Marsh's comeback last year included double tons against England.. then a 96 against Saffers before the train wreck.. He has since hit a century for Oz A and one in the UAE warm up. There are obvious signs of technical improvement. I say give him at least the first two India Tests. Labu  deserves another shot. You may not rate him an all rounder but his bowling proved more than useful in the UAE.. plus he is a specialist short leg. They do not grow on trees.

There has to be changes to this pedestrian Blues bowling attack. The Edwards boys have gone wicketless.  

Marcus Harris has scored his maiden FC double century. Excellent work. 

Bulls..like the Blues are facing a huge deficit. Vital toss to win.

Without sounding like sour grapes.. having the Test attack is one huge disadvantage for the Blues. There is simply not the depth to cover for them. Specially when our next best are poached by other states. 

Agree entirely. I keep harping on about this.. but our juniors are not being taught how to bat time anymore. They are not being given lively decks on which to challenge themselves. 

CA continues to only schedule white ball cricket for the age nationals.

As a matter of urgency it needs to add a red ball component to the annual U17 and U19 tournaments.

What we are seeing at the moment by our state professionals  is the end result of this poor tuition..batsmen floundering on rare grassy, lively decks. Introducing the English Duke ball for the second half of the Shield was a positive step.

At least CA is taking our deplorable Ashes away record seriously. In an Ashes year,tho, it should have be using the Duke for the entire 10 rounds.

But that has been the case for a long time now in regards to the U17 and U19, but we have produced legends of the game recently, such as Hayden Langer Ponting, Gilchrist etc, why has it changed now. The advent of T20 is largely responsible, where one can make money by performances and not be reliant on selectors, and this is a world-wide opportunity for most. Dedication and Application are two words the current crop of players don't understand. If you look at the start of this round we are seeing great innings from Tom Cooper, Marcus Harris, Jake Weatherald, Jake Lehmann. These players have been around for a while now but their overall performances show that these are one off performances mixed in with many failures that result in their averages being just over 30. They are capable of these big performances so their training must be OK, they're just lazy, mentally. Or maybe it is the generation they want the big money but don't want to work for it. 

Of the young kids coming through in all probability it averages out to maybe 1 player per year may be of an international standard as most careers can run 16 years to fill 11 places. Currently Will Pucovski is showing he may be that one player but he is taking an indefinite break from the game due to a mental health-related illness. There goes that one player so his replacement is a reduction in talent. And there are many other examples when under-talented performers have been promoted especially recently and have failed, which resulted in failing performances at shield level, and worse still taking time off from cricket to re-assess. They can't handle criticism, they're soft sooks, (I'd call them girls but that insults women who currently are showing strength across sports.) And the "new age" coaches aren't allowed to yell or criticise the young players only dump nothing but praise on them. And that is what we are seeing the result of now, across all sports.

The coaches are coaching with their hands tied under the reproachful gaze of parents, and the players aren't listening or just think they're god's gift and don't need to change.

Agree. The bottom line is money has replaced dedication and loyalty for the less talented. They have been lured by the almost immediate wealth of T20. Hopefully there are still youngsters in our country that value a Baggy Green above all else...

This is sad news about Pucovski. We should  not draw the conclusion from this that he is mentally weak. You dont carry your bat for a day being mentally weak. He has evidently suffered concussion episodes in his short career. This is the likely reason. Wish him a speedy recovery. Australian cricket needs him and those with similar talent to be our future Baggy Greens.

If you look at the start of this round we are seeing great innings from Tom Cooper, Marcus Harris, Jake Weatherald, Jake Lehmann. These players have been around for a while now but their overall performances show that these are one off performances mixed in with many failures that result in their averages being just over 30.

Correct with two of those Cooper and Harris. Cooper is plain and simply inconsistent. Harris appears to have trouble maintaining form. Check out his past  shield seasons. He starts well and then peters out for the remainder. Weatherald is imho the most talented of the trio. He has been improving every season. He is now in his fourth season and is still not 24. 

 Harris, 26 is a better player than his @33 average. At the time of Harris leaving his native WA, then Warriors coach Justin Langer described  his batting as “mediocre with flashes of brilliance” and his form “frustrating”. That is how I have also seen him. Must drive a coach bananas. There are now calls for a national cap following his debut  FC double century. CA need to tread carefully.   Dont be blown away by this double ton. He needs to produce over the full 10 rounds.. to smash down the door and make it irresistible for the selectors not to pick him.

Blues have been unable to dislodge Harris or the Vic tail. 

Only the morning of the third day  and runs a plenty on these Adelaide and MCG drop ins after problems on the first day..

Shows how important winning the toss is on these drab drop ins.. pitches that are now proliferating in Australian cricket. Spoiling our cricket I reckon.

Blues now facing huge scoreboard pressure as Vics declare at 9/445. Harris a suberb 250*.

Has been the Cooper and Lehmann show at AO since the second day.

Renshaw not enhancing his selection chances with second failure of the match.

The Perth game looks like the round's only contest.

Where is the application Blues?

Patterson the only one worthy.

Jack Edwards being bowled does not surprise me in the least.

This is going to be a humiliating innings defeat by the Vics.

QLD look like going the same way.. but Heazlett and Hemphrey are showing some steel.

Where to now for NSW Baggers. The retirement of Cowan has hurt the batting line up. Surely Nevill has to go (they won't drop the captain), but is Nick Bertus ready? What about Jay Lenton? I think they gave Bertus the contract and not Lenton which doesn't make sense IMO and Bertus isn't keeping in Futures Holt is.

Avendano, Henry Hunt or Daniel Solway could be given a go as well with Hunt coming off a 200 and Soloway just coming off a 100. Nathan McAndrew(7/155 in last 2 matches) or Tom Pinson (7/135 in last 2 matches) who have easily out bowled Cummins and Hazlewood in the Futures. Time to close the book on Conway, Sams and Stobo.

But the one that is totally confusing to me is Param Uppal whose first 2 FC matches were difficult games for any youngster against Victoria and eventual winners QLD. I thought he did OK so dropping him for Sangha was confusing for me, and Sangha's pair is surely a call for Uppal's reinstatement. Sangha has not spent enough time in Futures to adapt to the step up in quality bowlers (Uppal has done his time). And it shows, bowled twice by Sayers and Tremain lbw to Ahmed, Sangha has a massive technique problem...he has no idea where his stumps are and can't protect them. First rule of batting PROTECT YOUR STUMPS!!! You can be as glamorous as you want in playing certain shots against wide deliveries, but if your stumps are lying on the ground you can't play any of them. And if you think back to the U19 WC he was caught behind 2 times prodding at ball close to off, 2 caught and bowled dismissals flicking the ball back with no control (C&B are rare dismissals but 2 in 6 games must be some sort of record) and above all a stumping. There is a problem for Sangha.

They have to continue with Jack Edwards, a couple of decent innings so far probably deserves more time.

Reckon the Vics will dominate  Round 2  best team.

Bloody hell where did my post go? Try again..

A whole new team Mike. Other than Patterson I would not feed the rest.

Jack Edwards is a walking wicket and his brother would be more effective on a surfboard. The younger has  to be sent back to his Sydney club and work on eliminating his dreadful technique.  Larkin needs to back up his effort here next game or its sayonara. Hughes needs to recapture his form. Henriques is a dud.
We need strike bowlers.. someone who can ruffle some feathers.. at the very least move the ball off the seam. Copeland is the only bowler doing his job.  There are bowling options cooling their heels in the rookie ranks...such as Henry Thornton and Ryan Hadley both former national U19 bowlers. Yes McAndrew or Pinson are more likely options.  

You really seem to have it in for Sangha. His technique looks correct when he plays in defence and drives off the front foot. The only fallibility I see is when he plays off the back foot. For this I blame his junior coaches.. same as Handscomb, Edwards and a host of others.  Reckon Param deserves a shot. Would do Sangha no harm to have a spell in FL. He can keep working on his very respectable leg spin there too. Outbowled his more recognised spin partner in this match.

Hemphrey out on the devils number.. Heazlett showing the sort of application and determination Australian cricket needs.

Agreed, just a really well balanced team with depth throughout.

I would like to see Wildermuth kick on from a start.

Sam is past the devil's no. Can he bat out a draw which looked impossible when he came to the crease? Deserves the century.. and how. This is the sort of batting Test selectors should be asking for. Vital runs when backs are to the wall. Yet CA says ODI form is acceptable. Crap!!

If anyone says Aussie cricket is not in good hands. I will refute that.

Heazlett, Pucovski, Renshaw, Weatherald. Philippe for starters with the bat.
Jhye Richardson, Bell, Grant, Green, Doggett with the ball. I will add Henry Thornton.. a virtual unknown now.

The Redbacks are making Heazlett wait for his ton.

He has it! What powers of concentration.. 272 balls. Must have batted the best part of a day. He only averages @33 in FC cricket..
Could this be the turning point for the 23 year old leftie?    

 Team of the Round:
Marcus Harris
Joe Burns/Alex Doolan/Jordan Silk?
Kurtis Patterson
Tom Cooper
Sean Marsh
Sam Heazlett
Matthew Wade
Cameron Green
Scott Boland
Chris Tremain
Fawad Ahmed.

My side slightly differs
Harris
Doolan
Sean Marsh
Cooper
Lehmann
Heazlett
Wade
Green
Tremain 
Bolland
Pope

12th man Cartwright

Heazlett's gutsy unbeaten ton (118*) has saved the match. Great support from the much maligned Charlie Hemphrey (87) and Michael Neser. Hats off Bulls you did what the Blues could not.

Popes first innings 7 fer was an oversite.. I will stick with Patterson as his first innings knock was on a surface that assisted the bowler. He then followed that up with another 50. Lehmann batted on a road. Heazlett gets my Man of the Round award

Interesting thoughts on Patterson, Baggers. I guess Victoria didn't score 450 on the same deck, didn't win by an innings and 107 runs and Harris didn't score 250 on that deck, but that is the difference in perception. By the same argument Jack Edwards did score 34 in the first innings but you seem critical of his performance. Nick Larkin did score 75 runs in the match but in all honesty I think he is struggling. Patterson is the best of a bad bunch but I think Lehmann's performance following his previous game performance against NSW shows he's in pretty good nick currently.

After 2 rounds with positions up for grabs in the Australian side we have some standout performances with the bat averaging over 45
Harris (276) Pucovski (243) Wade (119.5) Lehmann (110) S Marsh (89) Cooper (74.66) Doolan (51.75) Heazlett (47.66) Cartwright (46.66)

So though there has been discussion about poor innings and sides being bowled out under 200, there are some good quality batsmen managing to score runs, so there are many options available for selectors. Throw Khawaja and Finch in as certain starters there are the makings of a decent batting line up.

For the bowlers Green and Bell have been standouts along with Bolland and Tremain managing to bowl sides out to give the Vics 2 outrights (might as well award the Victorians the shield now as they look head and shoulders above the rest).

Interesting thoughts on the ABC radio yesterday, suggesting that if Australia play well in the upcoming series against India, Warner and Smith may not be selected to tour England as they have no form or games prior to the tour to justify their selection.