Steketee out to emulate Boland after elevation to Test tour

Uncapped quick Mark Steketee has been backed to emulate Scott Boland and progress from Sheffield Shield workhorse to Test destroyer if given a chance on Australia's upcoming tour of Pakistan.

On Wednesday, Steketee was elevated into Australia's touring party in place of Queensland teammate Michael Neser, who has been ruled out due to a side strain.

Steketee is firmly behind frontline pace trio Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc as well as Boland for the three-Test campaign, but the Victorian's rapid rise during the Ashes shows how quickly a fringe player can be elevated into the Test arena.

Boland's stunning Ashes campaign, which yielded 18 wickets at an average of just 9.56 despite having not even been in the squad at the start of the series, was a strong endorsement of Sheffield Shield cricket, a competition Steketee has also dominated in recent seasons.

Only Boland (115) and former Test quick Jackson Bird (113) have taken more than Steketee's 111 Shield wickets since the start of the 2018-19 season, and the Bulls spearhead is leading the way this summer with 29 dismissals at an average of just 16.31.

Queensland leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson, who will join Steketee on the Pakistan tour, says the 28-year-old has been picked at the right time of his career.

"It's a great opportunity for Mark … who's probably right at the peak of his game," Swepson said ahead of Queensland's Shield game against Victoria, starting on Friday.

"He bowled beautifully last season but this season he's really led the Bulls attack. He's clearly having a breakout year, even though he bowled so well last year.

"We saw what Scotty did when he got the opportunity when he was bowling really well. If 'Stekers' was to get an opportunity, with the way he's bowling at the moment, I know he'd have success."

Swepson echoed Queensland skipper Usman Khawaja in saying that Steketee, a tall right-armer capable of bowling in excess of 140kph, has always had plenty of ability, but has learned to better tailor his bowling to suit conditions in recent years.

"This year, the way he's been bowling is as good as I've seen him bowl," Khawaja said earlier this summer.

"He's got gears too; you can tell he's experienced now. He can read the conditions.

"When he was younger, he just used to try and bowl 100 percent. He's got the skills and the gears now to take it back a bit and then ramp it up, much like Dale Steyn used to and learnt throughout his career."

While conditions for the Pakistan series remain largely unknown given Australia have not toured there in 24 years, they are expected to favour pace over spin but also be good for batting for large portions of the series.

And Swepson believes Steketee could be the perfect option if conditions favour the batters.

"He's one of the guys who, for some reason, when the wickets are flatter, he seems to bowl better," he said.

"I don't know how he does it, but whenever we … we get a docile wicket that doesn’t have anything in it, Stekkers goes to another level with reverse swing or bowling some short balls. He just does the job for the team, especially when we're most in need.

"That's why I'm really excited for him, especially when we're going over somewhere where fast bowling is a bit hard and there's not much in the wickets, he seems to be able to get something out of nothing."

Most Sheffield Shield wickets (2018-19 to 2021-22)

Scott Boland (Victoria): 115 at 21.62

Jackson Bird (Tasmania): 113 at 22.21

Mark Steketee (Queensland): 111 at 23.19

Trent Copeland (NSW): 102 at 23.76

Michael Neser (Queensland): 93 at 21.35

Figures current to Feb 17, 2022

Qantas Tour of Pakistan 2022

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner. On standby: Sean Abbott, Brendan Doggett, NIc Maddinson, Matthew Renshaw

March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi

March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi

March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore

March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi

March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi

April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi

April 5: Only T20I, Rawalpindi

All matches to be broadcast in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports