Australia’s selection questions as Shield begins

Mitchell Starc, Usman Khawaja, Joe Burns at the Gabba; Jackson Bird and Peter Siddle at the MCG; Shaun Marsh at the WACA – Australia’s selectors will have plenty to keep them occupied over the next few days as the Sheffield Shield season begins. A full round of matches – day-night games with the pink ball – starts on Tursday, and the squad for Australia’s first Test against South Africa is set to be named on Friday.

And while much of the squad is predictable, there are still a few decisions for Rod Marsh’s selection panel to make. Most notably, they will want to see Starc come through unscathed at the Gabba in his first match since having 30 stitches in his left shin following a training mishap in September.

Starc said on Sunday that although he expected to be unrestricted in bowling over the coming weeks, he had been advised not to dive or slide in the field, or he would risk reopening the deep laceration suffered when he slid into the base of a set of metal stumps. Test captain Steven Smith will lead Starc and his New South Wales team-mates against Queensland at the Gabba this week.

“I think he’ll do his best to stay on his feet as much as he can,” Smith told reporters in Sydney on Monday. “He’s bowled the last couple of weeks, he feels like the ball is coming out really well so a bit of game time into him [will be good]. I’ll take care of him and make sure he’s okay for that first Test match. It’s exciting to see him back on the park.”

Should Starc be passed fit for the Perth Test, which starts on Thursday next week, he will likely lead the attack alongside Josh Hazlewood, with spinner Nathan Lyon, allrounder Mitchell Marsh, and a third frontline fast man making up the bowling group. Bird is effectively the incumbent, having taken seven wickets against New Zealand in Christchurch in February.

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