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Young gun Sam Konstas had a golden chance to push his Test selection claims brought undone by a controversial LBW call, further complicating the call on who opens for Australia.
Star NSW teammate Steve Smith also went cheaply in the morning session on day two of the Sheffield Shield match at the MCG as the Victorian attack hit back hard on Monday.
After the home side was dismissed for 272, NSW were rolled for 13.
It was a bad day for potential Test openers with Konstas out for two and Marcus Harris falling for 16 in Victoria’s reply, out cheaply to Mitchell Starc for the second time in the match.
WA veteran Cameron Bancroft, after recording a pair of ducks in the first round against Queensland, was caught behind for eight shortly after lunch at the WACA on Monday against Tasmania.
And Matt Renshaw was also lbw for two for Queensland against South Australia, as his hopes of returning to the Test team in the vacant spot at the top of the order continued to dim.
Konstas had been seen as a potential bolter for the first Test against India after his twin Shield centuries against SA and he was also named in the Australia A team to play India A.
But hunting in his favourite MCG habitat, Scott Boland trapped Konstas lbw for four.
Konstas immediately gestured that the ball was shaping down the leg side, but the umpire disagreed.
It was a cruel way for his innings to end with replays indicating the off-cutter from Boland may have hit Konstas in line with leg stump as he played a defensive shot towards mid-on but the ball looked to be clearly missing the wicket.
Smith rates the 19-year-old, calling him a “bright prospect”, and said he was unlucky to be given out.
“He got a bit unlucky there, I reckon. It looked like it might have just been darting down leg a little bit,” Smith said.
Konstas, Bancroft, Harris and Renshaw are in contention to replace injured all-rounder Cameron Green in the Australian Test line-up but the selectors are facing a headache about who deserves the spot vacated by Smith’s move back to No.4 in the order.
Boland, who will push for Test selection again this summer, was unlucky not to trap the other opener Nic Maddinson lbw.
But Maddinson only made 19 before he was the second wicket to fall, caught by Peter Handscomb at second slip off Will Sutherland.
Sam Konstas. (Photo by Josh Chadwick/Getty Images)
Smith, coming in at No.3 on Monday, crept to three from 29 balls before going in the next over after Maddinson, caught behind off opening bowler Fergus O’Neill.
Moises Henriques then fell in the same way, off the same bowler, for the same score to leave NSW in big trouble at lunch on 4-43.
Oliver Davies and Josh Philippe tried to mount a rescue mission in the middle session.
But Davies mistimed a pull shot and was caught at deep backward square leg by Campbell Kellaway for 37.
From 4-83, the NSW tail failed to wag and they ended up 136 runs shy of Victoria’s first innings total.
The Vics moved to 4-90 at stumps after Harris nicked off to Starc.
Smith said Starc bowled some “nasty balls” in the Victorian second innings, but noted the wicket appeared to be flattening out late on day two and hopes for a run chase of less than 300.
At the WACA, Bancroft opened his account for the summer by edging two consecutive boundaries through the slip and gully as the home side replied after Tasmania posted 277 batting first.
He was struck in the helmet on the next ball he faced from Riley Meredith, ducking into a short delivery from the quick.
The right-hander then fell shortly after, edging a ball outside off stump from Kieran Elliott through to wicketkeeper Jake Doran.
Bancroft has been the leading run-scorer in the Shield over the past two summers, and on history should be the front-runner to open against India in Perth on November 22.
But a lack of runs now threaten to let him down when it matters most, after also being caught behind for 0 in his opening two innings of the Shield earlier this month.
Renshaw’s two at Allan Border Field against South Australia was compounded by opening partner Usman Khawaja falling for a duck, trapped in front by consistent seamer Nathan McAndrew.
with AAP
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