Test stars return to Shield action

Australia Test bowlers Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Jackson Bird will be looking to get some extra red-ball match practice as Victoria take on Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield from Wednesday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

While Test stars including Steve Smith, David Warner, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Marsh and Shaun Marsh are on Australia one-day duties for the upcoming Chapell-Hadlee series in New Zealand, the remainder of the squad for the Qantas Tour of New Zealand will tune up in the Sheffield Shield ahead of the first Test in Wellington on February 12.

Following the third Commonwealth Bank Test in Sydney against the West Indies, both Siddle – who missed that match because of an ankle injury – and Pattinson have been carefully managed by Cricket Australia, with a view to them being fresh for the New Zealand Tests.

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With regular Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers’ skipper Matthew Wade away with the Australian ODI squad, Siddle will captain top-placed Victoria for the second time this season.

Former Australian Test No.3 bat Alex Doolan will lead the Tasmanian side in George Bailey’s absence, as they look to get off the bottom of the Sheffield Shield ladder.

Nathan Lyon and Peter Nevill and Adam Voges have headed to Lincoln, New Zealand, where they will take part in the first ever Sheffield Shield match held outside Australia, between the NSW Blues and the Alcohol.Think Again Western Warriors. 

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Meanwhile West End Redbacks Test squad bolter Chadd Sayers will take on Test opener Joe Burns in the Shield match between South Australia and the myFootDRQueensland Bulls at Adelaide Oval.

The second-placed Redbacks have named a young side for the clash, with bowlers Cameron Valente and Tom Andrews in line for first-class debuts, while Kane Richardson is away on ODI duties.

Queensland, currently sitting fifth in the standings, will be led by wicketkeeper Chris Hartley and are boosted by the return of Australian Twenty20 batsman Chris Lynn, who did not take part in the first half of the Shield season due to a shoulder injury.

Sheffield Shield round six (beginning February 3)

NSW Blues v Alcohol.Think Again Western Warriors at Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln, New Zealand (10.30am local time start, 8.30am AEDT)

Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers v Tasmanian Tigers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne (10.30am AEDT)

West End Redbacks v My FootDR Queensland Bulls at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (10.30am local time start, 10am AEDT)

Victoria squad: Peter Siddle (c), Fawad Ahmed, Dan Christian, Travis Dean, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Ian Holland, James Pattinson, Rob Quiney, Marcus Stoinis, Cameron White, Chris Tremain

Tasmania squad: Alex Doolan (c), Jackson Bird, Jake Doran, Ben Dunk, Andrew Fekete, Hamish Kingston, Ben McDermott, Sam Rainbird, Clive Rose, Jordan Silk, Tom Triffitt, Beau Webster

Queensland squad: Chris Hartley (c), Joe Burns, Jason Floros, Peter George, Sam Heazlett, Charlie Hemphrey, James Hopes, Chris Lynn, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Mitch Swepson, Jack Wildermuth

South Australia squad: Travis Head (c), Tom Andrews, Tom Cooper, Mark Cosgrove, Jake Lehmann, Tim Ludeman, Joe Mennie, Sam Raphael, Alex Ross, Chadd Sayers, Cameron Valente, Daniel Worrall

NSW Blues squad: Nic Maddinson (c), Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger, Ryan Carters, Trent Copeland, Ed Cowan, Daniel Hughes, Josh Lalor, Nathan Lyon, Peter Nevill, Kurtis Patterson, Ben Rohrer, Will Somerville

Western Australia squad: Adam Voges (c), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Will Bosisto, Hilton Cartwright, Michael Hogan, Michael Klinger, David Moody, Joel Paris, Nathan Rimmington, Ashton Turner, Jonathan Wells, Sam Whiteman