Eyes on Pucovski as buzz grows

There's a buzz about 20-year-old Will Pucovski following his JLT Sheffield Shield double-century at the WACA amid a period of upheaval in Australia's Test batting ranks.

It's a hum that could reach fever pitch if the young right-hander can continue his hot streak – two scores of 150+ in his past four Sheffield Shield matches – when the first-class season continues from Thursday.

But having seen first-hand the pitfalls of being rushed on to higher honours as a teammate and coach, former Test bowler Jason Gillespie has warned Pucovski must continue to shift the discussion about him from "potential" to "performance".

Australian selectors like to look at the past 10 first-class innings to get a good gauge of a player's form, and Puckovski is averaging 54.67. He's passed fifty twice, but both times went on with it, scoring 188 against Queensland in February, and 243 against Western Australia last week.

"It comes back to the balance between picking on performance and picking on potential," Gillespie told The Unplayable Podcast.

"Is that skewed too far towards potential? Or do you look at he scored (188) late in the Shield last year and now he's scored a double-hundred?

"You could argue he is being picked on performance even though he's only played a small amount of games (7).

"I think it does come down to that balance between potential and performance and that clarity of communication from the selectors to all players.

"A good young player is a good young player and if the selectors feel strongly there's an opportunity to blood a young player then go right ahead."

Pucovski's efforts last week saw him became just the ninth player in Sheffield Shield history to score a double-century before their 21st birthday, joining names like Sir Donald Bradman, Ricky Ponting, Doug Walters and Ian Chappell.

The right-hander was the youngest player to score a Shield double-hundred since Ponting posted 211 against Western Australia in Hobart just short of his 20th birthday, while Pucovski's 243 was the highest score by a player under the age of 21 since 1965 when Walters amassed 253 as a 19-year-old for NSW.

He's no stranger to putting up big scores in under-age cricket – he hit four consecutive centuries at the U19 National Championships in late 2016 – but to back up his first Shield century with a double-ton in his first bat this summer was particularly pleasing.

"I was actually talking to Dad about it probably a month or two ago, saying, 'When you get that second one it will almost be more special because you've got that one but you want to be able to back it up'," Pucovski said last week.

"Hopefully it's not the last one I make but it was pretty special today to get that done."

Pucovski, who has been dreaming of Baggy Green since he was 12 years old, has a mature head on his shoulders and is dedicated to the game.

"I'd probably prefer to live my life giving everything towards cricket and then if it didn’t pan out at least I could tell myself, 'Well, I gave it my best shot'," ­Pucovski has said previously.

"That’s one thing I can say, I will well and truly give it my best shot and see where it takes me. If that (Test) opportunity did come, it would be amazing. I’d put everything towards it."

Should that opportunity come the key, says Gillespie, would be for Australia to stick with the prodigy and not repeat the errors of recent  seasons.

"The key is to actually blood them and give them a good go," said Gillespie. "We don't want to a situation from Hobart a couple of years ago when a couple of players (South Australia’s Callum Ferguson and Joe Mennie) were selected, played one Test match and then were jettisoned.

"I don't think that's fair on anyone and it does give a message from the selectors to all the players around the country there's a sense of panic.

"What you want is well thought out selections, pick and stick and communicate that clearly with all the players around the country."

The JLT Sheffield Shield second round starts Thursday with Victoria meeting NSW at the MCG, South Australia hosting Queensland at Adelaide Oval and Western Australia facing Tasmania at the WACA. All matches will be live streamed on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app.