Shield Round 8: New South Wales vs South Australia, Cricket Central, 1-4 March

[eth-dog]

New South Wales squad Ollie Davies, Jack Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Ryan Hadley, Moises Henriques (c) Daniel Hughes, Sam Konstas, Blake Nikitaras, Jack Nisbet, Smit Raval, Chris Tremain

South Australia squad Wes Agar, Kyle Brazell, Jordan Buckingham, Brendan Doggett, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Spencer Johnson, Thomas Kelly, Jake Lehmann (c), Ben Manenti, Nathan McAndrew, Nathan McSweeney, Harry Nielsen

Do or die for New South Wales, a win keeps the door slightly ajar but a draw or loss renders them unlikely to make the final. South Australia has to have literally everything to go right to make the final but realistically are staring down another spoon.

Possible sides:

NSW:

Konstas
Nikitaras
Hughes
Henriques (c)
Davies
Edwards
Gilkes (+)
Green
Tremain
Nisbet
Raval

SA:

Brazell
Fraser-McGurk
McSweeney
Lehmann
Kelly
Nielsen (+)
Manenti
McAndrew
Johnson
Buckingham
Doggett

Gonna say draw here.

 

[eth-dog]

Surprised that NSW didn't go with the two spinners

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

JFM would be exhausted. Lasted 15 balls. Nice to see Spencer Johnson finally front up for the Redbacks.

 

[Rabish Binney]

JFM would exhausted. Lasted 15 balls. Nice to see Spencer Johnson finally front up for the Redbacks.

Actually our attack looks good....but we know it hasn't been the main issue over the past years...

 

[Rabish Binney]

Good to see Kelly back in the side.

 

[Aussie_boy]

Brazell a tad stiff, had to be pitching outside leg.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Brazell a tad stiff, had to be pitching outside leg.

Yes, I thought maybe the ball was pitched slightly outside leg. What didn't help him was even though he eventually was playing forward, he wasn't all that far down the pitch. Left handers don't seem to get the same benefit of doubt about balls from right arm bowlers pitching outside leg as right-hand batsmen seem to get when facing left arm bowlers. (Spoken like a true left arm bowler)

 

[Rabish Binney]

Need for these 2 to keep going and have a big partnership and not to 'redback' it up.....

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Tom Kelly made 54. Was hoping for more but it was a good start. Then Lehmann came ..... and went.

 

[The Fugitive]

Tom Kelly made 54. Was hoping for more but it was a good start. Then Lehmann came ..... and went.

He copped a fair smack in the head not long before he got out. I wonder if that may have affected him (although it didn't appear so)?
Lehmann - you could drive a bus through that gap between bat and pad!!

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Also good to see McSweeney realize he's lost his early form and then get his head down to work the problem.

 

[Nathan Barley]

Did captain Lehmann just miss blocking a straight one from Green?

 

[Aussie_boy]

Manenti salvages us once again.

He's had a rather odd career thus far, looks like he'll never take another wicket yet has turned into a rather reliable bat.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Did captain Lehmann just miss blocking a straight one from Green?

It may have been a case of playing for the break, rather than the ball. I think he was being over-cautious and left a gap between bat and pad the width of a cricket ball. Certainly wasn't the ball that got him out.

 

[1990crow]

Johnson would have to be close to top of the tree when it comes to next test bowler.

 

[Aussie_boy]

Johnson would have to be close to top of the tree when it comes to next test bowler.

We need to get him playing more red ball Cricket which is hard to do once you enter the Aus white ball setup. I'd still have guys like Neser, Boland and Paris ahead of him for now.

 

[hugecannon]

Tom Kelly made 54. Was hoping for more but it was a good start. Then Lehmann came ..... and went.

His stroke play looks good in the highlights, but IMO (from the little I’ve seen of him) there’s not a lot of footwork from him and seems to play away from his body consistently which will be exploited by good bowling.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

His stroke play looks good in the highlights, but IMO (from the little I’ve seen of him) there’s not a lot of footwork from him and seems to play away from his body consistently which will be exploited by good bowling.

He's a T20 generation player. I've given up on hoping we see anyone under 25 with a classic technique.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Stoppage on account of rain. Unusual for Sydney Johnson's already bowled his 4 overs today.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

We need to get him playing more red ball Cricket which is hard to do once you enter the Aus white ball setup. I'd still have guys like Neser, Boland and Paris ahead of him for now.

Yep, it's all very well firing yourself up for 4 overs in 2 spells of 2, but having to bowl 25 overs in a day and a half is a completely different kettle of fish. Until he plays more Sheffield Shield, I can't even entertain the thought of him in the Test team.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Good old Redbacks. The one thing we are consistently good at is playing opposition players back into form. This match it's Hughes. Averaging 20 all year, comes out and scores a century.

 

[hugecannon]

50 to Davies, has been putting together a solid year at shield level and showing signs his game could possibly translate to higher levels not just limited overs cricket.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Davies has 100 now.

 

[TubbsFarquhar]

Good innings from Ollie, pleased for him. He's one of the brightest batting talents in the country and we need someone to step up, especially with how much J. Sangha has fallen away.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Very good season from Davies so far, 2 centuries, 3 fifties, 514 runs @ 64.25