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Eight batsmen hunting middle-order berth

With Michael Clarke in danger of missing the first Test, all eyes turn to this week's Sheffield Shield matches

While Michael Clarke has not yet been officially ruled out of the opening Commonwealth Bank Test match against India, it appears hopes of overcoming his hamstring injury are fading.

If Clarke is scrubbed from the first Test by Cricket Australia's National Selection Panel, it would open the door for a batsman to fill the skipper's shoes and bat between Shane Watson and Steve Smith in the middle order at the Gabba.

With three crucial matches of the Bupa Sheffield Shield starting today, the contenders will be out to prove a point and push their claims forward to the selectors.

We take a look at eight top contenders (in alphabetical order) in the running to fill the captain's boots.

Joe Burns

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The Queenslander is no stranger to playing at the Gabba, venue for the first Test against India starting December 4, which certainly can't hurt his chances.

Burns first rose to prominence within the myFootDr Bulls ranks when Darren Lehmann was the state coach. He's the equal-second leading run-scorer in this season's Bupa Sheffield Shield competition, along with Callum Ferguson, with 324 runs.

Burns capped his good form with 183 against NSW Blues at the Gabba last week, his highest first-class score in a 43-game career where he averages 42.10 with seven career centuries.

Alex Doolan

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Touted by Ricky Ponting as his long-term replacement as Australia's No.3, Alex Doolan played four Tests before he was jettisoned in Abu Dhabi.

His highest score of 89 came in his debut Test, a baptism of fire against a searing South Africa pace attack in Centurion where he also impressed as a specialist bat-pad fieldsman.

Having scored a hard-fought century in the Sharjah warm-up match, Doolan failed come the first Test against Pakistan in Dubai with scores of 5 and 0, to see his Test average dip to 23.87.

Since returning to the Tasmanian Tigers, Doolan has struggled to impress in the Bupa Sheffield Shield, with a high score of 38 and an average of 20 from two matches this season - an aggregate well below his first-class average of 36.24.

Since that century in Sharjah, his scores have been 5, 0, 16, 38, 18, 8 and 12 today against Queesland at Allan Border Field. 

Detractors may point out that his first-class average isn't good enough to warrant selection as Australia's No.3, but Test legends such as Border, Taylor, Greg Chappell and even Clarke all started their Test careers with similar numbers to their name. 

Callum Ferguson

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He's got the backing of Test legend Michael Hussey, and has been in great form to start the 2014-15 Bupa Sheffield Shield season.

Ferguson has racked up 324 runs at 81, including two centuries, to sit alongside Queensland's Joe Burns as the second leading run-scorer this season.

He averaged 56.5 across seven matches in the competition last summer, proving this is no flash in the pan start to the summer.

The 30-year-old was flying as part of the Australian ODI team until a right knee injury in the Champions Trophy required a reconstruction that put him out for 2009.

"He’s been very consistent over the past three seasons, where I think he’s been averaging in the 50s and 60s," Hussey said of Ferguson.

"He’s scored runs away from the Adelaide Oval, which is a good sign as well. He’s not just scoring runs at home at the generally batting-friendly Adelaide Oval pitch."

Peter Handscomb

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The 23-year-old Victorian is the leading run-scorer in this year's Sheffield Shield competition, with two centuries and a fifty in four innings. He has compiled 348 runs at 116, averaging 68.36.

He's also a wicketkeeper, but won't be displacing Brad Haddin for gloveman duties. It raises the question of whether Handscomb would be up to the task as an outfielder if he was called up to play as a specialist batsman.

CA's Bupa Team Support Executive General Manager High Performance Pat Howard  recently said the selection policy was heavily weighted towards "consistent performances over a period of time and particularly strong performances in pressure situations".

Handscomb was behind the stumps today to start Victoria's Shield match against WA. His career first-class average is 35.73, and he has been backed by state teammate David Hussey.

Phillip Hughes

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UPDATE: Phillip Hughes suffered a severe head injury during the Bupa Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and South Australia on Tuesday and will be unavailable for selection in the first Test. More on Hughes's injury here.

EARLIER: The West End Redbacks batsman has been flirting with Test selection ever since he last played for Australia, at Lord's in July last year.

He has spent the past five Tests carrying the drinks for Australia in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, and has 26 appearances in the Baggy Green since his debut in 2009. He averages 32.65 at Test level, with three centuries and seven fifties.

Cricket Australia have long said the selectors look at overall form and talent more than just the most recent innings, which would be a boost to Hughes, considering his last start in the Bupa Sheffield Shield yielded scores of just seven and 11.

In two matches this season, Hughes has 107 runs at 26.75, with a high score of 69. He boasts 26 first class hundreds and an average of 46.18, impressive numbers that have not gone unnoticed.

"He’s a helluva good batsman, he probably just missed his window of opportunity," Marsh said in Adelaide today after announcing the Test squad.

“I wish he’d have got big runs (in recent Shield matches). He’s a very, very good young player who’s got 26 first-class hundreds.

“He’s probably as unlucky as anyone has been over the last little bit but his time will come and he’ll be better for it in my opinion.”

Usman Khawaja

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A classy batsman, Usman Khawaja scored 532 runs at a strike rate of 99 and an average of 74 in the Matador One-Day Cup before picking up a broken finger.

He returns to action this week after a three-week lay-off and will make his first appearance in this season's Sheffield Shield for the Bulls against Tasmanian Tigers at Allan Border Field.

He was backed recently by Steve Waugh as a long-term player for Australia, but Khawaja played the last of his nine Tests in mid-2013 at Chester-le-Street.

He has a Test average of 25.13 and a high score of 65, while his first-class average is a healthy 40.23 with 13 centuries to his name.

Shaun Marsh

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A freak elbow injury, from throwing a ball in celebration after a catch in the Indian Premier League, derailed Shaun Marsh's year.

It saw him undergo delicate tendon surgery more common for Major League Baseball pitchers than international cricketers, and ruled him out of the UAE tour.

He's been in sizzling form for WA since returning to cricket – 87 for club side Fremantle was followed by an unbeaten 156 for WA's second XI and he carried that form into the Sheffield Shield where he scored 111 against the myFootDr Queensland Bulls in Perth.

Today's match against the Bushrangers offers him another chance to push his claim for a recall, although concerns do exist over his ability in the field with his throwing power still limited following the elbow operation.

"There's a number of guys around Australia probably in line," Marsh said today ahead of today's game at the MCG. "I've just got to keep scoring runs and continue to do that and put my name up there.

"I haven't really thought about it (a Test recall). I've just been enjoying playing my cricket for WA and the boys are playing really well there.

"Hopefully I can continue scoring runs and see what happens."

Marsh scored a 148 and 44 against South Africa in Centurion – but collected a pair next Test – before he made way for Shane Watson's return in Cape Town and has a Test average of 32.86 from 15 innings

Marsh's selection alongside younger brother Mitch would also see the sons of former Test batsman Geoff become the first Australian Test cricket sibling pairing since Steve and Mark Waugh.

Glenn Maxwell

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A demure Glenn Maxwell has ruled himself out the running for a Test recall and after failing when given an opportunity against Pakistan in Australia's last Test, the selectors may be reluctant to turn to him again.

However, Lehmann has often said he's OK with batsmen making mistakes, as long as they learn from them. The question is, has Maxwell learned?

Disappointed with his poor showing in the UAE, where he made 37 and 4 as Australia's No.3, Maxwell has been in a funk ever since and was well below his best in Australia's limited overs series against South Africa this month.

"Yeah, it's pretty obvious (I'm deflated), it's been pretty draining the last month," he said today. "I've been on the road non-stop. It's just refreshing to get back home and have a week in my own bed."

Maxwell has batted in five different positions in six Test innings, all outside of Australia, and has a high score of 37.

But his first-class record remains solid: an average of 40.74 from 29 matches, with four centuries.

"In Shield cricket I've been quite consistent over the past couple of years," Maxwell said today.

"My batting average of 40 would show that I've been quite consistent. I've made a lot of runs in the last two Shield games I've played.

"I'm not too worried about my shield form, hopefully that will show in the next couple of games.

He recently told Triple M he knows he "missed a big opportunity" in the UAE.

"Even though I was hitting the ball really well (in the first innings in Abu Dhabi) it was probably a time to rein it back a bit and think: ‘You know what, I’ve got off to a good start it’s time to sort of consolidate that start and make it in a big one’," he told the Dead Set Legends programme.

"That didn’t happen in the first innings and the second innings I just got undone with some good bowling (lbw for four).

"I probably missed a big opportunity in the first innings and by the time the second innings came around it was a bit too late."