Silk ready for Shield return

Tasmania batsman Jordan Silk is set to make his first appearance of the Sheffield Shield season when the Tigers meet the Western Warriors at the WACA from Sunday.

Silk was playing for a Cricket Australia XI against the West Indies in Brisbane when named in the Tasmania XI for the match, leaving the 23-year-old to make a quick dash for the airport after being dismissed for 21 in the match at Allan Border Field.

Silk is one of two inclusions for the match at the WACA, with James Faulkner returning after a toe injury kept him out of the Tigers’ 302-run loss to South Australia.

Former Test batsman Alex Doolan was dropped after scores of 6 and 0 against the Redbacks, while Dominic Michael was also omitted.

Silk had made himself unavailable for the Matador BBQs One-Day Cup competition in October, citing personal reasons. 

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He has since returned to play two matches for Tasmania in the Toyota Future league alongside impressive performances for North Hobart in the Cricket Tasmania Premier League.

"It’s exciting and it was a little bit unexpected, but it’s great to be back in and hopefully I can put in a strong performance this weekend,” Silk told cricket.com.au.

"I’d probably put (playing for Tasmania) out of my mind for a bit and tried to focus on making as many runs as I could at grade level and at second XI level.

"I’ve managed to post a few scores in grade cricket and that’s helped me get back into side.”

Silk scored 40 in a Toyota Futures League match last month, while he ensured he had the attention of his state selectors with knocks of 196 and 156 for North Hobart.

"I feel like I’m batting with a bit of confidence at the moment and I think it helps a lot when you’re feeling good about your batting.

"It’s been a good couple of months of batting for me, scoring a few runs, so I’m really excited about the opportunity to play in Perth.

"Unfortunately I got out (for 21 against the West Indies) but it was a good experience and good to get a little bit of time in the middle before Perth playing against some good bowlers.”

Tasmania chairman of selectors Michael Farrell said the Tigers hoped to bounce back strongly after the disappointing loss to the West End Redbacks.

"James Faulkner has trained well this week and will bring some great balance to the team, while Jordan Silk is coming off two big scores in grade cricket to force his way back into the team,” Farrell said.

"The team is approaching this game with a very positive attitude and determination to finish the first half of the season well before the KFC Big Bash League season starts."

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Since his first-class debut in the summer of 2012-13, Silk has emerged as one of Australia's most promising young batsmen, having scored a century in that season's Sheffield Shield final and earning the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year award in January 2014. 

He also enjoyed a breakout T20 season in last summer's BBL with the Sydney Sixers, and has been widely touted as a future international.

Fellow Tasmanian Ricky Ponting labelled Silk "the best fieldsman in the country" and the 23-year-old has provided a catalogue of spectacular moments in the field in all formats - none better than his remarkable catch for the Sixers in BBL|03 that instantly went viral across the cricket world. 

Watch: Silk's catch of the summer

He backed that up in BBL|04 with another stunning grab in the outfield.

Watch: Silk describes his stunner

With the BBL|05 season approaching, Silk said he was also looking forward to putting on the magenta.

"After the Shield game in Perth it’s pretty much straight to Sydney to prepare for that first BBL game,” he said.

"I can’t wait to hopefully have a great season with the guys.

"I think losing Brett Lee has hurt our bowling a little, but we’ve replaced him well with Jackson Bird, so haven’t lost much and we’ve gained a couple of good players."

Joining Bird at the Sixers for BBL|05 is former Strikers captain Johan Botha.