Pucovski set for Lord's 'debut', targets Shield comeback

It is not quite how he envisaged it happening, but Will Pucovski is set to make his Lord's debut today on the same pitch used for the just-finished Ashes contest.

And Pucovski is hopeful the traditional Marylebone Cricket Club-hosted match can be a small but symbolic step in his staged return to top-flight cricket, with the prodigious batter targeting a first-class comeback in Victoria's opening Marsh Sheffield Shield game of the forthcoming summer.

The 25-year-old, who is playing club cricket for Weybridge this northern summer, will captain the touring Melbourne Cricket Club against the other MCC on Monday in a fixture played on 'day six' after the Australia-England clash at the home of cricket.

Had circumstances been different, Pucovski could well have been playing against England last week given the path he looked to be on when he made his Test debut in January 2021.

While his ascent has paused amid a series of concussion and mental health concerns, Pucovski will nonetheless get a unique opportunity to get a taste of playing at cricket's most prestigious venue.

The match between the two MCCs, the respective custodians of the Melbourne and Lord's Cricket Grounds, is a reciprocal fixture played after every men's Ashes Test at those venues.

Pucovski’s opposite number as captain of the Marylebone CC will be a fellow Australian in former Western Australia batter Will Bosisto.

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Melbourne Cricket Club XI: WJ Pucovski, AJ Boyle, MD Curtain (wk), BS Davies, KJS Elliott, GJ Hannah, MR Hennig, JE Koop, CJ Lill, AP McCooke, AJ Yaksender

Marylebone Cricket Club XI: WG Bosisto, ADF Brewster, SDJ Burge (wk), HA Evans, NS Foster, BWM Graves, JW Jenner, DKH Mitchell, AH Reid Dick, GJ Reingold, CRG Vernon

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"I'd probably prefer to be playing the Test match. But it's an incredible venue – I've been on the tour there before and for any cricketer, it's probably the most special venue in the world," Pucovski told cricket.com.au.

"It's a good opportunity. I've played in this game in Melbourne at the 'G as well. To do the double and play the one at Lord's is pretty special.

"Hopefully we get a win for the MCC – what we like to call ourselves, the 'real' MCC. It's more a celebration of two clubs on opposite sides of the world who have a pretty strong affiliation."

Pucovksi insists his desire to add to the one Test cap he earnt more than two years ago now has remained an enduring target.

That seemed like a long way off last summer as he played just two matches for Victoria before returning to play club cricket in January.

He won a premiership with Melbourne in April before departing for England (fitting in a European holiday in between) and has since scored 390 runs at 78 for Weybridge including a century.

"It just feels like the best possible preparation for the Australian summer," said Pucovski, who has also donned the wicketkeeping gloves for the Surrey Championship side.

"I feel like I've got a lot to give in professional cricket, I only turned 25 in February, so I feel like I've got plenty of time."

While Pucovski does not want to speak publicly about the full extent of why he missed so much of the last domestic season, he insists he is now better placed to handle the pressures of professional cricket.

"From the outside looking in, it might look like 'oh, it looked like you were going really well in Shield cricket and played Test cricket a couple of years ago, and now you're playing club cricket'," said Pucovski, who struck a half-century on Test debut and averages nearly 50 in first-class cricket.

"But personally, and from my own inner circle, I've made so many strides that I think if any hadn't made them, I wouldn't be able to play how I want to play now.

"I’m actually a lot further along than I was when I was playing Test cricket two years ago.

"In that sense I've set myself up to hopefully play as much as I can for Victoria and then whatever will be will be.

"But I'm in a lot better place than I was when I was playing for Australia."

And although it is still too soon to think about the prospect of a Australian top-order spot opening up when David Warner plays his final Test next home summer, Pucovski admits a return to that team has been a big motivating factor.

"It has been a big part of it to be honest, (but) just getting back and playing cricket, it's a step by step process," he said.

"It's been a tumultuous couple of years.

"That ambition and that drive is absolutely still there, there's never been an issue with that. There's been a few injuries and a few off-field things I've had to manage through.

"But I've got an amazing team around me that have made that really viable for me. We've got a really strong plan in place and I've got some awesome people around me helping me achieve that goal."