Shield door open for Test stars

Cricket Australia has locked in four rounds of Sheffield Shield matches before the first of five Tests against India but “individual preparation blocks” and two international series in the lead-up could determine just how much red-ball preparation players get.

It’s the first time in three years that the start of the home summer has not been running alongside a white-ball World Cup that has run in November.

But first-choice fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have been picked for a white-ball tour of the UK in September, and a three-match ODI and T20 home series against Pakistan will be played in November.

Both could impact their availability for early Shield rounds, with the first match beginning on October 8.

Test captain Pat Cummins is skipping that UK tour, instead using the September period to “reinvest back in my body”, he told cricinfo, after a gruelling 18 months.

The first Test against India begins on November 22, just four days after the final clash with Pakistan, a T20.

None of Cummins, Hazlewood, Starc or batting star Steve Smith have played a single match in any of the previous three Shield seasons.

Last summer, Test opener Usman Khawaja and fast bowler Scott Boland were also rested from matches they were available for, with a view to being in peak condition for the national side.

A settled Test team means the four rounds of Shield games might not provide the selection battlefield it has in previous years, although it looms as the opportunity for fast-bowling hopefuls including Lance Morris and Jhye Richardson to push their claims.

Australia’s frontline quicks played all five home Tests last summer, against Pakistan and the West Indies, but with five Tests against India being played across just seven weeks the summer, the door could be open for changes.

CA confirmed the early Shield rounds were scheduled to “allow for nationally contracted players to be selected depending on their individual preparation blocks leading into the summer”.

The confirmed full domestic summer fixture, which includes the Sheffield Shield, Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL), One-Day Cup and T20 Spring Challenge, begins with the first men’s one-day match on September 22.

It concludes with the Shield final from March 22-26.

Shield games have also been shifted off major grounds, with only two of the first 12 matches to be played on Test grounds – the MCG and Adelaide Oval.

“We are confident that scheduling games at a mixture of major stadiums and smaller venues will provide the best possible experiences for players and fans,” CA head of operations and scheduling Peter Roach said.

“Elite domestic cricket is the backbone of Australian cricket’s ongoing success, and this competition added on top of the already strong WNCL and WBBL competitions will allow more players the opportunity to gain top-level experience and showcase their talents.”