Sayers' Ashes dream fades after hard year

One year ago, Chadd Sayers stood on the cusp of his cricket career's pinnacle.

Amid the reputational wreckage strewn from the sandpaper scandal in Cape Town, it emerged that fast bowler Mitchell Starc was suffering a bone stress reaction in his right leg and would be replaced by either Sayers or Jhye Richardson for the final Test at Johannesburg.

Sayers got the nod to receive his Baggy Green Cap, but in the intervening 12 months he has endured a frustrating bout of injuries and seen Richardson vault over him in the pecking order for Test bowling berths.

As a result, the 2019 Ashes dream that appeared so tangible given the suitability of the 31-year-old's skills to English conditions has been replaced by the reality that he's now battling to earn selection for the Australia A outfit to tour the UK later this year.

With Richardson now seemingly entrenched in Australia's international set-up, others eyeing A-team selection are injured seamer Josh Hazlewood, Victoria pair Peter Siddle and James Pattinson, and Sayers' Redbacks' teammate Daniel Worrall (also currently injured).

If Sayers is to win a place in that Ashes 'hopefuls' squad that will play a series of tour matches concurrent with the ICC World Cup in June and July, he needs a stand-out showing in South Australia's final JLT Sheffield Shield match against Victoria starting tomorrow.

That's because, since his maiden Test at the Wanderers last March, Sayers has played just four first-class matches from which he has returned 14 wickets at an average of 31.5.

Over that time, he underwent surgery to 'clean out' his troublesome right knee, returned to hospital for a further procedure on the joint last November and then, in his return to Shield cricket a month ago, suffered a slight hamstring strain.

Given that's he's deemed surplus to requirements for white-ball cricket in the JLT One-Day Cup and the KFC Big Bash League, his lack of exposure to top-level cricket this summer means he's fallen well off the pace in the race for Ashes bowling places.

"When you think about it (Test selection) being a year ago, with the injuries it's hard to push for your case in the Australian side and the group now is pretty united and starting to get some success on the board," Sayers said in Adelaide today.

"I haven't played enough cricket to push my case (for Ashes selection), and blokes have stepped into where I was.

"We've got some blokes who have stepped up, got some Test matches under their belts and performed as well.

"It's going to be hard to break into that squad, so all I can do is play some good cricket.

"I think probably an Australia A tour is more realistic at the moment.

"I'm just looking forward to getting back out there and hopefully getting through a whole game of cricket, and I guess if I play my best cricket I would hope I can put my name forward."

Sayers admits the year that followed his ascension to Test cricket has proved endlessly frustrating, and that the Ashes ambition that seemed so likely as he dominated Shield batters in the preceding seasons is now distinctly distant.

The pain in his knee that had become steadily worse as he claimed an unsurpassed 94 Shield wickets at 22 in 2015-16 and 2016-17 had all-but disappeared when he returned against Tasmania last month, following a second bout of surgery.

However, his paucity of top-level match practice coupled with the heavy workload on a flat Adelaide Oval pitch – he sent down 37 overs in the Tigers' first innings of 467 – meant he was unable to bowl on the final day due to the hamstring niggle.

"It's been a frustrating season, but I think I'm out the other end and hopefully the knee's feeling good as it was against Tassie just after Christmas," he said.

"I had nearly three months off without playing a first-class game, and coming back from injury was hard.

"Then to bowl 37 overs in that game, that was probably what caused the little hamstring injury.

"I felt like I'd done all the work, but I guess there's no match-like intensity (and after) three months off, it's always going to be hard to get that in.

"You can play club cricket, but it's never the same as playing Shield cricket."

A return to Shield ranks also means another opportunity with the Dukes ball, which is used in the second-half of the Australia first-class season to try and replicate the swing and seam conditions expected to feature in this year Qantas Ashes Tour of the UK.

However, an unknown factor in the upcoming fixture between Shield leaders Victoria and bottom-placed SA will be the vagaries of Karen Rolton Oval, which will be hosting its first Shield game as the West End Redbacks' auxiliary home ground.

"It's generally a pretty good wicket, there's been a lot of runs scored here in (Toyota Futures League) second XI games," Sayers said today.

"I expect that like any Shield wicket, it's going to have a bit in it early but if you get through that I'm expecting it to be a nice wicket to bat on.

"Hopefully there's a bit of pace and bounce in it, so we can use the swing to our advantage.

"In the last couple of rounds of Shield cricket, the bowlers have been on top, so it will be good to get the Duke back in the hand.

"Any time you can get the ball swinging, the batsmen are vulnerable.

"And the Duke swings for 60-70 overs, which brings the bowlers in for the entire game."