With a huge Test series against India just around the corner, Steve Smith’s form with the bat must be worrying for the Australian side after another failure in his last Sheffield Shield game before the Border-Gavaskar series.
The former Australian captain failed to score after his disappointing first innings score of just three, dismissed for a duck by Australian Test teammate Scott Boland on Day 3 of the clash with Victoria.
He is unlikely to have another game in the domestic red-ball format, with the Aussies set to pick him in the One Day International series against Pakistan in the lead-up to the Tests.
The New South Wales number four shouldered arms to a full delivery, thinking the ball was going over the stumps, however, it clipped him on the pads and he was given out by the umpire.
He lasted just four balls in the second innings after being dismissed for a 29-ball three earlier in the match.
It comes as the Aussies look set to shift him back down to his former spot of number four, ending the experiment as Test opener since David Warner’s retirement. He averaged just 28.5 as an opener last summer, well down on his career returns in the middle order of 67.07 at first drop, 61.5 at No.4 and 57.18 at No.5.
Smith’s form summed up NSW’s performance overall. After winning the toss, they elected to bowl as Victoria made 272, and led by 136 after the first innings. The lead was extended to 382 before NSW’s final chance to bat and it couldn’t have started any worse.
After losing Nic Maddinson at 1-20, Smith soon followed an over and a half later. Two more wickets fell as the New South Welshmen stumbled to 4-43 at the tea break.
Young opener Sam Konstas was dropped by Victorian captain Peter Handscomb in the slips on 23 off Test understudy Scott Boland, but otherwise, the 19-year-old looked settled.
But the delivery after hitting a boundary off Todd Murphy, Konstas had a teenager’s rush of blood.
He went down the track to the offspinner and top-edged to Campbell Kellaway, who took an excellent diving catch at point for 43.
Meanwhile, Smith vehemently shook his head in frustration after he left a Scott Boland delivery that swung in late and clipped his pad.
Given how well Boland was bowling, it was a risky decision that sent Smith back to the rooms for a fourth-ball duck.
Speaking after Tuesday’s play, Smith had said he’d probably not play in their next Shield game.
The home game from November 1 against Queensland clashes with the one-day series against Pakistan.
“I will see how the second innings goes and talk to the powers that be and see what they think is best,” Smith said.
The Blues’ hopes rest with keeper Josh Philippe, unbeaten on 70 at stumps, with the team on 6-185 but still needing another 198 for victory on the final day.
South Australia started the second innings with a six-run lead over the Bulls, but the energetic Marnus Labuschagne was his entertaining best with the ball.
Bringing himself on in the 12th over with the score at 1-38, he bowled through to the lunch break riding every rollercoaster moment.
From letting out a scream of frustration to eagerly sprinting after an in-field hit to prevent a single, the Queensland captain was left with the hands-on-hips more than once as the umpires turned down his LBW appeals.
He bowled 14 overs with figures of 1-50 after taking the wicket of Jake Lehman (35).
A fine 72 to Nathan McSweeney helped the Redbacks to a huge lead by reaching 9-352 at stumps with Test keeper Alex Carey continuing his impressive form with an unbeaten 123.
The wicketkeeper boasts two tons and another score of 90 from four knocks for SA so far this summer, averaging 122 with the bat ahead of India.
The Warriors have Tasmania on the ropes in the second innings thanks to a century from Josh Inglis.
Chasing Tasmania’s first innings total of 277, Inglis made 101 before being caught behind off the bowling of Beau Webster.
Hilton Cartwright posted 65 and Cooper Connolly made 55 to help Western Australia to 332.
Riley Meredith was the best of the bowlers with 3-50 with Kieran Elliott (3-522) and Beau Webster (2-74) also among the wickets.
When bad light stopped play, Tasmania (9-135) were only 80 runs ahead of WA with one wicket in hand, having sputtered to 3-13 before losing 6-67 in the final session.
Matthew Kuhnemann (5) and Riley Meredith (2) will start unbeaten at the crease on day four, but neither has recorded a first-class half-century in their career.
The stage appears set for Bancroft and fellow opener Sam Whiteman to bat WA home in reply, as the former chases the vacancy at the top of the order for the Test summer.
A Test player on 10 previous occasions, Bancroft managed only eight runs in the first innings, but could finish the week as the most in-form player of those in the mix.
Neither of Bancroft’s two clearest rivals for the opening spot in the series against India scored above 50 in Victoria’s ongoing clash with NSW, Marcus Harris and Sam Konstas both misfiring.
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