Baggy Green bat-off: How the hopefuls fared

Coach Justin Langer has declared open season on batting spots in Australia’s Test side, sharpening the focus on those playing in the JLT Sheffield Shield in the coming weeks.

Round Two of the Shield continued on Friday and a handful of batting contenders put in good performances, while some incumbents failed to fire.

Take a closer look at which batsmen made impressive strides in Friday’s action.

Who fired

No batsman has posted more Shield runs since 2011 than Marcus Harris and the left-hander added another big score to his record on Friday, batting the entire day at the MCG. Having survived the final session on Thursday on a day where 13 wickets fell, Harris was rewarded with his ninth first-class century on day two and his third in the past 12 months. And he didn’t stop there, pushing on to his first double ton at Shield level and his highest score in first-class cricket, finishing unbeaten on 210 to shoot into Test calculations.

Under more pressure than any batsman in the country, Test incumbent Shaun Marsh returned to his best form with 80 in a low-scoring match in Perth to somewhat silence his critics. Marsh produced some trademark cover drives and cut shots in a fluid innings that lasted 140 balls and included 17 boundaries, the only frustration being that he fell short of three figures when he spooned a catch to cover.

After twin failures in the opening round, uncapped South Australian opener Jake Weatherald showed his class with a measured innings of 69 that set his side up in their match against Queensland. Having helped guide the Redbacks through a tricky period on the first evening, the left-hander ground out a 188-ball knock on day two before edging behind, showing an ability to play a long innings to go with his undeniable talent to find the boundary.

A man to keep a close eye on when play resumes on Saturday will be Redbacks left-hander Jake Lehmann, who went to stumps unbeaten on 76 and has a golden chance to post a big score on day three. The left-hander took full advantage of his side’s dominant position, stroking nine boundaries as his side’s built a strong total in reply to Queensland’s 231.

And a word on Tom Cooper, who wasn’t even meant to be playing this week after he was dropped from South Australia’s side to take on the Bulls. But having earned a reprieve thanks to an injury to Callum Ferguson, the veteran took his chance to ensure he won’t be dropped again anytime soon. Cooper scored his 11th first-class century and pushed on to a score of 178, a fine performance under immense pressure.

Who misfired

Fresh from his Test debut in the UAE, Travis Head returned to Shield cricket but was unable to take his chance on a good day for batting at Adelaide Oval. Coming to the crease at 2-168, Head made 16 from 46 balls before he copped a good ball from Michael Neser and edged behind.

Having won the backing of Shane Warne this week to make his Test debut, WA allrounder Marcus Stoinis was unable to build on his fine showing in Round One, scoring just 18 against Tasmania. Having made 80 last week to go with three wickets, the 29-year-old will be looking to go big in the second innings ahead of a possible call-up to Australia’s ODI squad next week.