Multi-Format Stars Get Extended Shield Preparation for India Test Series

Australia's multi-format stars will have their most extensive red-ball preparation for a summer in five years, with up to four Sheffield Shield matches to hone their skills before the Test series against India.

Cricket Australia's domestic summer schedule, announced on Thursday, includes a new women's T20 competition before the WBBL. The Sheffield Shield and men's one-day cup will each feature seven matches, as in recent seasons.

However, for the first time in a while, multi-format players will have a prolonged stretch of Shield games to prepare for the Test team's bid to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Australia's last overseas white-ball commitment this year is on September 29 in England, giving players a week before the Shield season begins on October 8. Even if fast bowlers are rested from the first round, each state will play three more fixtures before players enter camp for the first Test against India starting November 22.

Pat Cummins is skipping the entire limited-overs tour of the UK in September, while Mitchell Starc will only play in the ODI series against England. Josh Hazlewood is included in both formats.

While Starc played for NSW during the 2020-21 bubble, Cummins and Hazlewood have not played Shield before the first Test since November 2019. Mitchell Marsh has only played two Shield matches since 2019.

The availability of multi-format players for the Shield may be affected by Pakistan's limited-overs tour, with the ODI series starting on November 4. The proximity of the T20Is (November 14-18) to the start of the India series means only players not featuring in the Test will likely be selected.

The glut of Shield matches will also provide opportunities for Matt Renshaw, Marcus Harris, and Cameron Bancroft to push their selection claims.

While Australia's Test team is largely settled, they may consider taking a reserve batsman into the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Chief selector George Bailey said in March that there was no longer a clear frontrunner to replace Steven Smith or Usman Khawaja at the top of the order, after Renshaw, Harris, and Bancroft missed out on national contracts.

Bailey has indicated that a specialist opener will eventually replace Smith or Khawaja in the long term, after Smith moved into the role to replace David Warner last summer.

Six Shield rounds will be played before the BBL break, followed by four more matches for each state in February and March. Shield fixtures will again be interwoven with the one-day cup, which starts on September 22, with Western Australia aiming for a fourth consecutive title in both competitions.

The Shield final will take place between March 26-30, while the 50-over finals will be held on consecutive days - the Marsh Cup on March 1 and WNCL on March 2.

The 50-over WNCL tournament, where Tasmania is bidding for a hat-trick of titles, again has 12 matches per team, while the newly introduced T20 series for women includes four games each due to the shortened WBBL.

Each of the eight WBBL teams will participate, as well as the ACT Meteors, with the tournament running while Australia's big-name players and overseas stars are in Bangladesh for the T20 World Cup.

Tags: #Cricket, #SheffieldShield, #TestCricket, #Australia, #India