It was one of the most star studded Sheffid Shield rounds we've seen in recent memory.

And at the end of it all, Australia's Ashes squad was named, then changed and changed again.

Welcome to Domesticated.

I'm justin Edwards Fox Crickets.

Nick Savage is alongside me.

Nick.

Big win for Victoria Revenue South Wales.

But that blockbuster Sheffood Shield round, it was soured a little bit by some injuries for Josh Hazwood and to Sean Abbott.

At the end of that match, almost at the same time, the two of them went off the field and never came back.

They were sent for scans.

They didn't battle in the fourth innings, so Victoria only had to take eight wickets.

In that three hundred run win.

And obviously the news has since come out that both of them won't be available for that first Ashes Test, so that pendulum is slightly swinging towards England for the first Test.

But yeah, an exciting runer.

She had a lot of storylines to come out of it, and yeah, Victoria New South Wales very one sided affair at the end.

Yeah, three hundred runs.

We'll talk more about that with our guests later on, So Brendan Doggett looks like he's gonna make his Test debut.

That seems to be the established pecking water.

Michael Nisi's come into the squad, but given that Doggett was named in the squad first, it looks like there's a pecking order there and we expect a Test debut for Brendan Doggett.

The other question mark about Australia's eleven was Cameron Green and how big a role he could play with the ball.

What was his going to be role going to be in that first Test.

He's gone out and lacked ninety four for Western Australia and Bold sixteen overs.

Bold really well took a nice wicket.

That is just absolutely everything the Australian camp were wanting to see.

Such an important game for Cameron because obviously it had been a few weeks since he'd even contributed many runs for WA, even going back to the West Indy.

He's got a bunch of starts without going on.

But in a great win for W eight he got those runs and that spell from him the first innings in particular was really exciting.

A bit wayward, a bit in accurate.

I think there was one beamer that flew past the head of one of the Queensland batters, but on the whole part was really impressive.

He left a nice bruise on Matthew Renshaw's arm and got a really important wicket.

So yeah, exactly what the Australians actors wanted to see from him.

They wanted to see fifteen overs.

I think he did about sixteen in the end, So yeah, he looks now like a lock for that first sashes to turn.

Yeah, definitely expects Cameron Green to be playing that first Test.

Where does it leave bow Webster.

He probably had his best week of shield cricket of the entire summer because he was injured in the first part of the year.

Had took eight wickets, a career best Sheffid Shield bowling performance, and then back to that with seventy eight in the One Day Cup.

That was a little bit was it a bit too late?

You think it's it looks like Green's going to play at six and there might not quite be room for bow Webster.

I think the national selectors know what bo Webster can contribute.

He's done so over the past ten months in the national side with a couple of really important knocks for Australia.

Yes, it's great to see him bowling again.

He obviously missed the first couple of Shield rounds with a minor ankle injury.

So he's bowling, he's taking wickets.

He's got Travis Head and Alex Carey in the same inning.

So great performance from him.

Not the runs that we would have loved to see from him in the red ball cricket, but I think, as you mentioned, he backed it up in the One Day Cup with a seventy odd in a big win for the Tazzies, so I think they're actually four in Zip the Chazzis.

They're undefeated in the One Day Cup, so keep an eye at them later in the tournament they approach the final.

There.

In terms of the Test side, I think all this injury news with a bowling attack, with Hazel out, sewnab It out, Pat Cummins out, Australia might tend towards having two or round us just to have that cover in case God forbid another bowler goes down.

And so we saw Cameron Green batting at three over the winter.

He might keep that role.

So Webster can keep his spot at six with Martus Labushane opening.

We've spoken about this in the past, how we don't love that balance.

We don't love Marnus opening, but just to have that cover, the extra bowling cover, they might.

Lean towards that.

So because of Hazelwood's hamstring, bo Webster could be safe for another game.

At least you could see that.

I think if you are going into a match looking to get overs and wickets out of your sixth bowler, you're probably.

In a bit of trouble.

If you're needing your sixth bowler, it's probably injury right.

If you're needing your sixth bowler to actually take wickets, you're in a world of trouble.

So I think I don't think bo Webster's bowling.

If Cameron Green's going to be bowling ten to twelve overs an innings, he seems to be a period bal at blow Webster.

So I don't think even though Webster took were those wickets, I'm not sure it will be his bowling that gets him in the team.

I think I'm expecting a Jake Weather or day Burton.

I am expecting him to open the batting Manus bat three and Green at six.

I think that's the more that's a confident approach from Australia knowing that yep, we'll get the wickets.

And the other thing with the way England played their cricket is even if they put four hundred and fifty on the board, they'll do it in eighty overs.

They don't keep the team out in the field for two days.

That's a really good point.

No, absolutely, I think on the same page, I'd love to see Weather all open.

I've been calling for a few years now for two specialist openers to be at the top of the order rather than sacking through middle order players and trying to reinvent them as openers.

And exactly right.

If Cameron Green trusts his body and the medical team trust his body that he can serve as that fourth seama, then that's fantastic.

Are they still wrapping in a bit of cotton wool?

He's had one great game?

Does that mean he could do five Tests as an all rounder?

Not one hundred percent sure.

I'd love to see whether all open.

I just feel like that might not happen in Perth, as frustrating as that would be, but I to wait and see.

There's only four days until that first Test now and no doubt we'll get a squad or at least a starting eleven on a Thursday afternoon.

When Steve Steve Smith speaks to the.

Present, Michael Nissa being added to the squad, don't think you'll play that first Test, but the second Test pink ball in Brisbane.

He's a pink ball specialist and he also adds a little bit with the bat.

I suspect that's why.

Sewann Abbott was picked in the squad as well, because he's a genuine bowling around it as he is Michael Nissa.

So if maybe they want to make a change to that bowling attack and Cummins or Hazer would still not right for that second Test, they could bring in Nissa for that second Test as much to give him extra batting as the extra bowling option.

Well, both of Michael NIE's tests to date have been pink ball tests.

I think a while ago now it's been since he played.

But you're absolutely right.

Who's taken more wickets at the Gabba over the past decade than Michael Nissa a pink ball under lights.

He's an absolute weapon with the pink ball.

He'd be fantastic.

So if they're going for that horses for courses, absolutely, Nissa wouldn't be right for Perth.

Dogger is definitely the likeful player for that field.

But in Brisbane, if there is a little niggle, if they need to arrest someone, manage someone, I think Thesa should absolutely come in.

Stark is the best in the world of the pink ball.

I think regardless, even if he's a bit sore, he'll be playing in that second Test.

But yeah, it needs to come in for perhaps a Bowland, perhaps a dog It.

I think it's a live chance for sure.

Yeah, I cannot wait.

Third those first two Tests, first one starting Friday.

Now he had the Sheffield Shields in that match where Green got the hundred between WA and Queensland, there's nothing, There's not much in the life I love more than a Sheffield Shield thriller when it comes down to the last wicket, and it was an extraordinary finish.

WA were nine down, still needed twenty three runs and Corey Rocacoli and Cameron Gannon got him home Rockacolie's pumping sixes.

It was extraordinary to watch.

What a finish to that game at the whackup heading to that final forty five minutes, all four results were still possible.

There was still a live chance for all of them, and certainly when that ninth wicket fell, I kind of felt, Okay, Queensland, I've got this.

You have to go back a day or so to win Western Australia to clared their first innings about sixty eight runs behind.

They were still behind by quite a margin and to keep that chance of getting a resolt, they declared behind.

So brave move from the hosts.

It paid off massively thanks to Rockacholie, who earlier took four wickets.

For not many in a pretty damaging spell.

He ran through that low order, bowled out the Queenslanders and then played it, as you said, a massive role in the run chase, one of the all time classics.

I mean, TASMANI have been involved in a couple of bangers recently over the last twelve to eighteen months, but this goes right at the top of the Q.

I think that was a really special performance from WA who hadn't had the best start to their Shield season as well.

So yeah, hopefully this gets them back on track.

A really talented squad and yeah, what a win, what a highlight fantastic.

Corey Rocacholi finishing with figures of five for forty seven as well as his runs.

Thinking he potentially is now ahead of Todd Murphy or certainly in the conversation alongside Todd Murphy if Nathan Lyne was to be injured for as soon as this summer.

They're definitely in the conversation for Australia's next trip to India, which is in about fourteen months time.

But if line was to go down, especially on a bouncy pitch, Queer Rocacolie could make a Test debut this time.

Yeah, we'll speaking about this off air in that he has the skill set for Australian pitches.

He's a tour release, gets a lot of dip and bounce on the Australian decks, so I think he's a very strong chance of coming in.

I feel like maybe Matt Cooman, who is contracted and has done really well in the Test side.

Probably will still be favored.

Australia might go for four fastballs again as they did in Kingston a few months ago, which paid off roy All.

They brought up the windows for twenty nine.

But I see if they want to like for like in Australia, Rocketcolie is a really good shout twenty twenty seven in India.

No doubt they'll be Koneman, they'll be Murphy.

We both love to see Mitch Swepson there as well.

But yeah, there's a very strong chance that if Line God forbid has an injury, it's Rockecolie time.

It would be really cool to see what.

A fantastic finish it was to that game.

And a quick little note as well.

I like the new rules that were brought in a few years ago.

So first innings points are not everything in Sheffield shield matches, which allows WA to clear behind and get the result at the end.

So the new rules, they are more complex and I am not even sure that I understand them completely, but they do allow for this to happen.

The other big talking point out of that game was Matt Renshaw scoring one hundred.

You feel like his ashes chances were hurt by being picked for Australia, which is sort of a funny thing to say.

But he couldn't play the shield matches that say Manus Labushan could play.

He was playing white Pool cricket for Australia did pretty well.

He gets the one hundred now is a little bit too late for him.

Do you think where does he sit in the pecking order.

He's still in the twenty nine.

He's still probably in his prime years, I suppose.

When people talk about but as they say their late twenties, early thirties, was mc quajh is not far from retirement.

We expect it to come within the next twelve months or so, so there will be a vacancy there very very soon.

Whether all it's preferred for this series because he compliments Kauwaja quite a bit.

I was just spoken about in past episodes of this podcast.

But Matthew Renshaw is I a good chance of taking that Kawaja spot.

He's probably up against a couple of young guns in Campbell Kelloway and Sam Constance will also be buying for that.

But if he backs it up next week and the following week with more shield hundreds, maybe even puts a little bit of pressure on Kuwaja in this series.

If Kauwaja starts poorly, there's every chance of Australia making a change and maybe giving him a tap on the shoulder.

So Renchell's not far off.

All we saw Kawaja come back and revive his test career at age thirty five and look how amazing he's been over the last four years.

Renschall still has a long, long amount of time ahead of him to revive his test career as well.

Yeah, Usmond's not saying it.

There is sort of a thinking that this would be Kouwaja's last summer.

He's certainly not saying it.

He's taking it one series at a time, but it's going to be he won't be in the next Ashes in England, for example, so that spot will be available and whether it goes to Renshaw or a guy like Campbell Kellaway.

But that's the openers.

We've been talking about this since David WARN's retirement.

The openers are the most interesting part of the future of Australian cricket because is it Constance is the guy like Kellaway who will speak more of There's Renser as well in maybe.

You've got an opener?

Is there anybody outside the Ashes squads that you think could be a factor in the series.

The last time England were here, Australia Public played six quicks, Joy Richardson and Michael Nissa and Scott Boland who he went really talking about back then made this amazing debut.

Do you think there's anybody outside of the squad at the moment who could be a facted later in the series.

I think you just mentioned one of them.

Ji Richardson, I could see playing a big role towards the back end of the series.

Australias.

We haven't even had a first test yet, but half Australia's bowling attack is wounded, sore, is in the casualty ward.

Those bowling stocks are going to be extended and pushed even further over the next few weeks and there's a chance for Ji Richardson to maybe.

Be parachuted into that squad.

Jie richard was just named in the crick Australia eleven to play I think the England Lions at the Gabba, so he'll be involved in that game, a multi day game if he can prove his fitness there, and then we think in round six player shield game for WA and he gets through that with strong performances, his body's fine, Maybe at the back end of the Ashes he could come in and play a massive role in Melbourne or Sydney.

So maybe keep half on how he's going into the domestic formats because I mean, God, for a bit, we lose Josh Haswer for the series, we lose Cummins for the series, there's another injury.

They're going to really stretch those bowling stocks.

And Joe Rigson he's a gun.

We all know how great he is.

He just needs to keep his body together.

So yeah, he's my choice.

Yeah, I'm very excited to see Joe Richardson back bowling with a red Bull.

Same.

I'm sure we'll play a lot for the per scorches over the Big Bash.

My guy outside the squad who I think could be a factor is Campbell Kellaway.

So I think, as we mentioned with Kouwaja, say, for example, worst case scenario, Australia are two kneel down after two tests and Kowaj's got four scores under ten.

I think they'll they'll have to make a change there, and I don't think I think they're committed to taking a longer approach with Constace.

So it would be down to Renshaw or Kellaway, who started the Shield summer really strongly, got the Big Hunter and got a proper working over with Mitchell Stark.

We'll talk about him a little bit more with our guest coming up, we speak to Victorian coach Chris Rogers, with Victoria sitting pretty on top of the Sheffield Shield table well with.

Four wins from four games.

Victoria couldn't be going much better in the Sheffield Shield at the moment, and their coach Chris Rodgers joins us, Chris, what a fantastic win it was for you against.

New South Wales?

A victory by three hundred runs.

Yeah, hello, guys, Yeah it was.

It was a fantastic win.

I think a lot of things lined up for us, but you know, to go and play aside with so many world class players and to beat them so comprehensively, you know, I thought that was absolutely brilliant.

And gives our group a lot of belief.

Chris obviously has mentioned before four wins in a rows can the perfect start.

It feels like this Victorian squad has the perfect mix of experienced players like Pete Hansk and Marcus Harris and a really exciting crop of younger players who are really starting to find their feet in domestic career.

Is that how you see this squad at the moment as well?

Yeah, Victoria made a bit of a decision a few years back to to really try and get more players into the test team and develop born and bred Victorians, and it's always going to take a while, but we're starting to see the fruits of that labor.

And even with you know, we're picking three young batters in Peak, Kellaway and Dixon, you know that that bodes well for the future.

But that's equally balanced out well with having the likes of Bowl and Harris enhanced him to kind of to almost you know, coach them along the way as well.

So you know, we feel we've got a really good mix a lot of players who are coming into their mid twenties as well, and hopefully they're not far away from international recognition.

One of those young batters, Campbell Kellaway, scored an excellent hundred in his previous year game.

In this most recent one, he's got a proper working over from Mitchell Stark, but did really well, scored a half century when he was getting that working over from Mitch Stark.

Are you sitting in the crowd going, well, I don't like, really like my player getting worked over like this, but this is going to be so good for him.

He's going to learn so much from this.

Yeah, I probably wasn't thinking now, I was probably thinking how good is this?

You know from my own personal experience, when you go and play international cricket, the balls are faster, that they're taller, and they present different challenges, so you know you want to be well prepared for what's to come.

And for Campbell, he wouldn't have faced that challenge before.

So you know, to get into that situation where you realize perhaps you're not in the best positions and you don't have the game just to get through that just yet, that's that's gold because then you can go away and work on it and.

Figure a few things out.

So you know, I'm looking at what Campbell's get going through at the moment.

I think even first game he.

Found the out he was out to to outside edges, he went away, work to the and the next next day and he got two inside edges he played on.

So he's working through these these little fine things in his game, and I think that that's you know, that's going to set him up well once again for what's to come.

Chris, you said after the match that you were confident that when it was won, Kwaja does retire that Campbell Callaway is a contender to potentially take over that spot in the test side.

That moment could come in the next six to twelve months.

We don't know for certain when Kawaja is going to hang up the boots, But do you feel confident that even if, for potentially this summer and optually comes up for Campbell, that he's really ready to take on the likes of Mark Wood, Archer and in the next couple of years some other fast ballers.

Yeah, I said that.

I've you know, I've been watching Campbell carefully now for a while.

You know, I get to sometimes have the best seat in the house because you know, you're watching him working day in, day out, and then.

Go in and see what he's learning out in the middle.

But I'm seeing a young man with a game that's that's going to stand up in international cricket.

You know, the way he lines the ball up.

I mean we stood at we were kind of sitting at a mid off angle for Campbell facing Mitch Stark, and Starkey was swinging the ball away and his bat was coming perfectly along the line to cover that movement.

So they're the kind of things that.

I get to see and from that, I, you know, I believe he's got that game to handle, you know, the best.

Bowl in the world.

So I know he's young, there's a long way to go, but you know, it wouldn't surprise me if he did get to go early and he had some early success as well, so you know, I'm confident that he's going to have a good career for Australia.

Chris, can you talk us through Campbell's move to opening at the top of the audit?

He hadn't done a whole lot of that before he plaid for Victoria.

Was that your idea?

Did you broach that with him as you know one former opener you saw that potential in him?

Or was that his idea?

Uh?

No, I mean we we we had hoped that Will Pokotski was going to be the one who who would you know, do great things for for Australia at the top of the order.

And then when you know it played out the way it did with Will, we knew there was another opportunity.

So you know, we made some decisions in the background and then and then spoke to Campbell about you know, here's here's the opportunity.

You know, if you look at that Australian side, and at the time you were probably thinking Marnus and Smith are going to be in three and four for for a little while to come, and even if Smith retires, that's that's there's probably some others who were lining up for that position.

So where's the opportunity.

It's it's at the top when when Usmand retires.

So yeah, we had that that kind of conversation, and you know it was it was a bit of a challenge for him early, but but since I think you know, there was a hundred thanks Queensland at the Gabba and then even the hundred he got at the Whacker last game of the year against Joel Paris, who usually eats up left handed battles for fun at the Whacker.

You know that that kind of signaled a what a really good player is.

So yeah, that's there's.

Been some good conversations in the background and you know, we think he's already made opener.

Another one of the exciting younger players in the Victorian side is Fergus O'Neil, who has been pretty much perfect over the last twenty four months in the Shield side.

He has murmurs of potentially a test spot coming up in the next couple of years with the Australian side obviously approaching the twilet of their careers, what's going to be the challenge for him and converting his bowling from the domestics set up to international crek because obviously that's a big step up for any fastballer.

Yeah, I think, you know, that challenge for Fergus is always his perception that he's just not fast enough, you know, he and on the flatter wickets he might get found out.

But you know, I look at Vernon Falander and the success he had.

And the style of bowling he had, and that's very similar to Fergus O'Neill.

And even from my experience playing in England, you know and seeing those kind of bowlers who are high skill, maybe not the fastest, but they would test your defense pretty much every ball.

You know, there's a lot of value in those guys.

So you know, I look at the Vernon Falander model and think, well, if he can have success, why can't Fergus.

And even even his ability to bowl for long spells day in day out, I think that that stands out amongst the croper bowlers who we're seeing a lot of injuries from as well, so you know, his resilience is going to be important to his armory as well.

So yeah, I think he's got all the tools he needs to go on and have a good international career.

I just think he needs that chance.

But I think if he gets that chance, he's going to show people just how good he is.

You know, the Vernon Filanda comparison is a good one, Chris, especially with Australia going to South Africa in October next year for a test tour.

Were you're disappointed that the Australian selectors opted for Michael Nissa when Josh Hazerward was injured, rather than giving Fergus an opportunity to at least be in the squad.

Yes, I mean I was just because you know, like I like it to be on the journey with Fergus as well, and you know, you want to see you want to see these players that you work with have success.

So yeah, there's a bit of disappointment from that aspect.

But equally, you know, I think all the players in domestic first class know how good ness is and you know, probably don't begrudge him this opportunity as well.

But I think Fergus.

Knows that you know, he's going to have to work hard for this opportunity, but you know he'll be ready to go once it comes.

You mentioned before that Fergus has the skill set to potentially be really dangerous in the United Kingdom in particular.

Would you like to encourage him to hopefully go back and play some more county cricket if the opportunity comes up.

He did exceptionally well for his brief stint a few months ago in the UK.

Yeah.

Well, I think he's signed a contractor anyway, so I don't think we have much choice in that.

But no, no, we're very supportive of all our.

Players, you know, taking these opportunities and and and he tried to get better.

And I think for him to go over to England work with some of the bowling coaches and see the style of cricket, I think that that's.

Going to be really good for him as well.

And you know, he came back raving from his experience over with notting him shere early on and just how much he learned even working with a bass I think, you know, he had some really good conversations with him, who's another bowler in a similar type of mold.

Who's who's had some good international success.

So these are the you know, these are the priceless experiences that they can get when they when they do that.

So we'll support that.

Fergus is not the only Victorian quick that's turning head.

Sam Elliott took five against that star studded New South Wales batting line up and also snagged the wicked of Steve Smith.

That's a pretty good one to have on the resume.

Yeah, I mean that was we weren't expecting Sam to have such a great game, but you know he continues to surprise us with his performances and you know that that arguably he was the in the game.

You know, his eight wickets were not at many runs and here he got some big wickets as well.

So yeah, we've got we've got high hopes for Sam as well.

We know he's another one that's it's got to do the work, keep getting better and keep earning the right but you know, he is another example of some really good talent we have in our system.

And lastly, Chris, we have to mention Peter hanscom in a really low scoring match to score that one hundred in the first settings obviously set the side for the big win at the SCG.

He seems to have such a wonderful knack of in really tough conditions finding a way to score runs.

That's probably why he was in that Australian scored a couple of years agoing to India and it obvious helped the team moving forward when confronted with difficult pitches like we saw in Sydney.

Yeah, I'm glad you asked me about him.

Just sometimes you know, he doesn't get the credit he deserves.

There's always that perception that he's exactly the same player he was when he bay eighties Test cricket.

But from you know, having the experiences with him, being a coach of him, I've seen his growth and he's gone away.

And understood that you know, the style of.

Batting he had when he played Test cricket probably wasn't going to stand up and it took him a while to kind of get rid of that stubbornness around that.

But since then he's he's you.

Know, he's been so open to a different style and I think if you go and watch that one hundred he got against Stark and Hazelwood and co, you'll see it's a very different model, just just how he looked to get bored, he looked to punch back into the ball.

He was just standing on the back foot behind the crease line.

And from that, you know, I think it's you know, it's a it's a game plan that would do pretty well in international cricket.

So, you know, if he got the chance again, I think he'd be much better prepared.

If Smith was to retire, and you know, there was there was that opportunity for it needed for a stable number four.

You know, I think that that could be Pete definitely.

So hopefully he keeps scoring runs for us and things play out and he gets another opportunity at Test level.

Well, if anybody knows about getting a second crack at Test for hit in your mid thirties, it's you, Chris, and I'm sure you'll be doing your best to get Pete Hanskin there.

Chris, thanks so much for.

Joining us, and good luck for the rest of the Shield season with your Victorian side that are high flying at the moment.

Thanks guys,