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Domesticated - The players who could bolt into Ashes contention + previewing the most important Shield season ever?! · The Follow-On

0:00
Speaker 1: With ASHES spots up for grabs, We're set for some
0:03
Speaker 1: of the most important rounds of Sheffield Shield cricket we've
0:05
Speaker 1: seen in recent memory. Welcome to Domesticated, a brand new
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Speaker 1: Fox Cricket show where we'd be breaking down everything that's
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Speaker 1: happening in domestic cricket, what it means for the Australian
0:15
Speaker 1: team now and in the future. I'm justin Edwards. Nick
0:19
Speaker 1: Savage from Fox Cricket joins me.
0:21
Speaker 2: Nick.
0:21
Speaker 1: These Shield rounds they are stacked with intrigue, aren't they.
0:24
Speaker 3: Oh it's really exciting, isn't It feels like every summer
0:26
Speaker 3: now there's one or two test spots up for grabs
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Speaker 3: and it's no exception this year as well as an
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Speaker 3: ASHES series about seven weeks away and we are looking
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Speaker 3: for an opening partner for usbond Kwaja. So yeah, these
0:37
Speaker 3: next three or four weeks is going to be absolutely
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Speaker 3: massive when it comes to for summer as a whole.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, the opening spot is the one that's going to
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Speaker 1: be talked about the most. Let's get straight into that
0:45
Speaker 1: with our opening contenders. Let's start with the incumbent Sam Constace.
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Speaker 1: He looked in all sorts in the West Indies, but
0:53
Speaker 1: He's got two hundreds, one in the city country game,
0:56
Speaker 1: one for Australia A in recent times, that's a I
1:00
Speaker 1: would sign after what was a really poor too of
1:02
Speaker 1: the West Indies.
1:02
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's probably worth acknowledging in that Caribbean tool. All
1:05
Speaker 3: the openers struggled Kwaja I think got one score of
1:08
Speaker 3: above fifty. The West Indies openers certainly struggled as well,
1:12
Speaker 3: so that was tough conditions. He's come back, He's taken
1:15
Speaker 3: with his stance a little bit and it's currently paid
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Speaker 3: off pretty well.
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Speaker 4: As you mentioned a couple of hundreds.
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Speaker 3: That second hundred over in India was a very high
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Speaker 3: scoring game and the selectors have said time and time
1:24
Speaker 3: again those matches won't be considered when it comes to
1:27
Speaker 3: Ashes selection. So really all eyes are on Constance come
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Speaker 3: this weekend. He's over in Perth against a pretty decent
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Speaker 3: West Australian pace attack and it really just comes down
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Speaker 3: to runs for him. He needs runs to keep that
1:38
Speaker 3: spot heading into the Sashes series.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't think Constas is going to have the
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Speaker 1: benefit of incumbency that you often see with openers.
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Speaker 2: He needs to score shield runs.
1:48
Speaker 1: He started the summer well, not that any of us
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Speaker 1: saw those two centuries because the Indian like I don't
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Speaker 1: even think Dri McDonald could get a stream of that game.
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Speaker 1: But the thing with Constance is he is so young.
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Speaker 1: It doesn't have to be this year, it doesn't have
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Speaker 1: to be in two years time. He could not play
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Speaker 1: for Australia for another five years and then come back
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Speaker 1: into the team at twenty four and play for ten
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Speaker 1: more years.
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Speaker 2: He's still so. I think he turns twenty this week.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, he's still a teenager.
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Speaker 3: He look at all the great players who were dropped
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Speaker 3: alow in their career and came back much better for it.
2:17
Speaker 3: I mean, you don't have to look much further than
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Speaker 3: Usman Kwaja. He was in an outlet side for years
2:21
Speaker 3: and it wasn't until the previous Ashes series in Australia
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Speaker 3: that he finally cemented that spot. And look, Constase, he's
2:27
Speaker 3: got pizza time to keep developing his game. I think
2:29
Speaker 3: he's still actually going to get physically stronger as well.
2:32
Speaker 3: Over the next few years. He'll tinker and improve. And
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Speaker 3: he only has three first class hundreds to his name.
2:38
Speaker 3: He's still very early on. And if he comes against
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Speaker 3: Joffra Archer Mark with the som I've got no doubt
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Speaker 3: he'd do a decent job, but it's just an exciting
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Speaker 3: prospect moving forward. There are a lot of young players
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Speaker 3: in this domestic setup at the moment, who played in
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Speaker 3: that Under nineteen World Cup last year, who were already
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Speaker 3: showing their worthy of higher honors at some stage.
2:54
Speaker 1: All right, let's move to the let's stay with New
2:56
Speaker 1: South Wales moved to the other end of the age spectrum.
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Speaker 2: Curtis Patterson.
3:00
Speaker 1: He's had a renaissance in the last year or so
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Speaker 1: after he was out of the New South Wales team
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Speaker 1: for a little bit.
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Speaker 2: Is he in the frame do you think?
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Speaker 3: No? Certainly, as you said twelve months ago, he wasn't
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Speaker 3: in the side, came back and was finished the season
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Speaker 3: as the Blues highest run scorer, mostly batting at number
3:14
Speaker 3: three though, which I think is probably worth acknowledging that
3:16
Speaker 3: number three spot in this shame side isn't lockdown just yet. Obviously,
3:21
Speaker 3: Cameron Green is the income, but he's probably a good
3:23
Speaker 3: chance of taking that number three spot again. But if
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Speaker 3: they're looking at a new change for the first change spot,
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Speaker 3: Pattison's definitely worth a shout. He got one hundred in
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Speaker 3: the One Day Cup opener last week against South Australia
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Speaker 3: and he's just at the peak of his powers at
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Speaker 3: the moment.
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Speaker 4: He's never been batting better in his life.
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Speaker 3: And the new South Wales coach Greg Sheppard did say
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Speaker 3: that he could open in Test cricket if needed. He
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Speaker 3: has the makings of a Test opener, so he's definitely
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Speaker 3: an option.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, that number three spot. It sort of comes down
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Speaker 1: to whether it's grain or webster rather than green and Webster.
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Speaker 1: We'll have to see whether that plays out for Australia.
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Speaker 1: Let's go to Queensland. Manus Labashane. He's another that could
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Speaker 1: open or be batting three. Got some runs in the
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Speaker 1: One Day Cup though, which is a good sign after
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Speaker 1: a lean run.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, incredible.
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Speaker 3: He batted superbly that day and a lot more attacking
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Speaker 3: he after a slow slide. He was batting it over
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Speaker 3: run a ball which we haven't typically seen from him,
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Speaker 3: so that was really exciting. But yeah, obviously he missed
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Speaker 3: out of that West Indies tour. He was running drinks
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Speaker 3: throughout then, but he's someone who could certainly open.
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Speaker 4: He tried it in the World Test Championship final Nay.
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Speaker 3: Then a couple of years ago he said in the
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Speaker 3: media that he had opening itis. He was really against
4:31
Speaker 3: the idea of it. But now he may not have
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Speaker 3: that choice. It may be a matter of if you
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Speaker 3: want to play for Australia, opening is the only vacancy
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Speaker 3: there for you. And if Australia goes down this policy
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Speaker 3: of the six best batters in the country ignoring roles,
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Speaker 3: then he probably is in that best six batters. He
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Speaker 3: has twelve Test hundreds. He has so much experience under
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Speaker 3: his belt. He was the number one Test batter in
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Speaker 3: the world only a few years ago. So it might
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Speaker 3: be a matter of him and Queensland team at Kuwaja
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Speaker 3: opening the batting.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, that's what's Manus Labashane's advantage. That's what's going to
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Speaker 1: be on his side is the experience that he has,
5:01
Speaker 1: Like he faced Jo for Archer six years ago when
5:04
Speaker 1: Sam Constas was thirteen. Like, he's got multiple Test one hundreds.
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Speaker 1: He's probably the safe choice. And I would think if
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Speaker 1: all of these contenders do about the same, Manus is
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Speaker 1: probably where they'll go with because he's a bit more
5:16
Speaker 1: of a steadier hand. What are Queensland's going to do
5:18
Speaker 1: with their batting order, because we're talking about Kuwaja and
5:22
Speaker 1: Labashane is a potential opening combination for Australia, but they're
5:26
Speaker 1: probably not going to open for Queensland.
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Speaker 4: I do really doubt it. I really doubt that Labashete
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Speaker 4: would open.
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Speaker 3: They've got Matthew Renshaw there who opened last summer and
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Speaker 3: has been a strong opener for about a decade for
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Speaker 3: the Bulls. And realistically we're going to see Labashee in
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Speaker 3: the middle order Kwaja. He said many times he doesn't
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Speaker 3: like opening. He basically does it as an obligation to
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Speaker 3: the Test side. So we'll see them probably yeah, around
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Speaker 3: three or four. There's a lot of strong batting in
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Speaker 3: that ball, so I had a lot of experience. But
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Speaker 3: we'll find out this Saturday what the exact lineup will be.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe the start of last time at Kuwaja wasn't
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Speaker 1: even opening for Queensland but opening for Australia. We'll see
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Speaker 1: what Queensland do. They play Tasmania at Allan Border Fields.
6:02
Speaker 1: Let's go to Tasmania. Jake Weatherold, He's the one, probably
6:06
Speaker 1: the cricketer, the domestic cricketer that's yet to play that
6:09
Speaker 1: everyone's been talking about for the last six months, Sheffields
6:12
Speaker 1: Shield leading run scorer. He's not just in the mix,
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Speaker 1: He's right up there as a big chance to make
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Speaker 1: a Test Aby this summer.
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Speaker 3: Especially exciting because I could see him partnering very well
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Speaker 3: with Kuwaja. You look at some of the great Australian
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Speaker 3: opening partnerships. I think of Warner Rogers, there was an
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Speaker 3: aggressor and then someone who could soak up the pressure
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Speaker 3: and bat for long periods. Looking at Kawaja, he's obviously
6:33
Speaker 3: the latter and weather he was scoring at a strike
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Speaker 3: rate of the mid to high seventies last summer, and
6:39
Speaker 3: compared to the other openers around the country, none of
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Speaker 3: them got up above the mid to high fifties in terms.
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Speaker 4: Of strike rate.
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Speaker 3: So he's sort of Australia's answer to Ben Ducker. If
6:47
Speaker 3: they wanted that kind of like for like, he could
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Speaker 3: absolutely do that. He's very talented through square, so anything
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Speaker 3: any width he'll smash it through square. And yeah, he's
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Speaker 3: the informed domestic batter in the country and so if
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Speaker 3: they didn't want a fresh face there, he'd be the
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Speaker 3: number one pick.
7:00
Speaker 1: The numbers are compelling for Jake weatherworld nine hundred and
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Speaker 1: six runs at an average of fifty last Sheffield Shield
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Speaker 1: season and then he's backed it up and scored one
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Speaker 1: hundred and eighty three for Australia A in Darwin his
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Speaker 1: three Shield centuries. You mentioned him batting with tempo the strike.
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Speaker 1: His strike rate was ninety one, seventy three and ninety
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Speaker 1: two in those three innings and that's that will really
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Speaker 1: benefit him, especially alongside Kawaju. I think Kwaja is better
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Speaker 1: when he's got someone like that who can tick over
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Speaker 1: the strike at the other end. His best results as
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Speaker 1: an opener have come with either Travis Head or David
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Speaker 1: Warner at the other end.
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Speaker 2: Oh, exactly right.
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Speaker 3: I mean you look at all the openers who have
7:34
Speaker 3: come in cycled since David Warner's retirement. There hasn't really
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Speaker 3: been that great fit yet because he's been parted with
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Speaker 3: people like manus Lavishe in the World Test Championship final.
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Speaker 3: In that match, in the first innings they've got about
7:46
Speaker 3: ten runs from the first ten overs and looking what
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Speaker 3: Baswall is going to be doing this summer, England will
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Speaker 3: be already at fifty at that stage. So Australia I
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Speaker 3: think does work better when they have obviously a left handed,
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Speaker 3: right handed option as well. Jake Weatherworld is left handed,
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Speaker 3: but an aggressor and someone to so got the pressure
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Speaker 3: is certainly ideal.
8:03
Speaker 1: I don't buy into the uneda left or right handed.
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Speaker 1: Hayden and Langer were both left handed.
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Speaker 2: That worked out.
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Speaker 1: Okay, let's go South Australia defending champions broke this long
8:12
Speaker 1: drought in the Sheffield should last year in no small
8:15
Speaker 1: part due to Jason sang up great innings in the
8:17
Speaker 1: Sheffield she would finally and a great season.
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Speaker 4: A great story.
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Speaker 3: I mean, he was out of the new South Wales side,
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Speaker 3: a former captain of the Blues, had some pretty tough
8:25
Speaker 3: conversations there and decided to have a bit of a
8:27
Speaker 3: refresh in South Australia And he wasn't even in that
8:30
Speaker 3: red back.
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Speaker 4: Side at the start of the season. He had to
8:32
Speaker 4: fight his way in there through ye.
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Speaker 2: It wasn't until Headed McSweeney went to the national team.
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Speaker 4: Run.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, he started in second eleven cricket and then obviously
8:37
Speaker 3: by the end of the season had three or four
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Speaker 3: hundreds to his name, hit the winning runs in the
8:41
Speaker 3: Shield final and yeah, has put himself back into that
8:44
Speaker 3: national conversation. I think the problem with Jason sanger is
8:48
Speaker 3: he's probably better suited at a number four and number
8:50
Speaker 3: five and if we're looking at the Test side, those
8:53
Speaker 3: spots are pretty solely Steve Smith's and Travis Heads. So
8:56
Speaker 3: right now, at this stage, I don't see him being
8:58
Speaker 3: in an ASHES contender massively, but you know, if he
9:01
Speaker 3: gets runs and forces his way into that Test consens
9:05
Speaker 3: batches down the door, they'll find a way to fit
9:06
Speaker 3: him in. I mean they did with Cameron Green a
9:08
Speaker 3: couple summers ago, they did with Nathan McSweeney last summer.
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Speaker 4: Who knows he could open the batting.
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Speaker 3: I'm not too sure, but it seems unlikely Jason saying
9:16
Speaker 3: we'll get a Nash score.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, if the number three spot becomes available, that's the
9:19
Speaker 1: saying is going to be more in the frame for that.
9:20
Speaker 1: And what he does have though is the most valuable runs,
9:24
Speaker 1: which are Sheffield Shield Final runs. In trying to get
9:28
Speaker 1: a bagg of green, Sheffield Shield final runs are the
9:30
Speaker 1: most important. Like you know, when you play a video
9:32
Speaker 1: game and you've got like a you get a two
9:33
Speaker 1: times multiplier and everything's worth double. That's what it's like
9:36
Speaker 1: for a Sheffield Chield Final one hundred and twenty six
9:38
Speaker 1: not out. That's when everyone's watching and those I remember
9:41
Speaker 1: Commen's debut after he got wickets in a she Would final,
9:44
Speaker 1: they fast tracked him straight in the selectors pay attention
9:46
Speaker 1: to shield final runs.
9:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, it seems similar to Brendan Doggett. He had a
9:50
Speaker 3: decent summer but then in that final took i think
9:52
Speaker 3: twelve wickets to help South Australia win that title, and
9:55
Speaker 3: then obviously he got a call up for the World
9:56
Speaker 3: Test Championship finals.
9:57
Speaker 4: He's absolutely right. People pay attention.
9:59
Speaker 3: When you are in a pressure corko, you are on
10:02
Speaker 3: the big stage, you can perform for your side.
10:04
Speaker 4: You know.
10:05
Speaker 3: Obviously there's no bigger stage than the Ashes, and those
10:07
Speaker 3: guys have proven that they can step up when needed
10:10
Speaker 3: in the big game.
10:10
Speaker 1: Saying I've got a double hundred in that Australia A
10:12
Speaker 1: game against against Sri Lanka A in Darwin. I think
10:16
Speaker 1: they're about a thousand runs scored for ten wickets in
10:18
Speaker 1: that game, so pretty flat decks. Not sure how much
10:20
Speaker 1: in to read into that. Let's see with South Australia
10:23
Speaker 1: and go to the men who opened the banning for
10:25
Speaker 1: Australia the start of last summer. Nathan McSweeney well in
10:28
Speaker 1: this situation. Last year he won the equivalent bat off.
10:31
Speaker 3: He had a great start with South Australia, got some
10:34
Speaker 3: decent starts in the Australia A series about ten months ago,
10:38
Speaker 3: and then got that call up. He'd never opened form
10:40
Speaker 3: first class cricket and then the Australian selectors chucked him
10:43
Speaker 3: in against Jasper Boomer and obviously didn't.
10:45
Speaker 4: Work out terribly well.
10:47
Speaker 3: I feel like, similar to Jason saying number three would
10:49
Speaker 3: probably be that avenue which he could get into the
10:51
Speaker 3: Test side. I can't see them going back to McSweeney again.
10:54
Speaker 3: That just seems so unlikely considering it was a failure
10:57
Speaker 3: twelve months ago. I can't see it being too different
10:59
Speaker 3: this time. So with the opener, probably unlikely for McSweeney,
11:03
Speaker 3: but still he was in that Test squad for Sholanka
11:05
Speaker 3: a few months ago. He's still a really exciting prospect
11:08
Speaker 3: for the future.
11:09
Speaker 4: In my mind.
11:10
Speaker 3: When Steve Sith does decide to hang up the book,
11:12
Speaker 3: it's probably in a couple of years time, or perhaps
11:14
Speaker 3: even sooner, that's where McSweeney will go in. He's a
11:16
Speaker 3: perfect number four on the Test side in my mind,
11:18
Speaker 3: so still a long term prospect.
11:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, I can't see McSweeney being an opener either, but
11:22
Speaker 1: I do hope it is acknowledged in Australian credit circles
11:27
Speaker 1: just how difficult a task it was that they asked
11:29
Speaker 1: of him to open the batting against Jasper Boomra that
11:33
Speaker 1: you've never opened before, and also the decks are going
11:35
Speaker 1: to be seeming everywhere. So I hope that is considered
11:39
Speaker 1: by the people in charge as credits in the bank
11:44
Speaker 1: rather than as deficit, as it's not like you missed
11:47
Speaker 1: your opportunity. No, we actually asked you to do something
11:50
Speaker 1: that's extremely difficult and we're not going to hold it
11:52
Speaker 1: against you. I hope that's how they say it. Anyway,
11:55
Speaker 1: Let's go to Victoria Campbell Kellaway. There's a lot of
11:58
Speaker 1: talk about him. He's young too, he's only twenty two,
12:00
Speaker 1: but he's been earmarked for a while.
12:02
Speaker 3: Well, it was only about ten months ago he was
12:05
Speaker 3: told to open the batting for the first time in
12:07
Speaker 3: a first class game.
12:08
Speaker 4: He was typically down at three or four, and.
12:10
Speaker 3: Then just because of a shuffle in the Victorian top order,
12:13
Speaker 3: he was asked to open at the Gabba, and then
12:15
Speaker 3: in that same game he got his maiden first class
12:18
Speaker 3: hundred to help Victoria get a really unlikely win, and
12:21
Speaker 3: then he flourished as an opener.
12:22
Speaker 2: He did really, really well.
12:23
Speaker 3: He finished the season as Victoria's leading run scorer and
12:26
Speaker 3: he put himself in that national frame. He went to
12:29
Speaker 3: Australia a and opened alongside Constance, had a decent first
12:32
Speaker 3: not got seventy odd, but then struggled for the rest
12:34
Speaker 3: of the tour. But of course, as we mentioned before,
12:37
Speaker 3: those runs are pretty irrelevant when it comes to Ash selection.
12:39
Speaker 3: If he can start well in the first two or
12:41
Speaker 3: three Shield games, he can put his name in the ring.
12:44
Speaker 3: It seems unlikely considering he doesn't have a lot of
12:46
Speaker 3: experience opening in Red Bull cricket, but an unsiable talent.
12:50
Speaker 3: So again someone who maybe in two to three years
12:52
Speaker 3: time could be right in the frame.
12:53
Speaker 2: Yeah, he is young.
12:54
Speaker 1: He's only twenty two, about to turn twenty three, three
12:57
Speaker 1: years older than Sam Constace, so maybe there's a two
13:00
Speaker 1: Andrew in there. He opened the batting with Marcus Harris
13:02
Speaker 1: for Victoria.
13:03
Speaker 2: Who would you say is more likely Harris or Kellaway
13:06
Speaker 2: for that Australian spoot.
13:07
Speaker 3: I think for this summer Marcus Harris. He has experienced
13:10
Speaker 3: not just in Test cricket, but he's played into Ashes series.
13:13
Speaker 3: He's come up against many of these England bowlers before,
13:16
Speaker 3: and he just got back from England in the County
13:17
Speaker 3: Championship where he had a fantastic season. I think he
13:20
Speaker 3: averaged in the mid fifties there, and so he's in form.
13:24
Speaker 3: When Steve Smith hurt his thumb during the recent World
13:26
Speaker 3: Test Championship final, the selectors actually called him up and
13:29
Speaker 3: asked him about his whereabouts for that West Indies tour
13:32
Speaker 3: as a potential replacement in the squad.
13:34
Speaker 4: Obviously, Smith recovered.
13:35
Speaker 3: In time to come back into that series, but that
13:38
Speaker 3: showed that he's still very much in the frame. The
13:41
Speaker 3: runs he did get in the County Championship were at
13:42
Speaker 3: number four, but he is expected to open for Victoria
13:46
Speaker 3: this week and in the first few rounds. And yeah,
13:48
Speaker 3: someone else has been in and out of the side
13:50
Speaker 3: for a while. But people probably having the same conversations
13:53
Speaker 3: about Kwaja Puiso.
13:54
Speaker 4: He's too old.
13:54
Speaker 3: He's had his chance, Marcus Harris. I mean, he's still
13:57
Speaker 3: got probably four or five years of domestic cricket in him.
14:00
Speaker 3: Any chance of playing in this series.
14:01
Speaker 1: It is a great comparison, guys, like Harris with Kowaja,
14:05
Speaker 1: who's made such a good fist of his return to
14:07
Speaker 1: the Test team. I am still a team Campbell Kellaway
14:09
Speaker 1: though for Victoria at the moment, in a similar mold
14:12
Speaker 1: to Marcus Harris is Cameron Bancroft. That's very unusual that
14:15
Speaker 1: we get to a domestic cricket chat and not talk
14:17
Speaker 1: about anybody from WA for this long poor season last year,
14:20
Speaker 1: not just for Bancroft but for all of Western Australia,
14:22
Speaker 1: first time they didn't win make the final in a
14:24
Speaker 1: long time. Is the door closed for him or do
14:27
Speaker 1: you think there's still an opportunity there.
14:28
Speaker 4: There's certainly still an opportunity.
14:30
Speaker 3: I'd say at this stage twelve months ago, before the
14:33
Speaker 3: Shield started, he was probably the number one chance. The
14:36
Speaker 3: next person in line to open. Steve Smith had indicated
14:39
Speaker 3: he's going to go back down to four. There was
14:40
Speaker 3: an opener vacancy there. Bangkoft had been the most inform
14:44
Speaker 3: open in the country for two years. He'd been the
14:46
Speaker 3: leading run scorer twice in the Shield. Recently he just
14:49
Speaker 3: had the most untimely, unlucky run of form, about five
14:52
Speaker 3: or six single digit scores heading into the first Test.
14:56
Speaker 4: He basically batted himself.
14:57
Speaker 3: Out of contention and opened the door for McSweeney and
14:59
Speaker 3: Marcus Harris ask them to take that spot.
15:02
Speaker 4: If he starts well here, there's every chance of playing.
15:04
Speaker 4: He has experience.
15:05
Speaker 3: He also went to the County Championship this year did
15:07
Speaker 3: very well. He just needs runs. As there's so many
15:09
Speaker 3: of the names we've said, he just needs to get
15:11
Speaker 3: those runs. So I think back to two years ago
15:15
Speaker 3: when David Warner retired and there was an opener vacancy there.
15:19
Speaker 3: In hindsight that probably should have been Bancroft's chance. They
15:21
Speaker 3: elevated Steve Smith to make room for Cameron Green. That
15:24
Speaker 3: didn't last very long and there's just been a merry
15:26
Speaker 3: go round of.
15:27
Speaker 4: Openers since then.
15:28
Speaker 3: So that felt like the lost chance for Bancroft to
15:31
Speaker 3: kickside his Test career again.
15:33
Speaker 1: I don't I have sympathy for the Australian team and
15:36
Speaker 1: that's it up. Like I'd try and wedge Cameron Green
15:38
Speaker 1: into any cricket side act could as well. You get
15:41
Speaker 1: the feeling with all of these guys and even the
15:43
Speaker 1: guys we haven't mentioned. You get three hundreds in those
15:46
Speaker 1: first three Shield games, you're in like it's that open
15:50
Speaker 1: for everybody and it is those three shoe guts. So
15:52
Speaker 1: last year McSweeney earned his place through an Australia A knock.
15:56
Speaker 1: There's no Australia A game this time. The Australia A
15:58
Speaker 1: played the England lines in a match that runs concurrently
16:01
Speaker 1: with the second Test. So if the guys are doing
16:04
Speaker 1: no good in the first two tests, that will become
16:06
Speaker 1: a really important game. But it's down to the shield games.
16:09
Speaker 1: Three shield games. We think three shield games for a
16:11
Speaker 1: squad will be picked and then a fourth one as
16:12
Speaker 1: well for someone to make a late case.
16:14
Speaker 2: Is that what you think.
16:15
Speaker 3: Yeah, the first three games are going to be crucial.
16:16
Speaker 3: As you said on that Lions game we saw last summer,
16:20
Speaker 3: the national sectors are willing to make changes mid series
16:23
Speaker 3: if needed. They brought constants in for the fourth Test
16:25
Speaker 3: match on the back of a great knock in the
16:28
Speaker 3: Prime Minister's eleven game.
16:29
Speaker 4: That was we going got that call up.
16:30
Speaker 3: So keep half an eye on that England Lions game
16:33
Speaker 3: that's happening during the second Test, because there's every chance
16:35
Speaker 3: that someone else can put their hand up. But there
16:37
Speaker 3: might be a mid series switch. But yeah, certain in
16:39
Speaker 3: the next few weeks are crucial. I can't remember the
16:42
Speaker 3: opening of a sheffild Shield summer. There are going to
16:44
Speaker 3: be so many sets of eyes on the scorecards. The
16:46
Speaker 3: Cricket dot Com website is going to be getting it's
16:49
Speaker 3: money Money's.
16:50
Speaker 1: Worth for sure, and the Fox Sports website of course,
16:52
Speaker 1: Nick Savage, let's put our money where our mouth is.
16:55
Speaker 1: I want your We're going to give our top five.
16:58
Speaker 2: Chances for this opening position.
17:00
Speaker 1: Who's leading the race or the race hasn't even really
17:03
Speaker 1: started yet, sort of like a starting greet in Mosepoort.
17:05
Speaker 1: Who's qualifying, Give me your number five chance.
17:09
Speaker 4: I have got my top five here.
17:11
Speaker 3: I've got Campbell Kellaway at number five, just because of
17:14
Speaker 3: the recent form, the runs that he got last summer
17:16
Speaker 3: and with a night in the future, it's pretty exciting
17:18
Speaker 3: when his young gun coming through.
17:19
Speaker 1: I've got a wild cut, a little smoky at number
17:21
Speaker 1: five going to South Australia. I agree that McSweeney and
17:25
Speaker 1: sang are in middle order options, so I'm going there opener.
17:27
Speaker 1: Henry Hunts got three centuries in Shield cricket last year.
17:31
Speaker 1: One of those was in pinkball game against Western Australia,
17:34
Speaker 1: which was Lance Morris and Joy Richardson. Shield runs don't
17:37
Speaker 1: come much harder than that, putting him in as a
17:40
Speaker 1: smoky number four for you.
17:42
Speaker 3: Marcus Harris, as he spoke about before, he's been around
17:45
Speaker 3: the Test side for a while, he's got experience, and yeah,
17:47
Speaker 3: he's probably still.
17:48
Speaker 4: In the frame.
17:48
Speaker 2: I have Sam Constas at four.
17:50
Speaker 4: Wow, that's low.
17:52
Speaker 1: If it was if you asked me this two weeks ago,
17:55
Speaker 1: he wouldn't have been in my top five at all.
17:56
Speaker 1: I don't think he just looked so lost in the
17:59
Speaker 1: week Stinties. It all looked like it had gone wrong.
18:02
Speaker 1: But if he's gone hundred hundred since, but I do
18:05
Speaker 1: think he needs the bulk shield runs to earn his
18:08
Speaker 1: place back again.
18:10
Speaker 2: Putting him at four, you're number three.
18:11
Speaker 3: Well, hopefull one hundred for Constants this week and he
18:13
Speaker 3: might crack into your top three.
18:14
Speaker 4: I do a Jake Weatherall at number three.
18:17
Speaker 3: Such an exciting player and if you can continue the
18:19
Speaker 3: high scoring, fast scoring the hure last summer, he's right there.
18:22
Speaker 1: I have kempbell Kellaway at three. I'm a big fan
18:25
Speaker 1: of what he's doing. I think at twenty two, if
18:28
Speaker 1: you're looking as a long term prospect, I think it
18:30
Speaker 1: could be time. If he puts a couple of hundreds
18:32
Speaker 1: together and might pull the trigger on him a bit early,
18:34
Speaker 1: you're number two.
18:35
Speaker 4: My number two is Sam Conscious, the incumbent.
18:38
Speaker 3: He has first class hundreds, he has test experience, and
18:42
Speaker 3: he's the star of the future, so he's my number two.
18:44
Speaker 1: My number two is Manus Labashane, safe pair of hands.
18:48
Speaker 1: See how it goes. If the contenders are pretty even,
18:52
Speaker 1: I think they go with Labashane. He's faced these guys before.
18:55
Speaker 1: He's the safer option. So that leaves your number one, which.
18:58
Speaker 3: Is labushin no, I mean world number one at ten
19:01
Speaker 3: or twelve test hundreds, it's pretty hard to.
19:03
Speaker 4: Ignore the I mean the resume that he has.
19:06
Speaker 3: So yeah, at this stage he's leading, and you know,
19:09
Speaker 3: the one day Cup hundred, he looked pretty damn good.
19:11
Speaker 1: Did my number one? That leaves Jake Weatherold. I think
19:15
Speaker 1: the numbers are so compelling. He's thirty years old, which
19:19
Speaker 1: is potentially the perfect time to slot him in, and
19:21
Speaker 1: he could be there for the next five years, same
19:23
Speaker 1: age that Mike Cussi was when he made his test debut.
19:25
Speaker 1: And if your longer term prospects are not necessarily constans
19:30
Speaker 1: in Kellaway, but guys in that age bracket, I think.
19:32
Speaker 2: Weather it could be the perfect little.
19:34
Speaker 1: Bridge until those guys are absolutely ready and the numbers
19:37
Speaker 1: are so compelling so that there are.
19:40
Speaker 2: The opening chances.
19:42
Speaker 1: Let's talk fast bowlers because I know I constantly get
19:45
Speaker 1: us who are the young bowlers coming through for when
19:47
Speaker 1: these guys retire? And I often say the guys aren't
19:50
Speaker 1: retiring yet. Let's settle down who have you got? Because
19:54
Speaker 1: I look at Australian cricket at the moment in the
19:55
Speaker 1: domestic prospects, and you look at the quicks coming through.
19:59
Speaker 1: I'm seeing Lance Morris injured out for the season, Lance Marris,
20:03
Speaker 1: Joy Richardson out with the shoulder injury, to a big
20:06
Speaker 1: batch time, Spencer Johnson back injury, Brendan Doggett hamstring injury,
20:10
Speaker 1: Callum Vidler back injury, Mark's decad He's got a hamstring injury.
20:13
Speaker 2: Is there anybody who have we got?
20:16
Speaker 3: It's why there's so much pressure on Hazelwood, Stark and
20:18
Speaker 3: bowl and to stay fit. Already the captain is in
20:21
Speaker 3: doubt for the whole series. He probably might have to
20:24
Speaker 3: manage only play three or four games. If another bowler
20:27
Speaker 3: goes down, they have to bring someone completely new into
20:29
Speaker 3: the four because the Big four have done the job
20:31
Speaker 3: so well for based since last Ashes series in Australia.
20:35
Speaker 3: We look at who's next. You mentioned there just before
20:37
Speaker 3: Brendan Doggett. Now he's missing this first Shield round with
20:39
Speaker 3: an injury, but we go back to the World Chess
20:41
Speaker 3: Championship Final, he was that reserve quick in the squad.
20:44
Speaker 3: He was also sent over to the West Innies before
20:46
Speaker 3: suffering another injury. The main thing that's holding him back
20:49
Speaker 3: from a potential debut this summer is his own body,
20:53
Speaker 3: so he's been so sceptible to injury. He's probably the
20:55
Speaker 3: next in line. When Doggett was ruled out that the
20:58
Speaker 3: West inn Is, it.
20:58
Speaker 4: Was Shawn Abbot who came in for him.
21:00
Speaker 3: So the current higherarchy, it seems, would be after Big
21:03
Speaker 3: Four Doggett, then Sewn Abbott. Both of them are in
21:06
Speaker 3: their early thirties, so he still had that question, PHO.
21:08
Speaker 3: With the young guys coming through, a lot of them
21:10
Speaker 3: are injured, as you said, But Xavier Bartlett's someone who's
21:12
Speaker 3: been really exciting Donewell and fifty over cricket so far
21:15
Speaker 3: in his ODI career and has wll on the Sheffield
21:18
Speaker 3: Shield for a number of years now and he has
21:19
Speaker 3: got a contract with Cricket Australia too, so he'd be
21:22
Speaker 3: right in the frame and Joy Richardson, Yes, he's out
21:25
Speaker 3: for at least the first half of the summer, but
21:27
Speaker 3: they are pretty confident that he'll be ready for the
21:29
Speaker 3: second half of the Ashes.
21:30
Speaker 4: Also contact with Cricket Australia.
21:32
Speaker 3: I think there's every chance of him coming in for
21:34
Speaker 3: maybe the Boxing Day Test if needed, but just think
21:37
Speaker 3: has crossed the Big four, can stay fit and do
21:39
Speaker 3: the job.
21:39
Speaker 1: Probably a big Bash return for Joe Richardson, do we think,
21:42
Speaker 1: oh so they prioritize RedBull cricket.
21:44
Speaker 3: I think if he is available for that final Shield
21:46
Speaker 3: round they would like him to play. But again how
21:49
Speaker 3: of them have they rushed him back in only to
21:52
Speaker 3: damage himself yet again, so potentially big bashes where they're
21:55
Speaker 3: eyeing his.
21:55
Speaker 4: Return for sure.
21:56
Speaker 1: The one quick I'm looking at is Fergus O'Neill. His
21:59
Speaker 1: numbers are so I think he's averaging twenty with the
22:01
Speaker 1: ball in first class cricket. He gets so many wickets
22:03
Speaker 1: for Victoria. I think the knock on him is the speed.
22:07
Speaker 1: He's probably more a medium pacer than a quick bower.
22:10
Speaker 1: But we are seeing in Shield cricket that those guys
22:13
Speaker 1: are getting more of the wickets. Joe Parris is the
22:15
Speaker 1: same in wa Bo Webster gets a lot of wickets
22:17
Speaker 1: in Shield cricket. Maybe that's just the way the decks are,
22:20
Speaker 1: the way the conditions are in Sheeld cricket, and if
22:22
Speaker 1: that might not be translatable to Test cricket, maybe not.
22:26
Speaker 1: But jeez, fergus is doing so well for Victoria. He's
22:29
Speaker 1: getting so many wickets. I'm putting him as somebody I'm
22:33
Speaker 1: watching this year with Summer. Are you similar having a
22:36
Speaker 1: look at Ferguson he was in your thinking?
22:39
Speaker 3: Yes, certainly. I see him as a like for like
22:41
Speaker 3: for Scott Bowland. They've all a similar pace. They're both
22:43
Speaker 3: very consistent. They both hit a hard length consistently. And yeah,
22:46
Speaker 3: I think if there was an opportunity maybe in Brisbane
22:49
Speaker 3: with the pink ball, that's when Ferguson Neil could come
22:52
Speaker 3: into the frame.
22:52
Speaker 4: I don't see him playing in Perth.
22:54
Speaker 3: They probably want pace for those sort of pitchers, and
22:56
Speaker 3: even in Melbourne obviously he's a solid domestic career so
22:59
Speaker 3: far has been Bay in their Melbourne mcgesus imagined a
23:02
Speaker 3: debut in front of him Victorian crowd a boxing day
23:05
Speaker 3: can go.
23:05
Speaker 2: Well.
23:05
Speaker 1: Just ask Scott Bowland how Victorian debuting on boxing day gates?
23:08
Speaker 3: I mean exactly past four years ago, do you so? Yeah,
23:13
Speaker 3: Fergus O'Neill incredible talent. I see him as someone for
23:17
Speaker 3: the twenty twenty seven Ashes because he went over to
23:20
Speaker 3: England to play in the County Championship with nottingham Shire
23:22
Speaker 3: and he was phenomenal. He played there for a month,
23:25
Speaker 3: he only had a twenty eight day visa, but when
23:27
Speaker 3: he left the UK he was the leading.
23:28
Speaker 4: WICKEDEACA in the competition. He was averaging about fourteen.
23:31
Speaker 3: So if it doesn't have this summer, have half an
23:34
Speaker 3: hour on twenty twenty seven for Fergus O'Neil.
23:36
Speaker 4: I think he could be superb over there.
23:38
Speaker 3: You look past Michael Nissa, even Chad Sayers from South Sharea.
23:42
Speaker 3: These are players who probably should have played in National
23:44
Speaker 3: series over there. They were made to bowl over there
23:47
Speaker 3: twenty twenty seven. Ferguson neil, I've got half an eye
23:49
Speaker 3: him there.
23:49
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely the bowler.
23:51
Speaker 1: I think that people are going to be watching most
23:53
Speaker 1: closely this Shefferd's shield around is not really a bowler.
23:56
Speaker 1: He's not around her in Cameron Green, we're going to
23:58
Speaker 1: be seeing him bowling for the first in a year.
24:01
Speaker 4: Yeah, exactly right. He had that injury.
24:04
Speaker 3: It was actually doing the white ball tour of the
24:06
Speaker 3: UK last winter, missed the whole summer, came back to
24:10
Speaker 3: batting for the World Test Championship Final. He improved over
24:13
Speaker 3: each of those four Tests with his batting in that
24:15
Speaker 3: number three s but he started to settle into it.
24:17
Speaker 3: By the end that third Test he was batting superbly.
24:19
Speaker 3: I mean he got a fifty in a match when
24:20
Speaker 3: the opposition was balled up for twenty seven, so he
24:22
Speaker 3: did very well over the West Indies. Can someone bat
24:25
Speaker 3: number three and also be the reserve sema like look
24:29
Speaker 3: in the past Shane Watson tried it, his body was
24:31
Speaker 3: pretty fragile though, couldn't do it successfully. Ben Stokes has
24:34
Speaker 3: been batting down at six and seven. He's always breaking
24:37
Speaker 3: down and the Cameron Green has already shown it. He's
24:39
Speaker 3: acceptible to injury. Ideally I still see him as number six,
24:43
Speaker 3: but there's obviously a problem there By Webster is a
24:45
Speaker 3: great number six. He's done so on the Test side,
24:48
Speaker 3: and it just seems that that situation of does Australia
24:50
Speaker 3: pick their best six batters, no matter what, if that
24:53
Speaker 3: is the path they're going to go down camer Green
24:55
Speaker 3: at three seems to be the only solution.
24:57
Speaker 1: Yeah, and when you get if Green starts bowling again,
25:00
Speaker 1: I hear there's some chatter, oh, Green won't need to
25:02
Speaker 1: bowl as much if Webster's in the team. But I
25:04
Speaker 1: think there's an understanding that Green is the superior bowler
25:08
Speaker 1: to Webster. Certainly, Green's got a five weear haul in
25:10
Speaker 1: a Boxing day Test against South Africa by Webster is serviceable,
25:13
Speaker 1: but I don't think he's quite that bowler. So let's
25:16
Speaker 1: move now to we've each picked one player to watch, Okay,
25:20
Speaker 1: one that we haven't mentioned yet, who could contend for
25:23
Speaker 1: national selection, maybe this year, maybe in the years to come.
25:26
Speaker 2: Who have you got?
25:27
Speaker 3: I've got a Victorian and Harry Dixon. So last year
25:30
Speaker 3: at the Under nineteen World Cup, he was Australia's leading
25:33
Speaker 3: run scorer, more than Sam Constace. He was superbo there
25:36
Speaker 3: and then he made his Shield debut last summer and
25:40
Speaker 3: in a very low scoring game Victoria, he scored a
25:42
Speaker 3: really gritty sixty odd. No one else in that Victorian side,
25:45
Speaker 3: which included Hands Skerm Marcus Harris, no one else got
25:47
Speaker 3: more than thirty three. So he is a really exciting prospect,
25:50
Speaker 3: very aggressive player. He's already drawn comparisons to David Warner.
25:54
Speaker 3: I think it was Chris Rodgers who actually said that
25:56
Speaker 3: see someone to look forward to massively this summer. He's
25:58
Speaker 3: now broken into that. I think that first choice side.
26:01
Speaker 3: And I watched him recently in a warm up game
26:03
Speaker 3: against New South Wales. He scored one hundred off about
26:05
Speaker 3: eighty odd balls and he looked fantastic. He was smoking them.
26:09
Speaker 3: He was cricket central. He looked looked like he was
26:12
Speaker 3: playing park cricket. So he's my name, Harry Dixon.
26:14
Speaker 1: Yeah, comparisons to David Warner are pretty good. And the
26:17
Speaker 1: other comparison I'd make and lots of people have made it.
26:19
Speaker 1: I'm not claiming credit for this, but when he bats,
26:22
Speaker 1: he looks like exactly like suw Marsh. Doesn't he the
26:25
Speaker 1: exact same technique, the exact same head over the ball.
26:27
Speaker 1: It's uncanny even though he's Yeah, he's nineteen. I'm not
26:31
Speaker 1: sure if he grew up watching him or not. But
26:33
Speaker 1: it is just incredible how similar they look. My player
26:36
Speaker 1: to watch going to Western Australia and the spinner Cory Rocacolie,
26:40
Speaker 1: he's been just about the shield.
26:42
Speaker 2: He was the shield leading.
26:43
Speaker 1: We could take her a couple of seasons ago thirty
26:45
Speaker 1: eight wickets last year Ford Shield season as an off spinner.
26:48
Speaker 2: I'm looking well, yes, the ashes are just on ourtdoorstep.
26:52
Speaker 2: There's a border.
26:52
Speaker 1: Gavascar Trophy in India in about fifteen months time, five
26:56
Speaker 1: tests and Todd Murphy was just dropped for the last
27:00
Speaker 1: in Sri Lanka. So he's not a lot to be
27:01
Speaker 1: that second off spinner. Kunman will play as the left armor,
27:04
Speaker 1: but I think another big summer from Corey Rocaccoli. He
27:07
Speaker 1: books himself a seat on the plane to India for
27:10
Speaker 1: next year.
27:11
Speaker 3: It's a really exciting battle between between those three Conerman, Rocketcolie.
27:15
Speaker 3: If there is an injury this summer, who comes in
27:17
Speaker 3: Because I don't know if Kuonman is necessarily in Australia
27:20
Speaker 3: the second choice spinner, it might be Rockcoli.
27:23
Speaker 2: He had to move States just to get a shield exactly.
27:25
Speaker 3: Swepson was getting picked ahead of him for Queensland. So
27:28
Speaker 3: in Australian conditions. I don't know if Cuneman's necessarily that
27:30
Speaker 3: number two. I could see England stop Ward actually really
27:33
Speaker 3: taking a light him. Rockacoli has been the informed shield
27:36
Speaker 3: ball for the last two summers, so yeah, these first
27:40
Speaker 3: few rounds are really important for them as well. Todd Murphy,
27:42
Speaker 3: as you said, has been dropped, hasn't had the best
27:44
Speaker 3: couple of seasons in the Shields, so that's really intriguing
27:47
Speaker 3: battle as well.
27:48
Speaker 1: So much to look forward to for this round of
27:50
Speaker 1: Shield cricket. Nick Savage, thank you for joining us. That
27:53
Speaker 1: is it for Domesticated Episode one. We will be back
27:56
Speaker 1: next week to dissect all of the shield action at
27:59
Speaker 1: South Australia Moss Victoria at Adelaide, Oval, Queensland and Tasmania
28:02
Speaker 1: at allan borderfield, Western Australia versus New South Wales at
28:05
Speaker 1: the Whacker. It all starts on Saturday as we build
28:08
Speaker 1: up to this ASHES summer