It may have been the event that everyone will remember from the second round of the Sheffield Shield, and the fact that it came at the very conclusion of the round perhaps was the perfect way to finish it off, but Mitchell Starc’s second hat-trick of the match against Western Australia was not the most important event of the final two days of the round. Indeed, what those two days of both the Victoria vs South Australia match and the New South Wales vs Western Australia match provided was a combination of runs from several players that finally gave the phrase “competition for places” a real meaning.
While the match at the M.C.G finished in an exciting draw, with both teams having their chance to press for victory on the final day, several performances drew a spotlight to individuals who will either feel more comfortable about their chances of playing in Brisbane on November 23, or will feel their chances have increased dramatically.
Jake Lehmann’s double of 103 and 93 was exciting to watch, unorthodox in places and mirror-image of his father in other places. His disappointment at not going on in the second innings was obvious, but he can be well pleased with his efforts in this match. While the prospect of Australian coach and selector Darren having to consider his own son for selection (though he has stated publicly he makes himself ineligible when such talk is done between selectors) has excited the media, his efforts here have to be considered against those in the previous match against New South Wales, where he was monstered by the Test bowling attack in ferocious circumstances. More big runs in the next match against Western Australia would have to push his case more, but it seems unlikely Australia will gamble with him at this stage. He still has time on his side, and building a case by weight of runs this season will be the best way to do that.
Callum Ferguson’s imperious 185 not out in the second innings of this match comes more heavily weighted given his efforts in that same New South Wales match last week. His 36 mightn’t seem like much, but against the Test bowling attack in a desperate cause to revive, it holds some sway. If sheer weight of runs is what the selectors are looking for in a bid to find their ideal number six – and surely this is what these early Shield games are for – then Ferguson has filled the brief. One innings though shouldn’t be the end of the application for the position. He too will be looking for runs in Perth in order to put a gold seal on his chances. Everyone remembers how he was chosen out of the blue last year to make his debut in Hobart when he was completely out of form, and then shafted without a second chance. If he was to get a shot at the team in two weeks’ time, in a good run of form, he would not let anyone down.
Perhaps the most important innings came from incumbent number six Glenn Maxwell, whose double of 60 and 64 batting at number three will have eased his concerns about retaining his place. Not going on to register a bigger score will be something he will be disappointed in. Apart from the runs, the selectors will have been interested in the bowling tactics of the South Australians to him. Dan Worrall took to him late in his first innings, coming around the wicket and bowling short at his body. His awkward dismissal to one of these deliveries – that admittedly did not get up at all leaving a confused indecision in the shot such that he just dragged the ball around onto his stumps – encouraged the same attack to be taken up in the second innings. At times Maxwell looked awkward under this direction, but he also played a couple of nice hook shots to dispatch deliveries. This play may have stuck with the selectors. It most definitely will have been watched with interest by the English bowlers. If Maxwell plays in Brisbane, you can be sure this tactic will be used against him, probably sooner rather than later. In the long run, if the selectors are serious about their team selection being on form, then Maxwell’s match should have gone a long way to securing his place for the 1st Test, notwithstanding the efforts of the other batsmen in line behind him.
The sideline to these performances was the head to head battle of two of Australia’s best regarded leg spinners. Fawad Ahmed again did the job required of him, taking 3/82 and 3/122 for Victoria, bamboozling the tail in the first innings, and taking out the middle order in the second innings. Adam Zampa struggled and was dealt with harshly throughout, finishing with 1/123 and 2/112 for the match. Fawad has shown he can change his style of attack between the short form and long form of the game with few problems. At the moment, Zampa hasn’t quite got that change correct. Hopefully for the future’s sake, both conversed or at least watched what the other was doing and picked up some tips along the way.
In the New South Wales vs Western Australia match, where the Warriors opened up with 0/179 in their second innings in an unlikely chase of 395 for victory, only to lose 10/44 in the final session to a rampant Test attack, Steve Smith’s 76 and 127 came at the right time, tuning up for a Test series where he will be firmly in the firing line. Dave Warner’s pair of fives will not have been accepted so gleefully, but he too looks ready for the challenge ahead. Kurtis Patterson’s double of 36 and 66 again reminded us how close he must have been to Test selection last season when Nic Maddinson was given his chance. One wonders if Patterson had been chosen at that stage whether we would be having any discussion over our current number six position in the Test team.
Shaun Marsh again firmly thrust his best foot forward in Test discussions with 91 in the second innings of the Western Australia vs New South Wales match, and will have the backing of the loud and ferocious cries of everyone west of Adelaide. For the selectors it is form that cannot be denied, and you can only admire his efforts in doing what every batsman dropped from a team has to do to try and get a recall – score a lot of runs. Marsh has done that, and at least he has given himself every opportunity to be selected again. Whether or not it succeeds is something he cannot do any more about.
Hilton Cartwright picked the worst time possible to pick up a pair, on the big stage against the Australian bowling line up. You can only feel for him, having sat around for the better part of three hours watching his opening pair put on 179 runs for the first wicket, and then harmlessly giving gully catching practice an over later. Maxwell’s runs in Melbourne and his dual failure in Sydney may have cost him his chance of playing in Brisbane, but with one Shield game to go before that team is selected, he can make up for that with a massive score next week. Perhaps.
The best and worst of this match circled around Cameron Bancroft and his efforts with the bat.
Bancroft showed his credentials against the Australian Test bowling attack, carrying his bat in the Western Australian first innings for 76 runs, which was a wonderful effort. He then followed this up with 86 in the second innings in that 179 run opening stand with Marsh, showing that his form was no fluke. He showed that, should he be given an opportunity in the Test team he won’t let anyone down. And, given Matt Renshaw’s well publicised struggles with the bat at the moment, it probably isn’t any wonder that both Marsh and Bancroft have been getting the media’s attention.
However…
Some portions of the media then took it upon themselves to nominate Bancroft as a Test candidate… as the Test wicket-keeper. Now, we know everyone is out there trying to manufacture a story to sell their papers or get people to hit on their websites, but to start coming out with this kind of story is just a nonsense. Bancroft is a fine batsman, and a serviceable backstop of a keeper in the short form of the game. He is the Warriors wicket-keeper in Shield cricket, only because of Shane Whiteman’s injury induced absence. He is not in the same class of gloveman as Nevill or Carey, or dare I say it, Wade. His number one trade in cricket is as a batsman, and that is all he should be being considered as. And, surely, that is all he is being considered as by the selectors. But the raising of this by media sources shows two things – one, what lengths they will go to in order to have a story to sell, and two, the lengths this nonsense about a wicket-keeper having to be a batsman to be selected has come to. The wicket-keeper is a specialist position, and should be chosen as such. If we are going to contemplate choosing a part timer as keeper just for the fact he has scored a few runs, then we have dragged the sport to its less than basic levels. Let’s hope this does not occur.
If nothing else, at least there is now a fight for the number six position in the right way, with a number of batsmen scoring runs to bring them to notice. With the selection only a week away, the final audition comes over the first four days of next week, when we will see what our final nominations can achieve.
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