New South Wales have named a star-studded 13-man squad for Round 2 of the Marsh Sheffield Shield season, with star off-spinner Nathan Lyon to make his return in a sizeable boost.
Lyon was absent from the Blues’ five-wicket victory over Queensland following Australia’s Ashes and World Cup campaigns, but the 31-year-old has been picked for the match against Tasmania at Drummoyne Oval, starting on Friday.
Pacemen Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins have again been rested ahead of Australia’s opening Test of the summer against Pakistan on November 21.
New South Wales have also named tweaker Steve O’Keefe and batsman Kurtis Patterson after they recovered from injury, while Nick Bertus and Liam Hatcher, who was 12th man in Brisbane, have made way. David Warner, Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc are again set to be in action for the Blues.
Warner compiled a magnificent 125 in the first innings against Queensland, rebounding from a forgettable Ashes series, while Smith made a duck and 21.
Left-armer Starc, who played just one Test during the Ashes series, returned match figures of 1-129, his sole wicket coming the second innings.
Lyon, who collected 20 wickets in five Ashes Tests, and O’Keefe will not have the chance to bowl on the spin-friendly SCG surface after the game was moved to Sydney’s inner west because of concerns over the pitch at the Test venue.
Cricket NSW has claimed the damage was done when the Sydney Roosters trained on the pitch square in the lead up to the NRL grand final.
The Marsh One-Day Cup match between the New South Wales and Tasmania on October 23, which was scheduled for the SCG, has also been moved to North Sydney Oval.
South Australia spearhead Chadd Sayers will make return to take on Queensland at the Gabba following a back injury.
The Redbacks, who recorded a draw against Victoria on a batting-friendly Junction Oval wicket in Round 1, will again be without Joe Mennie as he continues his recovery from a hamstring strain.
Allrounder Cameron Valente has earned a call-up after making unbeaten scores of 78 and 109 for Adelaide in the first two rounds of Premier Cricket.
Kane Richardson will be managed because of a heavy workload, with Adam Zampa dropped.
Gold Coast paceman Xavier Bartlett is set to make his first-class debut for Queensland Bulls in the match, starting on Friday.
The 20-year-old has replaced Billy Stanlake, who will be sidelined as part of his on-going bowling management plan.
Stanlake, who was last week named in Australia’s 14-man squad to face Sri Lanka and Pakistan in back-to-back Gillette T20 International series, will play in next Wednesday’s Marsh One Day Cup game against the Redbacks at the Gabba before joining the national squad.
Bartlett, who picked up 4-42 for the Gold Coast against University of Queensland in Premier Cricket last week, is the only change to the Queensland squad.
Queensland Chairman of Selectors Justin Sternes said Bartlett had made a strong return from a stress fracture in his back which resulted in him missing most of last season.
“Xavier has worked hard to get to this point,’’ he said. “It’s a good opportunity for him to come into the squad and we’ll see how things go once the team assesses the conditions at the ground.”
“We’d had this game earmarked for Billy to have a break. He’s played four one-dayers and the Shield game this week and has been going very well.”
Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia are yet to name their Round 2 squads.
New South Wales Blues squad:
Peter Nevill (C), David Warner, Steve Smith, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Sean Abbott, Harry Conway, Trent Copeland, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Nick Larkin, Stephen O’Keefe, Kurtis Patterson
South Australia squad:
Travis Head (C), Wes Agar, Tom Andrews, Alex Carey, Tom Cooper, Henry Hunt, Jake Lehmann, Luke Robins, Chadd Sayers, Cameron Valente, Jake Weatherald, Nick Winter
Queensland squad:
Usman Khawaja (C), Xavier Bartlett, Joe Burns, Cameron Gannon, Sam Heazlett, Charlie Hemphrey, Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, James Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson