Writing off Nevill 'a way to sell papers'

Former Test wicketkeeper Brad Haddin says exiled gloveman Peter Nevill is doing the one thing he needs to do as he bids to win back his Baggy Green – perform for New South Wales.

After playing 17 consecutive Tests from his debut in July 2015 (when he replaced Haddin in the side), Nevill was part of the fallout from last November's disaster in Hobart against South Africa, which led to the return of Matthew Wade as wicketkeeper.

The naturalised New South Welshman had disappointed with the bat in the Test team, averaging 22 with three fifties from 23 innings, but his response was immediate and emphatic – an unbeaten 179 for the Blues against Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield in his next trip to the middle later that same month.

The KFC Big Bash was one to forget for the Renegades 'keeper; he failed to make an impact with the bat, and suffered a burst blood vessel in his cheek when he was hit by a flying bat in a freak fielding accident.

But with the resumption of the Shield has come a resumption in impact from the Blues keeper-batsman, who made a fine 118 to help guide his side to yesterday's Shield win over Victoria.

"It's a testing time for him," said Haddin, Nevill's former state and club teammate who has been working as one of Australia's assistant coaches in the Chappell-Hadlee ODI series in New Zealand.

"One thing about Peter is he's a great character and he's answered (his axing) in the best possible way – he's had two opportunities to play Shield cricket (against the red ball) and he's got two hundreds.

"He can only go back and perform. The events that have gone before are irrelevant. Now it's about making sure he improves, and I know him well, he's a very strong character and he's a very good cricketer."

So often the rock of the Australian team, the wicketkeeper position has been unusually unstable in recent times with the battle between Nevill and Wade, as well as the recent back injury to the latter, which has led to batsman Peter Handscomb filling the role in the Chappell-Hadlee series.

Quick Single: Handscomb says he's not a full-time gloveman

Throw in the selection of Tim Paine in Australia's T20I squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka and the job will have been filled by four different glovemen across three different formats through the summer.

Wade flew to Dubai today to link up with the Test squad and was confident his back issue would not affect his preparation for the India series.

Quick Single: Peter's perfect prep for series decider

That continues to leave Nevill on the outer, but Haddin dismissed the notion that the 31-year-old's time in international cricket had been and gone and denied that the next generation of wicketkeepers, led by Western Australian Sam Whiteman, have jumped him in the queue.

"That's just a way to sell papers," Haddin said of the suggestion. "All they can do is perform, and from Peter's point of view he's done that.

"He knows he's got a fight on his hands to get that position back.

"All he can do is take everything else out of the equation and concentrate on playing well for New South Wales.

"Then if an opportunity arises – through injury or whatever – you're making sure you've got the performances on the board."

Prior to Wade's early exit from New Zealand, Haddin said he had spoken with the Test gloveman about the intricacies of the job in India, where conditions can present different challenges.

"The one thing over there, it can ask a lot of questions of your technique," he said.

"So you've got to trust your technique and sometimes you've got to catch them ugly – you've just got to get something behind the ball if they're bouncing short, not carrying to you, you just have to find a way to catch them."

And with Handscomb again filling the role of back-up in India in case of emergency, Haddin has worked with the 25-year-old on methods to ensure his preparation is adequate if called upon.

"We talked the other day about having a routine," he added. "First and foremost it's important that we remember he's a batter and he's got a job to do in one of the catching positions as a slip or a gully as well. He's a great set of hands.

"But it's important that he's got a routine that can switch him back into wicketkeeping mode.

"And if he's doing that routine once every couple of weeks or once every week at training, it'll only be 15 minutes, that'll make sure he's on top of getting his head around having to keep if these situations come up.

"But he's first and foremost a batsman, and a luxury to have in the touring party with the gloves."