Last Updated on 5 years by Charbel Coorey

Sheffield Shield 2020 Round 1 Summary: QLD, WA seal late wins | Sheffield Shield 2020/21 Round 1 Summary: QLD & WA grab late victories

The 2020/21 Sheffield Shield season got underway in Adelaide, with eyes on up-and-coming players as well as seasoned performers as a huge Test season looms.

Australia’s Test side may look settled, but spots such as the second opening batsman and all-rounder are still up for grabs. In the opening round of the Sheffield Shield, players from Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania impressed, as both matches were won late on.

Tasmania (250 and 220) lost to Queensland (529) by an innings and 79 runs

The scores themselves may look one-sided, but Queensland took this one out right at the death. Tasmania batted gamely in their second innings to force a draw, but Mitchell Swepson’s 4/66 in 45.2 overs helped Queensland over the line with just 6.2 overs remaining in the day.

Swepson’s performance is a timely one. Before the season began, Cricket Australia’s high performance chief, Drew Ginn, said that spin needs to be of higher focus as Australia seek both a partner and successor to Nathan Lyon. Swepson, the leg-spinner, worked hard on a slow track, testing the batsmen with variations, including the googly. However, what was most important was pitching the ball up fuller, after often erring too short previously throughout the match.

But, Swepson’s performance was overshadowed by the brilliant all-round display of player of the match Michael Neser. Neser, who was in Australia’s Ashes squad last year, produced excellent pace and movement in the first innings, finishing with 5/32 out of Tasmania’s 250. Then, he slammed 121 batting at eight.

Indeed, getting into Australia’s Test XI as a fast bowler is a very tough ask, but Neser has sent a timely reminder to the selectors that he is still around.

For Tasmania, Jordan Silk (56 off 201 balls) and Jake Doran (36 off 155 balls) fought very hard in the second innings, before bowlers Nathan Ellis (112 balls) and Peter Siddle (88 balls) made Queensland work hard for their wickets. In the end, their first innings display put them well behind, and need an improvement for their next game against South Australia starting on 19th October.

How did Australia’s Test players perform?

Australian incumbent opener Joe Burns only made 7, while Queensland skipper and former number three Usman Khawaja made just 4. Marnus Labuschagne impressed most with the bat, underlining his improvement as a batsman over the past 12-15 months, hitting his highest First Class score of 167. He will certainly be key in the upcoming Australia-India Test series.

For Tasmania, Australia captain Tim Paine scored just 4 and 10. However, he was cleaned up by a peach in the second innings by the impressive 21-year old pace bowler Xavier Barlett, who took 4/58 and 3/38 in the match.

Western Australia 481/5d & 215/2d beat South Australia 314 and 177 by 205 runs

As Queensland sealed a late win, so did Western Australia, after dominating much of the four days. After Michael Neser become the first player to hit a century and take five wickets in a Shield game since Mitchell Johnson in 2010, Ashton Agar achieved the feat almost simultaneously, hitting 114* and taking 5/103 in the first innings. Agar, who has represented Australia in Test cricket, is a current T20I spinner, and will be keen to continue the form with bat and ball in a season where spinners will be watched closely.

Agar’s unbroken 266-run stand with impressive keeper-batsman Josh Inglis blew South Australia away, after Lloyd Pope, another spinner who many have an eye on, took five wickets. However, the concern for Pope was that he failed to bowl a single maiden in the match (econ. 6.09).

Promising all-rounder Cameron Green didn’t bowl in the match, as he continues to manage his workload after stress fractures in his back last season. However, the youngster notched up a first-innings half-century, and is certainly one to watch in the coming years.

Shaun Marsh, in his second-innings century, went past 11,00 First Class runs. The left-handed batsman has been in superb touch over the past few seasons in Shield Cricket, and will be a key member of a WA side that is looking to break their Title drought.

It was a tough match for South Australia, but opening batsman Jake Weatherald shone some light in their first innings. His 105 set up a platform that his teammates couldn’t quite build on, as Agar, alongside Cameron Gannon (3/65) led the way to bowl SA out for 314.

How did Australia’s Test players perform?

Cameron Bancroft, who began last year’s Ashes as Australia’s opener, struck 46 and 71 in this match. Travis Head also made two starts (31 and 54). The South Australian captain and Australian middle order batsman will be keen to convert those starts into big scores as the Test season looms.