Rain thwarts NSW-Vic clash at SCG

NSW reached 0-27 before rain ended play on the first day of their Sheffield Shield match with Victoria at the SCG.

After a damp pitch delayed the start of the game by almost three hours, play was called off again after 9.5 overs with Blues openers Ed Cowan (20) and Ryan Carters (5) both unbeaten, with the umpires calling stumps.

Victorian paceman Peter Siddle, overlooked for the Australian team for the first Test against New Zealand, was economical in his opening spell with 0-10 off five overs.

After being dropped for the Gabba Test and relieved of 12th man duties, the 30-year-old was released to play with the Bushrangers.

The Victorians suffered a blow when paceman John Hastings was a late scratching because of a shoulder injury, with Chris Tremain taking his place.

Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers physiotherapist Nick Adcock said Hastings subluxed his left shoulder on Thursday during batting practice. 

"He is getting scans in Sydney today, from which we’ll be able to assess the nature of the complaint," Adcock said. 

NSW made seven changes to the XI which defeated South Australia last week due to the unavailability of their Test stars and all-rounder Sean Abbott rested because of a calf injury.

Ryan Carters, Ben Rohrer, Kurtis Patterson, Gurinder Sandhu, Josh Lalor and Doug Bollinger came back into the team while wicketkeeper Jay Lenton is making his Shield debut.

Teams
Victoria: Matthew Wade (captain), Fawad Ahmed, Scott Boland, Travis Dean, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Rob Quiney, Peter Siddle, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Tremain, Dan Christian (12th man). 

NSW: Moises Henriques (captain), Doug Bollinger, Ryan Carters, Ed Cowan, Josh Lalor, Jay Lenton, Nic Maddinson, Stephen O'Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Ben Rohrer, Gurinder Sandhu, Will Somerville (12th man).