NSW Preview: Blues out to atone after rough summer

In much the same manner as their gleaming new cricket facility in Sydney's western suburbs, the New South Wales Blues hope 2023-24 can mark a new beginning.

Greg Shipperd has taken the head coaching reins permanently after stepping in when Phil Jaques was let go before Christmas last summer.

For a proud side coming off a winless Sheffield Shield summer for just the second time in 130 years, the Blues could not have appointed a more experienced and respected operator than Shipperd.

The 66-year-old has around three decades’ worth of head coaching experience, having previously led Victoria and Tasmania, and remains at the helm of the Sydney Sixers.

He sees the freshly renovated facility in Silverwater, where NSW will play two Sheffield Shield games and a Marsh Cup match this summer, as an ideal base for the side's resurgence.

"That might have been part of an issue – there was never a place to call home for the players," Shipperd told cricket.com.au of the venue that now has 43 outdoor turf practice pitches and state-of-the-art medical and sports science facilities.

"They were often moved around to different training venues. It's nice to lock into something where you're familiar with conditions and you can develop some consistency around your play.

"That home field is important, while we still recognise that the SCG is a crucial breeding ground for the players in terms of playing at an international venue."

The expectations placed on Australia's most populous state are of course greater than their rivals.

The contribution of a third of the 24 nationally contracted men's players, not to mention NSW-born players appearing on every other men’s state list, highlights a strong production line of talent.

But the Blues have typically been competitive even without their international stars and they are eager to see a return to the status quo.

Moises Henriques is back as captain, taking over from Kurtis Patterson who lost his spot in the Shield team last season, while Jackson Bird's return from Tasmania to his native state gives them one of the four-day competition's most prolific seamers of recent times.

Improvement will need to come from the likes of Ben Dwarshuis, Liam Hatcher, Matthew Gilkes, Jack Edwards and Jason Sangha, who are all beyond the 'promising youngster' stages of their careers but are yet to become consistent domestic performers.

Those players, along with the less experienced types like the Davies brothers (Oliver and Joel), Blake Nikitaras, Ryans Hackney and Hadley, and Blake Macdonald – are learning off some of cricket's greats, past and present.

Former Australia stars Shane Watson and Michael Bevan have both joined as mentors, while Shipperd is eager to tap into the knowledge of their current internationals.

"We had a Steve Smith masterclass batting with our best dozen batters the other day. We picked his brain and that was just an example of (international players coming in and out of their program) not being a problem, but a big bonus for us," said Shipperd.

"We'll be continuing to open the door to those opportunities when those players are around, which is not often, but it's a plus (when they are)."

The likes of Smith, David Warner, Pat Cummins and other ODI World Cup players are not expected to feature much for NSW before the KFC BBL break, but Nathan Lyon should be available at some stage in his return from a calf injury.

Hatcher is nursing a foot concern from the recent Australia A series, where Dwarshuis also suffered an injury to his back, but which Shipperd suggested was not as severe as initially feared.

NSW Blues 2023-24 squad: Sean Abbott*, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins*, Oliver Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Ryan Hackney, Ryan Hadley, Liam Hatcher, Josh Hazlewood*, Moises Henriques, Baxter Holt, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Nathan Lyon*, Blake Macdonald, Blake Nikitaras, Kurtis Patterson, Ross Pawson, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, Steve Smith*, Mitchell Starc*, Chris Tremain, David Warner*, Adam Zampa*. Rookies: Joel Davies, Jack Nisbet, Will Salzmann, Lachlan Shaw, Hunar Verma

* Cricket Australia contract

Ins: Jackson Bird (Tasmania), Joel Davies, Chris Green, Blake Macdonald, Ross Pawson.

Outs: Trent Copeland (retired), Liam Doddrell (delisted), Mickey Edwards (Yorkshire), Lachlan Hearne (delisted), Daniel Sams

Possible best XIs

Sheffield Shield (at full strength): David Warner, Daniel Hughes, Jason Sangha, Steve Smith, Moises Henriques, Matthew Gilkes (wk), Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

Sheffield Shield (without World Cup players): Daniel Hughes, Blake MacDonald, Kurtis Patterson, Jason Sangha, Moises Henriques, Matthew Gilkes (wk), Jack Edwards, Ben Dwarshuis, Chris Tremain, Jackson Bird, Nathan Lyon

Marsh Cup (at full strength): David Warner, Daniel Hughes, Steve Smith, Moises Henriques, Matthew Gilkes (wk), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa

Marsh Cup (without World Cup players): Dan Hughes, Matthew Gilkes (wk), Kurtis Patterson, Jason Sangha, Moises Henriques, Ollie Davies, Jack Edwards, Jackson Bird, Chris Tremain, Nathan Lyon, Tanveer Sangha

Last season

Sheffield Shield: Sixth

Marsh One-Day Cup: Fifth

Inside Word with coach Greg Shipperd

The pre-season

"They're growing, they're improving. We had three matches against a young Victorian group which were part of the getting ready process. We've had a city versus country match which is a nice historical match to put the finishing touches on the preparation."

New coaches

"We've a really strong emphasis on bringing back some of the Blues of the past – we've engaged Shane Watson, Michael Bevan, and Geoff Lawson and Stuart Clark have come on board as selectors, so we're aggressively looking to connect and re-connect and magnify what it is to be a Blues player."

Challenge of incorporating so many Australia players into the state program?

"Everything I'm reading at the moment is the Australian players float in and out of the system seamlessly. I do remember a time, listening to the whispers in the wind, that there might have been this divide between that group and the state group. That's anything but the case now. Starcy and Lyon and Hazlewood and Smithy and those boys who come in and out, they're great resources for us now. From what I'm seeing now, every opportunity those guys get to interact with our players at training, they've been nothing short of super positive."

Player availability

"I wouldn't have thought we'd have any interaction with (leading Australia players), with the exception of Nathan Lyon in the lead-in to the Test series. All those World Cup players are into Test and other duties – the big boys – we won't expect to see much of them. Our players will read the play there and understand it's a season of opportunity for them. At an individual level we're demanding higher standards – with bat, ball and in the field – and I'm confident they'll be well-drilled and able to get that going."

Key players

"We're in a zone where every single one of our best XI has the ability to shift the game. Young batters like Jack Edwards, Matt Gilkes and Jason Sangha, the Davies brothers, a newcomer at the back-end of last season Blake MacDonald, Ryan Hackney I think is ready to be an emerging opening batter, he's got everything it takes to go to any level. We've got our three senior pros as our stabilisers who provide us with important performances and that cricket experience in Moises Henriques, Kurtis Patterson and Dan Hughes. From a bowling point of view, the equivalent of those are Jackson Bird and Chris Tremain. The emerging bowlers in Hatcher, Dwarshuis, Hayden Kerr, Jack Nisbet, Hunar Verma, Ross Pawson … I'm getting to all of them, but it shows those players are ready to have an impact and the expectation is when that opportunity comes they grab it with both hands."

Young guns

"Young Blake Nikitaras is a left-hand top-order batter, Hackney hasn't played a lot of cricket, Gilkes is still really early in his career, Ollie Davies is really early in his career, Joel Davies has the potential to be a special player and we've got a close watch on Under-19s who performed well against England in Sam Konstas, Ryan Hicks and Harjas Singh, who have done particularly well over on that tour and who we'll be thinking of when we're looking at second XI opportunities."