Two of Australia’s likely Ashes top-order batters and all three first-choice fast bowlers are absent from the full squads named for this weekend’s opening round of the Sheffield Shield as the journey to the opening Test in Perth begins.
Incumbent openers Usman Khawaja and Sam Konstas are playing, as will Cam Green, who batted at No.3 in the most recent Test in the West Indies, with his place in Western Australia’s batting order to be confirmed.
All-rounder Beau Webster will line up for Tassie, but there’s no Steve Smith for NSW, while Travis Head is in New Zealand with the T20 side facing a white ball, as is Test keeper Alex Carey
Fast bowler Scott Boland, who was one of four quicks who bowled Australia to victory against the Windies in July, a Test notable for the omission of spin star Nathan Lyon, is also turning out for Victoria as an injury cloud hovers over national captain Pat Cummins.
Boland looms as the man most likely to take Cummins’ place should the skipper fail to overcome a significant back issues in time for the Ashes opener in Perth and will play the first of what could be as few as two Shield games before being called up for national duties.
But fellow quick Josh Hazlewood is, like Head and Carey, playing T20s in New Zealand, while Mitchell Starc is being saved in a very metered preparation for the opening Test against England in November.
The Vics have also named 19-year-old batter Ollie Peake in the 13-player squad set to face South Australia at Adelaide Oval from Saturday, with Test hopeful Nathan McSweeney back from the Australia A tour of India to lead the reigning champions.
In Perth, Green could bowl for the first time in a match since his career-saving back surgery last year when Western Australia takes on a NSW side being led by spin star Lyon and with batting dynamo Sam Konstas looking to make the runs needed to keep his spot as Test opener.
Green has been identified as a long-term Test No.3, but his WA coach conceded a return to bowling for the all-rounder could mean he slides down to No.4 for his state.
“If we put a Test cricket lens on it, I think in terms of recent history of the West Indies, that was the position that opened up for Cam to bat three,” Voges told NewsWire recently.
“Once he gets back to bowling, is that his best spot in the batting line-up? In my opinion, probably not.
“I think for most of his career we’ve certainly batted him at four for Western Australia to great effect and we’ve seen him have great success at five and six for Australia when he’s playing that all-rounder role.
“Is that a more preferable spot for Cameron once he does get back to bowling? In my opinion, yes, but equally the selectors, coach and captain will work out the balance they need to go with.
“If you ask Cameron I am sure he will bat anywhere they ask him to and I think he’s good enough to do that, but he’s certainly had more success batting in that four, five, six role.”
OPENING ROUND SHEFFIELD SHIELD SQUADS
Victoria: Peter Handscomb (c), Scott Boland, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Campbell Kellaway, Blake MacDonald, Cam McClure, David Moody, Fergus O’Neill, Oliver Peake, Mitch Perry, Tom Rogers, Doug Warren.
Queensland: Marnus Labuschagne (c), Hugo Burdon, Jack Clayton, Benji Floros, Hayden Kerr, Usman Khawaja, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Gurinder Sandhu, Mitchell Swepson, Hugh Weibgen, Jack Wildermuth.
Western Australia: Sam Whiteman (c), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Hilton Cartwright, Joel Curtis, Cameron Gannon, Jayden Goodwin, Cameron Green, Liam Haskett, Matt Kelly, Joel Paris, Corey Rocchiccioli.
NSW: Nathan Lyon (c), Ollie Davies, Matt Gilkes, Chris Green, Ryan Hadley, Liam Hatcher, Ryan Hicks, Sam Konstas, Blake Nikitaras, Kurtis Patterson, Ross Pawson, Will Salzmann, Charlie Stobo.
South Australia:
Tasmania: Jordan Silk (c), Gabe Bell, Jackson Bird, Nikhil Chaudhary, Jake Doran, Kieran Elliott, Bradley Hope, Caleb Jewell, Riley Meredith, Nivethan Radhakrishnan, Tim Ward, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.
