Peter Nevill eyeing Test spot ahead of Ashes

The ousted Australian cricketer Peter Nevill is now eyeing the spot in the Test side ahead of the prestigious Ashes series. The poor returns from the current wicketkeeper of the team Matthew Wade recently mean Nevill has a chance of making it to the squad which will compete against England. Wade also admitted during the ODI series in India that the selectors are expecting more runs from him and he is under pressure to perform.

The new season of the Sheffield Shield, the domestic red ball tournament of Australia, will commence by end of this month. The selection might well hinge on the performances of these two cricketers (Nevill and Wade) with the bat as both of them are exceptional behind the stumps. Australia seems to have covered other bases very well and the selectors only need to take a call on this aspect of the game which is the most important.

I am focussing on my game

Peter Nevill amassed 625 runs at 56.81 for New South Wales, including three centuries in neat, unobtrusive style after being dropped from the Test team last year. However, the timing was not correct for him and now couple more good knocks in the One-Day cup and then in Sheffield Shield could easily earn him a baggy green once again. But Nevill believes the selection is not in his hand and he just wants to perform rather than speculating what might happen.

“I’ve been very conscious not to speculate as to what might happen. “I’ve got a very important role to captain the side for NSW now, so that’s got my full focus. I’ve never really sought the selectors out for any discussions anyway. You make runs, you keep well, you leave the decisions up to the people who are paid to make the decisions,” he said in Sydney as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

He will captain New South Wales against South Australia at Hurstville Oval on Friday as the stand-in for Moises Henriques. He hoped that the team does well under his leadership.

“[I’ll be] doing whatever I need to do to help NSW win. We’ve got all our Test players back, everyone’s available for selection, so there’s a great opportunity there to be three wins and zero [losses] for NSW in the Shield at the start of the year. I’d like to do whatever I can to contribute to that, and play whatever role the captain needs me to play. “I think it’s always an opportunity [to play for Australia], the next opportunity is just around the corner, you never know that’s going to happen. You’ve always got to be ready should that eventuate, but there’s no point focusing on it, it doesn’t really help matters,” the 31-year-old added.

The premier pacer of Australia, Mitchell Starc will return from his foot injury and Nevill needs to keep wickets for him on Friday and also needs to place him in a useful position in order to gauge his fitness.

“It’s always exciting, you always enjoy it, and you’re always very grateful that you’re not standing there facing him,” Nevill said of Starc. “You’re a long way back and just catching the ball, it’s much nicer than having to face it,” he said of his state teammate and concluded with a hope that both will play in the first Test at the Gabba.