Box office opening pair looms for NSW in October Shield window

Nic Maddinson looks set to continue his career as an opener after returning home to NSW and he could be partnered by Steve Smith if the Aussie superstar is available for the Blues' Sheffield Shield matches in October.

For the first time since the onset of the Covid pandemic in 2020, Australia's all-format men's stars have October free from international cricket for the start of the four-day domestic season.

While a heavy summer Test schedule paired with Australia's ambition to defend their World Test Championship crown next June may limit the involvement of fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, the likes of Smith, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne and allrounder Cameron Green could feature prominently for their states. 

After September's white-ball tour of the UK wraps up on September 29, the quartet's next international commitments aren't until home three-match ODI and T20I series against Pakistan in early November.

The Sheffield Shield season will begin on October 8 with the opening two rounds to be completed before the first ODI at the MCG on November 4.

Test players Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon and Alex Carey – who was selected in a 16-player ODI squad for September's five-match series against England – could potentially be available for the first three rounds prior to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series opener against India on November 22.

Lyon, Khawaja, Labuschagne, Green and Carey all played for their states last season, while Head played three matches for South Australia in 2022-23 as did Mitch Marsh for Western Australia, but Smith's most recent appearance for NSW was in February and March 2021.

Having moved to the top of Australia's Test line-up midway through last summer following the retirement of David Warner, NSW head coach Greg Shipperd told cricket.com.au that if he plays this summer, Smith would bat wherever he and Australian selectors wanted him to.

"We're happy to be flexible for what's best for him and what's best for him will be what's best for our team," Shipperd said.

The coaching mastermind, who took NSW from last in the Shield in 2022-23 to third in 2023-24, said he was also determined to give Maddinson the best opportunity to find a way back into the Australian setup.

Maddinson was in imperious touch for Victoria during the second half of last Shield season when he returned from an ACL injury as an opener, peeling off centuries in three straight matches after more than 12 months on the sidelines.

The 32-year-old, who played three Tests in 2016 batting at No.6, signed a multi-year deal to return to NSW during the off-season after an incredible six seasons with Victoria that yielded 10 first-class centuries in 37 matches, with his average of 50.63 well above his mark when he was delisted by the Blues (32.94) in 2018.

"One of our duties is to continue to produce Australian players and we'll be giving him every single chance to find that avenue into the Australian team," Shipperd said of Maddinson, who along with West Australian wicketkeeper-batter Josh Philippe, are the Blues' two high-profile recruits for the 2024-25 season.

"With the age profile and recent and looming retirements of players in and around the Aussie team, I think opening the batting would be his best opportunity to play for the country again."

Should the Smith-Maddinson combination transpire, it ramps up the pressure for the crop of young NSW openers behind them jostling for opportunities early in the summer.

Australia under-19 World Cup winner Sam Konstas impressed during the closing stages of last season with his maiden first-class half-century in his final innings against Queensland, while 25-year-old Ryan Hackney and 24-year-old Blake Nikitaras have also shown promise.

"Strong competition and earning your place and then fighting hard to maintain it is all part of the journey towards the Australian cricket team," Shipperd said.

"We don't shy away from driving competitive standards with the batters through the top, the batters through the middle and in the bowling ranks.

"It's a healthy place … I think the players are enjoying their experiences at the moment so we're comfortable with that competition being the right competition.

"We were thrilled by our progress last year, the job certainly isn't done by any stretch of the imagination, but we played better team cricket last season and the results showed.

"Making the one-day final and coming third in the Shield was a solid reflection of that.

"There's a lot of talent in the squad that has been bolstered by a couple of quite mature batters that we hope will provide competition among the squad for both places and take us those couple of steps further in player development and team performance."

NSW will begin both their 2024-25 One-Day Cup (against WA on September 22) and Sheffield Shield (against SA, October 8-11) campaigns at Cricket Central, their new facility in western Sydney that Shipperd said went a long way to helping them build a "home ground mentality" last season.