Aussie attack to line-up for Shield

New South Wales are set to field a full-strength Test bowling attack for their JLT Sheffield Shield clash against Queensland this week in Canberra.

Fresh from playing in all three matches of the Gillette ODI Series against South Africa, pace trio Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, along with off-spinner Nathan Lyon, will line-up against the Bulls as they begin their preparation for next month's Domain Test campaign against India.

None of the quartet were selected for Australia's T20 international squad to face the Proteas in a one-off T20 on the Gold Coast and a three-match series against India to ready themselves for Virat Kohli's charges.

It will be the first time since the infamous Cape Town Test in March that the quartet of Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins and Lyon have played together.

The foursome formed Australia's Ashes-winning attack last summer, with each bowler taking more than 20 wickets in the 4-0 victory, and face a Queensland side featuring a host of players pushing for Test selection.

Incumbent Test batter Marnus Labuschagne, along with openers Matthew Renshaw and Joe Burns, will each be aiming for a strong showings against the presumptive Test attack for the first Test at Adelaide Oval on December 6.

Labuschagne was blooded at number six during Australia's recent Test campaign against Pakistan in the UAE but hasn't posted a half-century in his past 11 first-class innings.

Renshaw and Burns have fared better, with both players among the runs at Shield and Premier Cricket level and will be hoping a three-figure score against the powerful Blues attack will put them back into Test calculations.

It's unclear whether the fast bowlers will back up for NSW in the following Shield round against Western Australia in Perth from November 27.

Pace bowlers have typically sat out the round of Shield games prior to the first Test in recent summers, but with a week between the games in Canberra and Perth and with the latter match to be played at the new Perth Stadium – the venue for the second Test – the trio could play.

But with only five days between the end of the Shield fixture in the west and day one in Adelaide against India, the selectors could well take the more conservative route.

NSW Blues squad: Peter Nevill (c), Trent Copeland, Pat Cummins, Jack Edwards, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Nick Larkin, Nathan Lyon, Stephen O'Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Jason Sangha, Mitchell Starc