Alex Carey
Beau Webster
Jack Edwards
Joel Paris
Nathan Lyon
Mark Steketee
Scott Boland
Stay tuned for Round 9!
JamesH
Roar Guru
Starc, Hazlewood, Smith and Cummins didn't play for NSW because they are in NZ, initally playing T20s and now preparing for the first test on Thursday.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Your comments about the importance of the Bancroft/Green partnership are wide of the mark. They had to make that game safe. If they had lost a 3rd wicket, they run the risk of losing that game and falling 13 points behind Tasmania with only 2 games left. They batted for a day. No one, ever, gets 450 on the last day with no field restrictions. Chasing the runs was never on.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
What a flexible criterion you are working with. If a player scores runs but you don't want him, it's a road. Yet players getting runs on the same track in the same game but the name is not Green or Bancroft...they're in.
Gibbo
Roar Pro
Green has made 2 Shield appearances and yes, has averaged 102.4 in those 2 appearances, but 2 Shield appearances does not a season make. You’ll notice that Joel Paris has got the nod along with Alex Carey, neither of whom are eastern staters for this round. It was unhelpful for Green and Bancroft this round that they essentially played out a dead rubber when they had a real shot at winning it. I struggled to pick any of my beloved Queenslanders to include in the side, not because they didn’t warrant inclusion, but most others’ performances outweighed theirs. Let me run you through my thought process for each. – Jewell: 227 is awfully hard to leave out even if it was in a dead rubber. – Maddinson: His ton at more than a run a ball helped the Vics set up that match. – Pucovski: Nice to see him back in form and as the form no. 3 in the comp, he needed that spot. – Handscomb: Again, when comparing his ton with Green’s, his was more influential in the overall outcome of the match hence why he gets the nod. – Carey: In a similar vein, Carey’s two 50+ scores kept SA in the match. He deserved his spot. – Webster: He’s having a stellar year. Hard to keep him out, really. – Edwards: Find me another no. 7 (or no. 6) who had a better match or has had a more consistent run than he has with both bat and ball? I’d have thought Neser, but he’s a little down this season. – Paris: Because why not include one of the most consistent bowlers in the Shield who took wickets on a flat track? – Lyon: Best performed spinner of the round. – Steketee: Needed a QLDer in there, and he took the most wickets of the lot. Also the most by a no. 10 this round. – Boland: Hard to go past a booke who just put NSW to the sword in their last match. 8 wickets in the match is a decent effort. Oh, and by the way, go back and read my other article about why Cam Green should NOT be in the Test side and should play in the Shield.
Gibbo
Roar Pro
Don, Cameron Bancroft has made the first 3 XIs in this series. He's in there already. For me, if Bancroft is the standout player in the round, then he's in there, but making 100 on a flat track in a drawn match doesn't get you many credits in my book. If he and Cam Green had gone on to make 100s and had chased down the 450 required, then sure, they'd both be in serious consideration.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
Ah, selective quoting. The favourite tactics of the dishonest. And the person desperate to avoid answering a simple question. Still evading that I see…as usual.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
"Reminds me very much of Cameron Green, just without the hype…" Hard to know if you are deluded or dishonest. I think you are dishonest.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
The comment was about Edwards actually. You then replied with your usual hyperbole obsessing about Green like a teenaged Taylor Swift fan. Still waiting for you to back your claim up with some evidence…
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
You initiated the "Green" issue. Remember your first post? You forget what you have said in your urgency to gainsay.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Response to Jamesb's comment about Webster.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
One day you go on "quite good form" other days you go on the performance in the last match. According to the former, Bancroft should be in. According to the latter, Green should be in. Neither are in because eastern states players are in instead. Green is going to miss your team of the year despite a 2023/24 Shield average of 102.5.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
It’s not about Green. A normal person would realise that, but your fanboi weirdness seems to blind you. Just asking you to back your claim up with some evidence. As always, you can’t.
Gibbo
Roar Pro
Who's this?
Gibbo
Roar Pro
Ah Don. Grumpy when the West Aussies miss out, as always. :laughing: I considered putting him in, but Jack Edwards has been in quite good form for awhile now. He seems to be hitting his groove nicely, plus Green is a Test player already, and while that doesn't disqualify him from the team of the round, it does mean that if there are other up-and-comers who've had great rounds, I'd rather feature them than someone who's out of form in the Test arena.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Mind you, if he was picked it would be the end of his cricket for the summer. He'd just carry drinks and miss Shield cricket and the Marsh Cup final. It's sort of a win for him. Renshaw finishes his summer with an average of 24 and no opportunity to find some form.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
It's your issue, you go find it. Nothing wild about it. Your paranoid, anti-Green comment however...
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
He's a lock, Don.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
What has to be really annoying for Bancroft, apart from not being selected, is comments from Bailey - "it was a really close thing, he's well and truly on the selectors radar, he's doing everything right", etc. At some point, a cricket is simply going to go off publicly and say the obvious - why haven't I been picked and demand specifics? As for this being a selectors error, there's no way they could admit that, even though, on form, it's certainly true.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
So, again, you make wild hyperbolic statements that you can’t back up with any evidence. :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Well, you'll have to go back, as already mentioned, to when they first came in. He was an opening batsman then while his brother did all the bowling. Despite the hype, he kept failing. At the same time, Green was taking 5fors and scoring tons; that generated your "hype". You'll find it if you really want that "example". We all suffered it. You won't look though because you don't want to know.