Victoria preview: Competition hot for spots in Vics' line-up

Nothing would have brought a bigger smile to Victorian fans, players and coaches alike than seeing Will Pucovski bat for more nine hours in last week's second XI fixture against NSW.

After a stop-start 2021-22 summer, Pucovski himself is itching to get some consistent game time under his belt.

But at the other end to the one-Test opener's marathon 193 retired was an example of the depth that helped guide Victoria to the Marsh Sheffield Shield final last season.

Travis Dean – the reigning Sheffield Shield player-of-the-season – who faces being squeezed out of the Shield side due to the return of Marcus Harris, also hit 77 not out, and rookie opener Ashley Chandrasinghe posted a century.

While it may seem obvious that Harris and Pucovski will resume an opening partnership that was so dominant in 2020-21, how the others fit in around them in not as clear cut.

Will Victorian selectors also make space for Dean? What happens if Chandrasinghe keeps making hundreds? Will they pick two spinners in Jon Holland and Todd Murphy?

And with James Pattinson taking a step back from Victorian cricket and Scott Boland potentially away for large parts of the season, which young quicks from Cameron McClure, Brody Couch, Zak Evans and Sam Elliott will step up?

Last season

Sheffield Shield: 2nd

Marsh One-Day Cup: 6th

Squad: Scott Boland*, Travis Dean, Zak Evans, Aaron Finch*, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Jon Holland, Nic Maddinson, Cameron McClure, Glenn Maxwell*, Jono Merlo, Todd Murphy, Tom O'Connell, Wil Parker, Mitchell Perry, Will Pucovski, Matt Short, Will Sutherland. Rookies: Ashley Chandrasinghe, Brody Couch, Sam Elliott, Campbell Kellaway, Fergus O'Neill

* Cricket Australia contract

Ins: Ashley Chandrasinghe (rookie), Campbell Kellaway (rookie)

Outs: James Pattinson (mutually released), Xavier Crone (delisted), Seb Gotch (retired), James Seymour (delisted), Tom Jackson (delisted)

Possible best XIs

Sheffield Shield: Marcus Harris, Will Pucovski, Peter Handscomb, Nic Maddinson, Matt Short, Sam Harper, Will Sutherland, Mitch Perry, Todd Murphy, Scott Boland, Cameron McClure

Marsh One-Day Cup: Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Peter Handscomb, Nic Maddinson, Matt Short, Jake-Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Will Sutherland, Todd Murphy, Scott Boland, Cameron McClure

The inside word with head coach Chris Rogers

The pre-season: "I wasn't sure what to expect after losing the Sheffield Shield final but it was clear when the guys came back they were really looking forward to getting better. We prepared for guys to play in the (Top End) T20 competition in Darwin so that was getting ready slightly earlier and then the weather hasn't been too kind to us since then so it's been a little bit of treading water.

"But this pre-season tour to Coffs Harbor (to play against NSW last week) just came at the right time and we'll welcome back some important players (Marcus Harris, Nic Maddinson and James Pattinson) in our squad over the next week."

Availability: Scott Boland: "He'll play a fair bit for us at the start of the season. We will be talking to the Australian selectors and their coaching staff about what their expectations are for him, I think he's definitely got his eye on playing for Australia, he's fought so hard for this opportunity that he wants to make the most of it. (We) know full well that he will give everything he has every time he pulls on the Vic cap and hopefully he can put in some good performances for us."

Glenn Maxwell: "I think it depends on how Australia goes in the T20 World Cup but there might be some opportunities (for him to play for Victoria in late November-early December), so it'd be nice to have him around and we'll see how we can support that."

Areas for improvement: "I'd definitely like us to be a lot more competitive in the one-day cricket, that's not where we want to be as a state and as a side. We're working through that and it might mean balancing out our resources a bit more because it is difficult, particularly for the fast bowlers, being able to play all the games.

"It's still about us improving as a squad and when you've got a lot of young players who haven't played a lot of professional cricket it's going to be hard and you get better and better as you play hopefully and understand what it takes to play hard professional cricket. So we're still improving what we're trying to do and that doesn't mean we don't try to think about how to try and combat the opposition but it's a lot to do with our own development."

Young guns: "The competition is definitely there for spots, (our) young guys know they have to work for it. Even with the likes of (Campbell) Kellaway and (Ashley) Chandrasinghe coming in, they're going to be hungry to try and put pressure on the main players, so it bodes well. It'll take time with a number of these young guys, especially a young fast bowling group but it's exciting seeing the talent we have."

Talking points

Which spinner plays – Holland or Murphy?

"I couldn't possibly tell you at this stage. We know we've got excellent spin bowling options and it is one of our strengths, as we saw in the (Shield) match against Tasmania at the Junction Oval (in March). That's a real positive for us and clearly both players are in the eye of (national) selectors, so we've got to find ways to support them both and competition is good for both of them."

Who opens?

"There's some great competition for those top-order batting spots, that's for sure. There will be some tough conversations, that's professional sport, but the good thing is the guys understand that and hopefully we'll see some really good performances from it because guys know how competitive it is to get those spots."

Key player: "It's a big year for Matt Short. He's a player of immense talent and we'd love to get the best out of him. You can see he's growing in confidence and if he does become an important player for us, that's going to be excellent because he's one of the next generation guys coming through and when the senior players do end up finishing, which is hopefully still a few years away, Shorty becomes one of those senior players.

"Will Pucovski, if we see a good, solid year from him there's a good chance he might go to play for Australia anyway, but I think that will have a real positive bearing on how we go. He's in a really good place and hopefully he has a good, consistent season."

Team to beat: "WA has really got the squad that's in the ideal position in terms of balance between not only the senior and younger guys but that real mid-tier of players so that even if they do lose three, four or five guys to Australian selections they can still bring in guys who have played 30-40 professional games and that just makes such a huge difference. They're the strongest squad I'd say, and they won both titles last year, so it's up to the rest of the teams to improve and challenge them."