Sheffield Shield Round Two Talking Points: Smith reveals he didn’t ask to move down Test order, Marcus Harris, Sam Konstas struggle
Steve Smith’s poor start to the home summer continued with a controversial LBW dismissal from Scott Boland, plus disappointing openers leaves selection door for spot at top of Australian order wide open.
Cricket
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cricket. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Scott Boland has bluntly shot down suggestions that Steve Smith was unlucky to be sent packing on Tuesday after the former Test skipper fell for a duck in what is likely to be his last red-ball innings before the Test series against India.
Smith’s struggles continued as next generation hope Sam Konstas blew a chance to bang down the selection door, leaving the race for Smith’s replacement at the top of the Australian order no clearer.
Alex Carey and Josh Inglis both reached centuries, while Australia A captain Nathan McSweeney grafted 72 against Queensland, but Konstas’s 43 at the MCG on Tuesday was the highest score across five completed innings from any of the three specialist openers in the A squad thus far in the second round of the Sheffield Shield season.
Dropped in the cordon – albeit a tough chance – by Peter Handscomb after edging Boland on 23, Konstas fell after miscuing while dancing down the wicket to spinner Todd Murphy to be caught at backward point, sending NSW further into the mire. The Blues ended day three at 6-185 in their pursuit of 383.
Smith failed for the second time in as many days at a venue where he has five international centuries, having gone for three on Monday after being caught down the leg side off Fergus O’Neill.
On Tuesday it was his Australian teammate Boland who inflicted the damage, with Smith trudging off without scoring after shouldering arms to a ball striking him outside the line of off-stump.
Smith’s body language suggested he didn’t agree with the decision, but Boland – also the beneficiary of a contentious lbw call to dismiss Konstas on day two – said he thought the right call had been made.
“They can talk about it all they want,” Boland said.
“I thought it was out. It only has to hit the stumps when you don’t use your bat like that.”
A duck for Smith!
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) October 22, 2024
Watch live #SheffieldShield: https://t.co/Qg3oHp6yAqpic.twitter.com/LLrskS4DND
Fair call or not, Smith will now almost certainly head to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series without a compelling first-class knock in months, given he has been named in Australia’s squad for a one-day series against Pakistan before the first Test begins on November 22.
Smith’s NSW and Australian teammate Mitchell Starc suggested the champion batter, 35, would be determined to spend plenty of time in the nets to make amends.
He could also play in Friday’s domestic one-dayer against Victoria at Junction Oval.
“I’m sure there’s going to be a few shoulders feel the wrath of that,” Starc said.
“It is what it is, he’ll get himself right for I think he’s playing the one-dayer on Friday so he’ll be fine for that and he’ll do what he does in prep for that game and the next game or the ODI series.”
Though it was a poor match for Smith, Starc’s sole red-ball match ahead of the Test series yielded seven wickets including 6-81 in the second innings.
“(I’m) pretty happy. Wickets aside, the rhythm was there, I felt probably the best I’ve felt for a while actually,” Starc said.
Starc meanwhile said he “hadn’t heard” from the Indian Premier League’s Kolkata Knight Riders about whether he would be retained ahead of next Thursday’s deadline but that he would like to play next year after returning to the league for the 2024 season.
Carey’s rich vein of batting form continued with the Aussie gloveman finishing day three of SA’s clash with Queensland unbeaten on 123, with SA leading the Bulls by 358 runs with one second innings wicket in hand.
His understudy Inglis made 101 in Western Australia’s first innings against Tasmania.
No.4 SMITH: ‘I DIDN’T ASK’ TO MOVE BACK TO NO.4
Steve Smith is adamant he never formally requested to move away from an opening spot in Australia’s Test side and merely responded when asked by coach Andrew McDonald and captain Pat Cummins about his preferred position.
Smith said he had “pretty much” been definitively told that he would be batting at No. 4 during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, stressing that the move back would be made in the best interests of the team.
The former Aussie skipper and all-time great moved to the top of the order in January, filling David Warner’s opening position after the left-hander retired from Test cricket in a move that paved the way for Cameron Green to bat at No. 4.
However Australian selection chair George Bailey said last week that Smith had “expressed a desire” to shift back down the order even before news of Green’s season-ending back injury emerged.
Yet speaking at the MCG after day two of the Sheffield Shield clash between Victoria and NSW, Smith sought to set the record straight.
“I got asked where I’d prefer to bat, and I said four. I didn’t ask,” Smith said.
“I also said I’m happy batting wherever I’m not really too fussed. Got asked where my preference would be, and I said four. So I saw a few things last week saying that I requested to bat at four. That wasn’t the case. I said I’m happy to bat wherever you’d like me to bat, but four would be my ideal position.”
Smith averaged 28.50 across four Tests as opener against the West Indies and New Zealand, with the highlight coming via an unbeaten 91 in a losing effort against the Windies at the Gabba.
Asked what had changed since the start of the year when he had appeared eager to move up the order, Smith said that Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne had encouraged him to drop back down.
“Obviously, there’s a spot there now with Greeny out, and I think just conversations we had after New Zealand with particularly Marnus and Uzzy, they hated me up top, to be honest. They wanted me behind them. So that was a big part of it,” Smith said.
“And then obviously, I’ve got a decent record at four. It was good fun having a crack at something new, batting up top. I still feel I could do a job there for sure, it was a pretty small sample size, but I’ve done pretty well at four for a number of years now. I feel like it’s probably where I can have my best input for this team at the moment.”
Smith, who was caught down the leg side for three as Fergus O’Neill ran riot for the Vics on Monday, insisted he wasn’t overly fazed where he batted.
“Look, honestly, I’m not that fussed,” Smith added.
“I’ve said it when I took it, took that job. I’m not really fussed. But yeah, like I said the conversations I had with the other guys, they didn’t like it at all. They wanted some security, I suppose, behind them, where I’ve done really well for a number of years, and I can understand that, I suppose, as well. It is what it is. I’m not going to be opening this summer. That’s it.”
Victoria was 4-90 in its second innings at stumps on day two, giving the home side a lead of 226 after NSW was skittled for 136 in its first innings earlier in the day.
Teen opener Sam Konstas was trapped lbw by Scott Boland for two in a contentious call.
““ Got a bit unlucky there I reckon. Looked like it might have been just darting down leg a little bit,” Smith said.
In any case however Smith said Konstas had “all the makings to definitely be a really good Test player.”
An imposing Mitchell Starc finished the day with 3-20 including removing Marcus Harris for 16. Starc had already dismissed Harris for 26 in the first innings, with both wickets coming via catches down the leg side.
Harris and Konstas typified what has been a poor Shield round thus far from Australia’s leading specialist opener Test aspirants, with Cameron Bancroft falling for eight on Monday in Western Australia’s clash with Tasmania.
TEEN PRODIGY DEALT BLOW BY CULT HERO
Wunderkind opener Sam Konstas’ Test bid has taken a hit with the NSW teen sensation dismissed for two by Scott Boland on Monday morning.
Having been troubled early by the Victorian veteran, Konstas was sent on his way after being struck on the pad despite trying to indicate the ball was shaping down leg side.
It was a missed opportunity for Konstas, who entered this round of Sheffield Shield action with a chance to mount his case to replace Cameron Green in Australia’s top six for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India.
The 19-year-old was last week named in the Australia A squad to face India A on the back of twin centuries against South Australia in the first round of the season.
Fellow Test challengers Marcus Harris (26), Nathan McSweeney (37) and Beau Webster (three) all blew chances to make compelling cases during day one of round two on Sunday.
Victoria was bowled out for 272 early on day two at the MCG.
Sean Abbott finished with 5-62 for NSW in his first Shield appearance of the season.
ROUND TWO SHIELD TALKING POINTS
Despite all three matches resulting in draws, there were plenty of talking points across the opening round of the Sheffield Shield season.
And with even more big names back in action this week, even more storylines should emerge.
KONSTAS V BOLAND
Tests of mettle in domestic cricket don’t come much sterner than going up against Scott Boland at the venue where he may one day stand in statue form.
Having not played competitively in six months after a foot issue ended his county stint with Durham and a knee concern delayed his start to the Australian season, Boland is set to return for Victoria on Sunday and likely unleash the new ball on upstart NSW teen Sam Konstas, who is threatening a meteoric rise into the Test side for the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
It’s one thing to get it done against a solid South Australian attack in Sydney last week, but if the Blues opener can tame Boland, Fergus O’Neill and Todd Murphy then the hype around the kid will reach overdrive ahead of the Australia A series billed as a bat-off for the vacant spot in the Australian top six.
HARRIS V NSW ATTACK
Speaking of the bat-off, the MCG clash is also an enormous opportunity for Marcus Harris, who hasn’t played a Test since early 2022.
He headed into the season determined not to dwell on whether he would play international cricket again but the combination of Cameron Green’s injury and an excellent start to the season against Tasmania once again has him at the forefront of the selection conversation.
However beating up on the Tigers at a flat Junction Oval only says so much, especially given getting runs at St Kilda has never really been the concern for Harris.
However Harris can silence the knockers considerably if he can handle Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and co.
Succeed against half the Aussie Test attack and Harris may have one foot back in the Test team heading into the India A series.
CAN BANCROFT BOUNCE BACK?
The third opener in the A squad is the one perhaps stiffest to have missed out when a spot popped up in the Test side following the retirement of David Warner in January. Bancroft had dominated Shield cricket but it wasn’t enough to earn a call-up then. Less than ideal though for Bancroft is that now that a position is again available, his Shield season has started with a pair against Tasmania.
Selection chair George Bailey insisted that Bancroft’s struggles against Michael Neser last week won’t be fatal to the West Australia’s chances, and it was telling that he was included in the A squad ahead of Matt Renshaw. In any case though, Bancroft can ill-afford more failures when he lines up against Tasmania.
WHAT ABOUT BIG SLUG?
A middling and unassuming state player for much of the past decade, Tasmania’s Beau Webster has catapulted himself into Test calculations on the back of an outstanding Shield campaign last season in which he was the competition’s leading run scorer while also claiming 30 wickets, having switched from off-spin to bowling predominantly seam-up in recent years.
He backed it up with a monster county stint with Gloucestershire and has started the Australian season well too, taking wickets in one-dayers and making a ton against Victoria at the Junction last week. Aaron Hardie is centrally contracted but Webster is coming with a bolt should selectors be keen to add an extra all-round option to the Test squad for the India series. Webster has another chance to put forward his case against the might of WA in Perth before he departs for Australia A duties.
RENSHAW’S REVENGE?
One man who isn’t in the A squad is Renshaw. It is a remarkable fall given only seven months ago he was the spare batter with the Test side in New Zealand and was in January described by Bailey as the next best batter behind the incumbent top six in the country.
But Renshaw’s back end to the last Shield season was poor, his county stint with Somerset was solid but unspectacular, and he made six and 15 for Queensland against WA last week in Perth. Bailey said on Monday that Renshaw – along with fellow Test discards Peter Handscomb and Nic Maddinson – remained in the frame for Test selection despite not being included for the A games, but it can hardly be viewed as a positive sign for the 28-year-old. His Bulls take on South Australia, giving Renshaw the chance to send a message back to the selectors.
MISSING PERSONS UNIT
A couple of noteworthy figures won’t be at the Queensland-South Australia game. New Bulls coach Johan Botha will instead be in Perth competing for Australia at an ultra-marathon event, while Jake Fraser-McGurk has again missed selection for SA, who preferred Jake Lehmann to take Travis Head’s middle order spot.
More Coverage
Originally published as Sheffield Shield Round Two Talking Points: Smith reveals he didn’t ask to move down Test order, Marcus Harris, Sam Konstas struggle
AB Medallist’s one word victory speech
Australian star Travis Head has claimed his first ever Allan Border Medal and needed only one word after claiming the honour.
Read more
Star roasts himself in hilarious scenes
The reign of the most popular Allan Border Medallist in recent history is over - but not without a few more brilliant gags.
Read more