Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc have been named in the New South Wales squad for the ongoing Sheffield Shield. Both Starc and Smith will be in action for New South Wales against Victoria at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) from Sunday (October 20) onwards.
Both players want to get some feel of red-ball cricket in the lead-up to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which starts on November 22. Notably, Starc last played a Shield game during the 2020-21 season against Queensland whereas Smith's last appearance came against Victoria in February 2021.
On the other hand, their teammates Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood won't play in the premier red-ball domestic competition and would instead participate (likely) in the One-Day Cup.
New South Wales are likely to put a star-studded XI on the field against Victoria as veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon and seamer Sean Abbott are also expected to be present for the clash.
Abbott missed the opening round of the Sheffield Shield as a result of a minor injury he suffered during Australia's recent tour of the UK.
Meanwhile, the red-ball experience in the Shield is going to be a key part of the preparation for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as Australia face a stern challenge to deny India a third-consecutive Test series win on home soil.
Australia are the reigning ICC World Test champions and are also in contention to make it to another final. They have won eight games out of 12 played in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle and suffered three losses.
Their Points Percentage (PCT) is 62.50% and only India have a better PCT (74.24%) compared to them.
New South Wales squad:
Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Ollie Davies, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques, Sam Konstas, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Jack Nisbet, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc
