Mark Taylor might bleed blue, but even the former NSW and Australian captain believes Queensland batsman Jack Clayton is knocking on the door for a maiden call-up to the national side.
As NSW pair Sam Konstas (5 and 2) and Kurtis Patterson (14 and 9) struggled in the Blues’ innings defeat to Tasmania last weekend, Clayton, the 27-year-old Bulls middle-order batsman, continued his strong start to the Sheffield Shield season by hitting a century in the first innings for Queensland in their draw against Victoria.
His 104 was his third score over 50 in as many shield matches, which has him second behind Ollie Davies (332 runs at 66.40, including 253 against Tasmania) on the runs chart this season with 303 at 75.75.
Clayton’s innings came just days after Usman Khawaja went into bat for former teammate, saying he was the batsman “no one talks about” rising through the Australian cricket ranks and knocking on the door for a selection call-up.
But following Australia’s shock loss in South Africa, Taylor, the former Test opener, who is widely regarded as one of the country’s finest captains, said it was vital Australia’s cricketers set individual preparation aside and return to the Sheffield Shield so selectors can properly assess their options ahead of a huge 10 months, including a home summer against New Zealand and tours of India and England.
“It [the Sheffield Shield] has been watered down,” Taylor said. “One of the reasons is that international players aren’t playing it as much as they used to. That doesn’t help.
“It’s harder sometimes to work out how good an innings someone achieves when it’s not against sometimes the better players or the better bowlers. That’s why you always like to see the international players come back and play Shield cricket.”
Following Australia’s capitulation at Newlands, under pressure Australian coach Andrew McDonald said the nation’s hierarchy would be looking closely at Shield performances before the first Test against New Zealand in Perth on December 9.
“I think we [will] sit back and we’ll go through Shield cricket,” he said.
While NSW’s Nic Maddinson (2 and 1) and Victoria’s Sam Harper (63 and 6) returned from the Test squad in South Africa and enjoyed mixed results, Steve Smith will miss the Blues’ next Shield clash against South Australia next week after heading to New York to rest following a frustrating series, having ruled himself out of the decider in Cape Town.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon is an outside chance to line up against South Australia on November 11, while quicks Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc could feature against Queensland later in the month after being rested from the nation’s upcoming white ball matches against England.
But given the side’s busy Test schedule over the next 10 months, as well as the fact that Hazlewood suffered a hamstring injury playing for NSW in Shield cricket ahead of last summer’s Ashes, there could be an urge to wrap Australia’s pacemen in cotton wool ahead of the first Test.
While Taylor said he could understand Smith missing the Test, he insisted the rest of the squad that squandered a series lead in South Africa needed to get back on the park.
“Sometimes I see players are prepared for matches more individually than we used to,” he said.
“They get themselves right for what they believe is in the best interest for them to play their best cricket. But that’s sometimes at the expense of playing Shield cricket, which is a great way for other players to come through and to learn skills at a better level.
“There’s always a trade-off when you get down to individual preparation. It’s sometimes the greater good that suffers.
“I’d love to see all the international players play at least one round of Shield cricket.”
Taylor, who debuted for Australia against the West Indies in January 1989 and seven months later played a key part in Allan Border’s men destroying England to win back the Ashes, said the entire top four was up for debate, especially with Smith nearing the end of his illustrious career.
“There’ll be spots up for grabs,” he said.
“Within 12 months we could be looking at a whole new top four in our batting if Travis Head moves down the order. We really need to see some of these guys to start to make big runs and tell the selectors, ‘I’m ready to play, I’m ready for the next level.’”
Taylor hoped Australia’s first-choice bowling attack would be available for the November 22 fixture against Queensland at the SCG to see whether Clayton was the real deal.
“Obviously you don’t want to put the pressure on the guy to say ‘you’ve got to score runs in that game’, but by playing a game that has a state side at full strength, you then get a feel for what the Test match might be like,” Taylor said.
“It’s almost subconscious. It’s the next level up, and you’re playing it. Even if you only make a handful, or you make 20 or 30 and get through the new ball, that’s another skill you’ve learnt.
“Imagine a Jack Clayton facing Cummins, Hazlewood, Starc and Lyon and his side’s in trouble and he comes out. That’s a situation that very much could happen in a Test match.”
Taylor said Head’s long-term future lay in the middle order despite scoring a second Test century against South Africa.
“I think he’s better down the order because of his technique,” Taylor said.
“It’s unique. He really is your classic see the ball, hit the ball [type]. When his eye is in, he is brilliant. But with the way the ball is moving around these days, I think he’s going to miss more than he hits.”
Taylor added that Konstas, who hit consecutive centuries against Western Australia before missing out last week, would be near the “top of my list” for a recall and urged selectors to look at the next generation. Taylor also mentioned Victorians Ollie Peake and Campbell Kellaway.
“I’m a firm believer in the old saying, ‘pick a side for today but with an eye for tomorrow’,” Taylor said.
“Now, when you’ve got an eye for tomorrow, you’re looking for younger talent. If you look at Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris, Peter Handscomb, they’ve had multiple opportunities to make it as an international cricketer, and they haven’t been able to nail it. So my instinct would be to try and find someone else that we can give an opportunity to. That’s how I would approach it.”
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