Blues to hunt Shield repeat without captain Nevill

NSW will compete for a second straight Sheffield Shield title without their captain Peter Nevill, who is set to miss the rest of the season to be by his wife's side for the birth of their second child.

Nevill and wife Sammy thought they had planned their pregnancy to perfection but with the domestic season pushed back a month due to COVID-19 complications, the business end of the summer clashes with the due date.

It means Nevill will miss the Blues' vital match against Queensland in Wollongong starting this weekend where the winner will host the Marsh Sheffield Shield final and the loser could miss out on the season decider altogether.

The 35-year-old is likely to also miss the final, starting April 15, should the Blues make it, but could feature if there is an early arrival.  

While it was a big decision, Nevill said it was an easy one.

"The birth of your kids are the most significant moments of your life," Nevill told cricket.com.au.

"It's very important for me to be there when Sammy is giving birth.

"I thought it was perfect timing at the end of the season but it's just the nature of the way things are at the moment.

"I'd love to be playing in another Shield final but I'm also at peace with it not being so if it means I'm there for the birth of my second child."

It is unclear who will captain in the absence of Nevill.

With Steve Smith, Moises Henriques and Pat Cummins unavailable due to IPL commitments, left-handed bat Kurtis Patterson could be the one to step up and fill Nevill's boots.

And they are big boots to fill. This season, Nevill passed Dirk Wellham's mark of 40 matches in charge to become NSW's most-capped Sheffield Shield captain.

It's a surprising achievement given Nevill never sought the captaincy.

"It's a little bit funny in one sense – I'm certainly not the best captain the Blues have had, not by a long shot," he said.

"I never really coveted it. I did it out of necessity when our regular skippers were away.

"So after filling in for quite a time and then taking over the job fulltime it snuck up just how many games I've ended up captaining.

"But I think it also translates into not playing for my country all that much and being available to captain the Blues whereas you see guys like Michael Clarke, who have captained the Blues but haven't been around as much because they've been off playing for Australia."

The first of Nevill's 43 matches as skipper was in November 2013, against Queensland at the SCG, filling in for Clarke.

His role as caretaker captain continued until 2018 when he took over the role fulltime under new coach Phil Jaques, leading a rejuvenated squad dedicated to youth after years of decline and no silverware.

Together, Nevill and Jaques found immediate success. In 2018-19, the Blues made the Shield final, losing to Victoria, and a year later were crowned champions after the season was abruptly cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Nevill, who played 17 Tests between 2015-16, says he has evolved as a captain over the past eight years, primarily with how he reacts and deals with his players.

"I've tried to remain a lot more level, especially in the field," he said.

"Trying to not let my emotions get the best of me, trying to remain empathetic. That's something when I did it a few years ago I didn't do it as well as I would have liked and it's something I certainly wanted to improve. That's the biggest area.

"We've got a lot of players in our team who come up with great ideas, plans and tactics that contribute so when you've got those people around you it only helps.

"Being able to compartmentalise things as well. It is much easier if you turn up and have a specific focus on performing your role, but someone needs to perform those duties as captain and worry about the peripheral stuff so others don't have to.

"The biggest shift has been dealing with people."

While Nevill has taken Wellham's record and is still one of the best glovemen in the country, this season could be his last in charge.

"I've certainly really enjoyed it but that's a conversation that will be had at the end of the season," he said of his future.

"I've never wanted to do it for the sake of just doing it.

"If the coach and the selectors and the players want me to keep doing it I'd certainly be open to it.

"If it's time to head in another direction I'd be supportive of that. I want to make sure it's the right thing for the team."