Sheffield Shield round 1 wrap up, Australia pick ODI and T20I squads to face India and Women's ODI World Cup underway

See who made runs and who missed out in the opening round of the 2025/26 Sheffield Shield season as the Aussie 'bat off' heats ups just weeks out from the Ashes.

Australia has selected its ODI and T20I squads to face India - see who made the cut, who missed out and which Australia A players impressed on the recent tour of India and are close to international honours.

England and Australia have both got off to winning starts in the Women's ODI World Cup over in India and Sri Lanka.

Plus a few extra bits including Pat Cummins and Travis Head being offered $10 million (AUSD) contracts to turn their back on international duties for Australia and play T20 cricket. 

Thank you for listening! Be sure to follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and/or Instagram.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:04

Hello and welcome to another edition of the Ashes to Ashes podcast where we delve into everything related to the Australian and England cricket teams, both men's and women's, as they gear up for another Ashes campaign, and they're always gearing up for an Ashes campaign. I'm your host, NewsQuest journalist and avid cricket fan, Patrick Glover, and as always, we've got plenty to get through on today's episode. We're going to take a look at all the results from round one of the Sheffield Shield. As the great Aussie badoff for Ashes positions heats up, we're going to take a look at the Women's World Cup and how England and Australia are getting on over in India and Sri Lanka. And we're going to take a look at the Aussie One Day and T20 International squads that have been announced for their upcoming series against India in Australia ahead of the upcoming Ashes series. But before we get started, just a quick reminder to give us a rating and a follow wherever you listen to your podcast, whether that be Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere else. And also be sure to follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up to date with all the latest cricket news and clips from the pod. So we're going to kick things off on today's episode with a wrap-up of round one of Sheffield Shield action, and there is plenty to get through. So we'll start with the results. So Victoria defeated reigning champions, South Australia by four wickets in their clash, Adelaide Oval. New South Wales defeated WA by 74 runs over at the Wacker. And Queensland and Tassie played out a draw up at Allen Borderfield. But all eyes were on the batsmen in round one as the bat off heats up with Ash's positions still up for grabs in that Australian squad. So we'll start with probably the most significant scores of the opening round in the Queensland and Tassie game. Queensland amassed a first innings total of 612 up at A B Field in response to Tazzy's 379. Marnus Laboshain led the way with 160 from 206 deliveries. So great to see him continuing on his good early form in the Australian summer. And he's definitely putting his name back into contention for a spot in that opening Ashes test over in Perth. Usman Kawaja made his first appearance of the summer for Queensland. He knocked up 69 from 118 at the top of the order for Queensland there. So good to see him back for Queensland and making some runs again. Maddie Renshaw scored a century as well. He finished with 128 from 235 deliveries to push his case for Aussie's selection in the Test Squad. He's been recalled into the one day setup for the upcoming series against India, but we'll we'll get to that later. He has been around Aussie squads in the last sort of couple of years. He's been on the fringe as sort of a backup for Uzzy and Constus and Steve Smith and even Davy Warner when he was about. So he could be a potential dark horse to come into that Aussie squad if he continues to make runs. In that same match for Tasmania, Jake Weatherald has been talked about over the over the winter as a potential candidate to come into the Aussies squad for the Ashes. He was the leading run scorer in Sheffield Shield last season and has begun where he left off. He scored two 50s in that match. So he scored 67 in the first innings and 57 in Tasmania's second innings. So he's definitely continuing his push. He's had a fantastic offseason with Australia A and once again making runs for Tasmania. So he's definitely one that the Aussie selectors will be considering come that first. Ash's test on November 21st. We look at the other Aussie incumbent at the moment, Sammy Constas, probably not the start to the Aussie summer that he would have liked, especially after a promising uh tour over in India for Australia A. He could only manage scores of four and fourteen for New South Wales in their win over WA at the whacker. While fellow Aussie teammate Cameron Green for WA could only manage scores of 19 and 24 as well. And that was batting at number four, not number three, where he has been batting for Australia. But the good news from that game for Cameron Green's perspective is that he made a return to bowling. It's the first time he's bowled in a match since he suffered that injury in August last year. He managed to bowl four overs in WA's first innings and took one for 13. Really good signs for the Aussies to see Cameron Green back bowling again. A few other names that have been tossed about for Aussies' selection in the last couple of years, Curtis Patterson and Cameron Bancroft, both failed to really sort of trouble the scorers in that match. Curtis Patterson for New South Wales, batting at number three, only managing to make eight and four, and Cameron Bancroft opening the batting for WOA, only managing scores of 10-3, so no major contributions from them. Nathan Lyon also taking part in that game. He skippered New South Wales in that victory there. He took just the two wickets in that game from 31 overs, so tough going for him in that match. Over in Adelaide, South Australia's defence of their Sheffield Shield title didn't get off to a great start, losing to Victoria by four wickets. And it wasn't a great start for Nathan McSweeney either, who is in contention to make that Aussie squad for the upcoming Ashes series. The South Australian skipper could only manage six runs for the entire game, which included a duck in the first innings. So not the ideal start for McSweeney there for the Aussie summer. And again, similar to Constus, he had a really positive tour of India for Australia A as well, scoring some runs in the second four-day game there. So disappointing start for him. But things can obviously only get better from uh for him from here. So fingers crossed for him. Henry Hunt is another one that that could be a smoky chance to sneak his way into the Australian squad if he keeps putting runs on the board. He made 126 in South Australia's first innings. He had a good shield season last year. And as I say, if he keeps putting runs on the board, he is a genuine opener. If the Aussie selectors are looking for genuine openers to fill the opening spots for Australia rather than picking blokes like Marnus or Steve Smith to come up and play that role, Henry Hunt could potentially be a smokey to take that spot. The other one to mention for South Australia as well, Jake Lehman continued where he left off last season. He scored his fourth ton in four in his last four Sheffield Shield matches, scoring 113 from 188 deliveries in South Australia's first innings in that game as well. So he continues his amazing run of form. Well, for the Vicks, Pete Hanscom scored a century in Victoria's first innings. Well, in an interesting move, Marcus Harris was demoted from opening to batting at number three, where he made 61. So he's been in some great form over in the UK playing for Lancashire this season and continues that good form, as I say, with 61 for Victoria there in the first innings. Fergus O'Neill is another one to mention. He went wicketless throughout the match, but played two crucial knocks with the butt. He made 64 in the first innings to get them close to South Australia's first innings total, and then saw his side home with Ollie Peak with 33 not out in the second innings. And it's worth mentioning Ollie Peak. He has showed why everyone is raving about him at the moment. I'm sure we'll see him playing in Aussie colours in the not too distant future. He's obviously been playing for Australia Ray over the winter and was over playing the forward A games for Australia A against India Ray recently as well. So he's definitely a name to keep an eye on. So after round one, it's got me questioning: is there actually really a bat-off going on? There may be spots in the Aussie squad up for grabs, but I can't see the Aussie selectors going away from Uzzy and Constance for that first Ashes test. The Aussie selectors have shown in the past that they like to back guys in uh and stick with players, even if they may not be in the best form at the moment, they give them the opportunity to get through that that period and and hopefully come out the other side and start making some runs. So Uzi, for example, I think he hasn't been in the best of form for Australia, but he's he's made 60 odd for Queensland in in their only uh innings in that first shield game. I think that's all but assured him a spot in that first test, provided he he doesn't make ducks in every other innings that he plays in the in the next couple of shield games, but I think that's probably enough form for him to to keep his spot. And and Constance, I think that they've invested a lot of time and effort into him over the last sort of 12 months. It's too much to sort of just go, okay, well, we're just going to drop him now and pick someone else. Again, he's he's probably shown enough form in the Aussie A tour over in India. He made 100 in that first 4D game against India and another 40 while over there. So yeah, so again, like Uzi, unless he goes and and makes no runs for the then the next couple of shield games, I I think it's gonna be Uzi and and and Sammy Constus opening the batting. I'd really like Jake Weatherall to be in the conversation though. As I say, I think Uzi's Uzi's pretty much solidified in that that top spot. But Constus for me is probably in the most danger of losing a spot. If if Weatherall keeps putting runs on the board, he's gonna be very hard to ignore. And he is a very like-for-like player with Constus. They're both very aggressive in the way they bat, and and I think Uzi needs an aggressive batsman at the other end. You've seen him prosper when he battered with Davy Warner. David Warner is that aggressive batsman that can take the game away from an opposition really quickly, and and Uzman can just do his thing at the other end and keep the scoreboard ticking over. I think that's what he needs. I think we saw when he batted with with McSweeney at the start of the the Indian series last summer, when they were both and look, this is obviously credit to Jasper Boomer as well, and and the amazing bowler that he is, but he managed to tie them down and and it meant that there was a lot of pressure on both McSweeney and Usman because they needed to find ways of making runs. Whereas guys like Warner and Constus and Jake Weatherhold as well are very proactive in their in their stroke making and and are very aggressive and attack the bowlers and put the pressure back on them. So it just again it takes that pressure off of Uzzy and he can just build into his innings and and I think that's what he needs. The other interesting one is Marness. He's had a really good start to the Aussie summary, made a hundred to start the one day cut for Queensland, and and now he's obviously peeled off a big hundred for Queensland in their first Sheffield Shield game. Cameron Green currently occupies the number three spot for Australia, but for me, I feel like Cameron Green is a genuine all-rounder that should be batting at six. I think three is too high for him. At the moment, you look at the way he plays, he's very aggressive, and while that can be helpful batting at number three, especially when you've got guys like Uzman above you and and Steve Smith coming in behind you at four. I feel like that aggressive nature is probably better suited at six. It allows him to bowl some overs as well when he's fit, and then it gives him time to recover. I think if Marness is making runs, Marnus should bat at three. I just feel with Marness at his best, I feel more comfortable having Marness there. If they're gonna keep Steve Smith at four, if that's where they want him to stay, which there's now talk that he may move up to three, which could then throw a spatter in the works, and and Cameron Green, I think, would probably be better suited at four or below. So that could be a potential option if Steve Smith comes up to three. But I I quite like if Marus is making runs, I would play Minus at three. Keep Steve Smith at four, Trav five. You can't drop Bo Webster, he's done a fantastic job since he's come in for Australia, both with bat and ball, played some really important innings with the bat, and and has just sort of slotted in and bowled overs where needed with the ball, which is gonna be crucial during the upcoming Ashes series, because England are gonna be are gonna come hard with the bat, and Australia are gonna need different bowling options, and and especially to give the quicks like Stark, Hazelwood, and Scottie Bowl, and maybe Patty Cummins if he's fit, but we'll get to that in a minute, a rest. So he's gonna be he's gonna play a crucial part. So if Cameron Green's not gonna bowl, I feel like Minus should play and bat at number three. And then once Cameron Green is bowling and fully fit again, then it's a conversation about whether or who he comes back into the team for. But if he's not bowling lots of overs and he's not gonna provide much with the ball for Australia, I think if Marnus is making runs, Minus comes in at three. So what I'm gonna do after each Sheffield Shield round, I'm gonna pick my Aussie team for the opening test of the summer. So I'm gonna start with Usman and Sammy Constus are gonna be one and two. I've got an Asterix next to Constus with Weatherald uh breathing down his neck. So I feel like if Constus doesn't make runs in the next Sheffield Shield round, I've got and Weatherall does, I've got Weatherald coming in for Constus for the first game of that Ashes series. I've got Marnus at three coming in for Cameron Green, Steve Smith at four, despite there being talked that they're considering moving him back to three. I think if they think his best spots at number four and Marness is making runs, keep Marnus at three, Steve Smith at four, then you've got Travis Ed at five, Bo Webster at six, Alex Carey seven, then you've got Mitchell Stark at eight, Nathan Lyon at nine, Josh Hazelwood ten, and Scott Bowland eleven. Now this comes after news during the week that Patty Cummins is set to miss the first test and potentially the rest of the Ashes series. So not great news for the Australians and not what you want to hear on the eve of a really important Ashes series, but we keep our fingers crossed that Patty can can recover and at least play some part in the Ashes series because he's gonna he's gonna be a very important part of that Ashes team, and not just for his bowling capabilities, but also his captain capabilities as well. So with Cummins out, that means that obviously gives Bowling an opportunity and uh he's gonna do a fantastic job with a bowl. We know that, and that'll obviously mean that Steve Smith will probably take on the role as captain as well. So that's my Aussie team for the first Ashes test this week. But we will name another one after round two of the Sheffield Shield season when that takes place. So we stick with the Aussie cricket team and we take a look at the one day and T20 international squads that have been selected for the upcoming series against India, which takes place in Australia just prior to the Ashes series. So the one day squad consists of Mitch Marsh, who skipper the team. Then you've got Xavier Butler, Alex Carey, Cooper Conley, Ben Dorshus, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazelwood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Mitch Owen, Maddie Renshaw, Matt Short, Mitchell Stark, and Adam Zampa. While the T20 squad consists of Mitch Marsh again taking on Captain C Dudies, Sean Abba, Xavier Butler, Tim David, Ben Dwartius, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazelwood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matt Kooneman, Mitch Owen, Matt Short, Marcus Stoynis, and Adam Zampa. So no real surprises in those squads there, I don't think. The only little notes, I guess, I don't know why they don't try Scott Boland in the one day squad. He made his Australian debut for the one day team. Why not play him in the one day team? Whether they're trying to get him some overs under his belt playing for Victoria in the Shield, I don't know. But he's a fantastic bowler. You know what you're going to get from him no matter what format he's playing. So I I don't know why they don't play him in in the one day setup. But good to see Mitch Stark back in that squad. Mitch Owen as well, he gets a gets a crack in the one day squad after impressing in the T20 side for Australia. Matty Short comes back in after injury as well. And Matt Renshaw as well, an interesting one, seems to have really come from the clouds and earned a spot back in that Australian one-day squad. So a couple of interesting selections there. T20 set up, again, not too many real surprises there. Inglis comes back in for Alex Carey. He's recovered from that calf injury that he sustained just before the New Zealand tour. And you've got Philippi drops out as well when Nathan Ellis comes back in. So good to see Nathan Ellis back in in the uh in the T-20 squad there after missing out on the New Zealand tour. I'm still not completely convinced about Cooper Connolly's spot in that in that one day squad. I think at the moment Australian selectors are almost picking him a little bit on potential more than more than form. He had a decent big bash series last year. He had an okay tour of India with uh the one day Australia A side. He scored a couple of fifties, but he got whacked bowling. I don't think he can hold a spot in that Aussie batting lineup. And yeah, he took five for in his last outing over in the West Indies. But I just think you've got Adam Zamper, who's one of the best short form bowlers in in the world, who obviously leads that attack, and then you can get Maxwell's not in there at the moment, so you'd usually get some overs out of him. But you've got guys like Travis Head that can bowl if need be, who who bowls more than handy spin. Mitch Owen's obviously going to chip in as well if he plays with his sort of medium paces, and and Matt Short as well is is very handy with the ball. So I don't think I wouldn't be picking him in the team. I don't mind if he's in the squad for development purposes, but I just can't see him playing a role in the Australian setup yet. That's not to not to say that he's not going to play for Australia in the future and not going to be a fantastic player. I'm not knocking him in in that regard. I'm just saying at the moment, I just don't think he slots into Australia's best 11. And I think selectors are picking him, as I said before, on potential more than actual form. So I don't think he should be in the starting 11 for that one-day series, especially against a really strong Indian setup. For me, the ones that you should be looking at, and Marcus Joynes is a bit similar. I'm still not convinced he should be in Australia's T20 setup either. He's had his time, he's he's been a fantastic servant for Australia in the short form over the years, but it's time to give younger blokes a go. And with that in mind, sort of having a look at the the Australia Ray tour that's just been completed over in India, they played a four-match one-day series after the four-day stuff. The first one was washed out, and then India Ray eventually won that series 2-1. But a couple of names that we need to take a keep a real close eye on. McKenzie Harvey is a big one. Yeah, Australia have got a really set top order at the moment with Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, and Matt Short, who are three really powerful batters there at the top of the order in the short form of the game. But McKenzie Harvey, since he's crossed over from Victoria to South Australia, has has shown why he has been talked about really highly over the years since he came onto the scene. He made two fifties in his first two one-day cup games for South Australia this year. This is after a really promising season last year. Then he went over to India and scored 68 and 70 knot out in uh in three knocks over there. So I think he's definitely one to keep an eye on for the future. Liam Scott is another one. I spoke about him last week, but I'm really impressed with what he's been able to deliver in in the last sort of 12 months, 18 months. He was probably pick of the bowlers in in the first one-day game they actually played over in India, and that was when India scored six or four hundred and thirteen. So he managed to to tie down that Indian side while also picking up a wicket, and then made 73 with the bat in the third match, and that was after he he played a really solid four-day match to start the uh start the tour as well. So I think he's one that should be definitely uh in contention for Australian selection. Will Sutherland's another one, he's been in the Australian one-day setup previously, albeit for a brief period, and Jack Edwards as well. I think they're two names, uh all genuine all-rounders that are a really good bowling options and can whack it as well. So they really impressed me in the one-day series against India Ray as well, and a two other options that that Aussie selectors should really consider sort of coming in as replacements for Stoynis and Connolly. So, yeah, as I mentioned, Australia Ray ends up losing that one-day series 2-1. It's also worth mentioning before we wrap things up on the Australian men's side of things. Australia won their T20 series over New Zealand as well. They won that series 2-0 after the second game was washed out. Australia ended up winning the third match of that series by three wickets thanks to a century by Mitch Marsh. Marsh now becomes one of only a select few that have scored 100 for Australia in all three formats. He joins the likes of David Warner, Shane Watson, Beth Mooney, and Glenn Maxwell in that select group of players. So congratulations to him. Now we turn our attention over to India and Sri Lanka, where the women's one-day World Cup is currently underway. England have made a promising start to their tournament, winning the first two of their matches. They beat South Africa by 10 wickets in the first game, bowling them out for 69. Uh, wickets shared around between Lindsay Smith, who took three, Nat Siverbrunt, Sophie Eccleston, and Charlie Dean all taking two wickets each. In reply, England made light work of the total, making the score none down in the 14th over. Tammy Beaumont finishing 21 knot out and Amy Jones 40 not out. The second game, they had a bit of a scare against Bangladesh. Bangladesh made 178 batting first. Wickets once again shared around Eccleston leading the way with three, while Dean, Cupsey, and Smith took two each. In reply, it was Heather Knight who was the hero for England, finishing unbeaten on 79, guiding her team over the line. The Aussies, after a win in their opening game, uh, had their second game against Sri Lanka washed out before a convincing win over Pakistan in their third game. So Pakistan won the toss in that match, electing to bowl first. Australia posted 9 for 221 thanks to Beth Mooney, who got Australia out of some real trouble. Mooney posted 109 from 114 deliveries and was supported at the end by Alana King, who finished unbeaten on 51 from just 49 deliveries. In reply, Australia knocked over Pakistan for 114. Pakistan all out in the 36th over. Wicket shared around there. Kim Garr taking three and Megan Schut back in the side after missing out in that first game. Um, and Annabel Sutherland taking it two wickets each there. Beth Mooney is, I think, a very underrated player for Australia. The best players for the women's side. You always talk about the likes of Lanning, Alyssa Healy, Elise Perry, all those kind of players. But Beth Mooney has got Australia out of a lot of tight predicaments and definitely deserves to go down as one of the greats for uh for Australia. And again, she is in that elite company, as I mentioned before, as someone that has scored a an Australian player that scored a century in all three formats of the game in one day as T20s and tests as well. So Beth Mooney once again getting Australia out of uh difficult situation against Pakistan and and as I say, we will go down as one of the greats uh of the game uh in Australian cricket. Now we're just gonna finish today's episode with a few little extra bits uh that you might have missed over the past week. Chris Green was called back after being given out in the first shield game between New South Wales and WA. He was given out caught behind after a short ball supposedly clipped his glove, but upon a closer look, the umpires decided that the ball had come off his helmet rather than his glove. So Chris Green was part of way off the field and they called him back. So definitely something that I've never seen before in international or first class cricket. So an odd one there. Ravi Ashwin has signed for the Sydney Thunder in the upcoming Big Bash, which is a major signing coup for them and for the tournament as well. We we haven't had any Indian players play in the Big Bash before due to contracts with the IPL. So this is a a major development and and hopefully we can see more Indian players come across and and play in in the Big Bash in in years to come. While Pat Cummins and Travis Head have been offered$10 million deals each uh to quit Australian cricket and play T-20 cricket for an IPL franchise. This has come through the Sydney Morning Herald. We've heard a little bit of this mentioned over the last couple of years. I think a deal was put towards Joffre Archer a couple of years back for him to leave England cricket and go play T20 franchise cricket. But while I can't see any major players from the big teams, so the likes of Australia and England leaving the national setup to go and play T-20 cricket, it is quite worrying. You look at the likes of the hundred are considering becoming privatised and the big bashes as well. With franchises expanding, these offers are going to become more and more common. So the ICC needs to be very careful that that franchise cricket doesn't ruin international cricket. And and as I say, I I think the likes of Australia and England aren't gonna entertain these kind of offers, but it is worrying that franchises are approaching these kind of players, and it just takes one or two to to say yes, and it can start a conveyor belt of players leaving international cricket. So the ICC needs to keep a close eye on the expansion of franchise cricket. So that brings us to an end of another edition of the Ashes to Ashes podcast. Once again, thank you very much for tuning in and listening. Before we sign off, just a quick reminder to be sure to follow us and give us a rating wherever you listen to your podcast, whether it be Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere else. And also give us a follow on Instagram and TikTok as well to keep up to date with all the latest cricket news and clips from the pod. I'll be back with more cricket news at the same time next week. So see you then.