SA preview: Runs vital for Ryno's Redback resurgence

State previews for 2024-25: NSW men | WA men | TAS men | VIC men

In search of batting productivity that has proved elusive in recent summers, new South Australia coach Ryan Harris will consider deploying Travis Head as an opener if the Test star is available for a fleeting Sheffield Shield appearance at season's start.

Amid his current Australia commitments in the UK and the impending arrival of his and wife Jess' second child in November, Head is a chance to play his first Shield game since 2022 in SA's season-opener against New South Wales starting October 8.

But while some might jump to the conclusion Head's potential promotion to opener is a portent for a similar shift in the subsequent Border-Gavaskar Trophy Series against India, it's realistically a chance for SA to maximise his effectiveness in a cameo outing.

And if the left-hander is only available for one match, it will allow Harris to bed down the remainder of his preferred batting order with minimal disruption from season's start.

"We're not 100 per cent decided on the batting line-up just yet," Harris told cricket.com.au noting last week's Toyota Second XI game against Queensland in Brisbane would further inform that process.

"I think we've got Heady for the first game, so he might come in and open, we just don't know."

A 200-run second-wicket stand between Henry Hunt (158) and Daniel Drew (130) in the eight-wicket win over Queensland's Second XI, plus handy scores to ex-New South Wales recruit Jason Sangha (41) and Jake Lehmann (50) provided positive signs.

As did match hauls of five wickets apiece to Wes Agar and spinner Ben Manenti along with leg spinner Lloyd Pope's second innings effort when he tore through Queensland to snare 6-58.

While Head is only expected to play one Shield game before the first NRMA Insurance Test at Perth, his Australia teammate Alex Carey could be available for the first three matches further boosting SA's early-season batting firepower.

Harris, who last month was formally appointed as Jason Gillespie's replacement at the helm of SA's men's team, concedes it's consistency of performance – and most notably batting – that has been a focus during the off-season.

While SA finished one rung from bottom place of the Shield ladder where they had remained rooted for five of the previous six successive seasons, their 2023-24 summer again fell short of expectations.

Nowhere was that weakness more glaring than at the top of the often-faltering batting order, where only once in 20 innings did they produce a half-century opening stand (the 79 Hunt and Jake Carder added against Queensland at the Gabba).

They tried four first-wicket combinations with that turnover exacerbated by Hunt's late-season facial injury, and one of the options explored was explosive hitter Jake Fraser McGurk who produced scores of 0, 1, 16 and 2 as a red-ball opener.

"We were looking for something because we were 4-20 or 4-30 in most of games, and we figured we couldn't get any worse," Harris said of the Fraser-McGurk move.

"But it probably wasn't the right decision in the end, so we've reviewed that.

"I think his best position in red-ball cricket is slotting in at six, and ideally if the top-order is doing the job he comes in and finishes off the innings at the back end and gets us to a total pretty quickly."

One certainty is newly appointed skipper Nathan McSweeney will remain at number three, a position he filled for the second half of last summer after Drew – SA's leading runs scorer in 2022-23 – lost form and favour.

McSweeney takes over the captaincy from Lehmann having led Australia A and the Prime Minister's XI last summer.

Harris believes the additional responsibility will "be like water off a duck's back" for McSweeney who has impressed with his passion for the game as well as the respect he garners from teammates.

"I felt we were pretty close last year," Harris said.

"Three (Shield) wins and we had two or three games where we were around 20-40 runs short, and against WA in Perth we were two wickets short so with another 30-40 runs we probably win that.

"I hear a few people say we're a young squad, but we're actually not that young.

"We've got some young guys in there, but a lot of our players have been around for a few years and are in their mid-to-late 20s and have 20 or 30 games under their belts."

SA's pace bowling set-up, which Harris cites as the principal reason he took up the job as Gillespie's assistant in Adelaide last year, remains a strength with the biggest challenge working out which of the current complement to utilise.

Last summer's leading wicket-taker Nathan McAndrew (48 at 18.58) seems the sole certainty, with fellow quicks Agar, Brendan Doggett, Jordan Buckingham, Spencer Johnson and Harry Conway pushing for the remaining places along with allrounder Liam Scott.

However, SA's reliance on seam helped mask their lack of a frontline spinner with Manenti – who claimed 13 scalps at 64.3 last summer – used as more of a batting all-rounder whose runs were sorely needed given the top order's frailty.

Less reliance on the lower-middle order might open the door for Pope who has played a solitary Shield game since 2020.

"My exact words to them through the pre-season were 'I want us to be the second-best bowling unit underneath the Australian team' and that's the goal for us," Harris said.

"I think the bowling group are bloody exciting and the batting group is good, they've just got to find that consistency and belief and trust in what they're doing."

Where Harris is looking for even more pronounced and immediate improvement is in SA's 50-over game, having finished bottom of the One Day Cup competition last summer with a single win after reaching the final in 2022-23.

Victoria recruit Mackenzie Harvey is expected to figure in SA's revamped white-ball plans having posted a century during a recent intra-squad trial match in Adelaide.

Harris points out the problem in the limited-overs game was the opposite of where things fell down for SA in the Shield.

"The bowling was average last year in one-day cricket," he said.

"But if we get it right with the ball, then our batting has been really good."

South Australia's 2024-25 squad: Wes Agar, Jordan Buckingham, Alex Carey*, Harry Conway, Brendan Doggett, Daniel Drew, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Travis Head*, Henry Hunt, Spencer Johnson, Thomas Kelly, Jake Lehmann, Ben Manenti, Nathan McAndrew, Conor McInerney, Nathan McSweeney (c), Harry Nielsen, Lloyd Pope, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Henry Thornton. Rookies: Kyle Brazell, Aidan Cahill, Harry Matthias, Campbell Thompson

*Cricket Australia contract

In: Jason Sangha (NSW), Mackenzie Harvey (Vic), Conor McInerney, Campbell Thompson

Out: Jake Carder, David Grant, Isaac Higgins, Kelvin Smith

Potential XI for first One-Day Cup game (v WA, Sep 24): Henry Hunt, Daniel Drew, Nathan McSweeney (c), Jason Sangha, Jake Lehmann, Harry Nielsen (wk), Ben Manenti, Nathan McAndrew, Henry Thrornton, Jordan Buckingham, Lloyd Pope

Sheffield Shield (at full strength): Henry Hunt, Travis Head, Nathan McSweeney, Jason Sangha, Alex Carey, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Ben Manenti, Nathan McAndrew, Wes Agar, Brendan Doggett, Jordan Buckingham

Sheffield Shield: fifth

One-Day Cup: sixth

The pre-season

"We did a lot of early work indoors at Adelaide Oval, but have been lucky to be outside since mid-August thanks to the fantastic ground staff at Adelaide and Karen Rolton Ovals who have been able to get us on turf wickets.

"We've also done a lot of culture stuff this pre-season, and I've said to the group we're not going to win a trophy with just 11 players so everyone in the squad has got to be ready. And the communication I've had with them has been very honest and very open.

"They disagree with me, they ask me and they tell me so I just have to keep that relationship up with them.

"If we can nail our all-round game, and I've said it openly to the boys, we'll be a tough side to beat."

Player availability

"Like most teams, we've had players all over the world during the winter – Spencer Johnson left at the end of March for international stuff as well as IPL, Caribbean league and a couple of competitions in the UK and only got back two weeks ago.

"Jake Fraser-McGurk has been similar along with his Australia tours, plus Ben Manenti was in Canada and then Cayman Islands and Wes Agar was in England.

"Injury-wise, Spencer strained his side playing in The Hundred and has only just started rolling his arm over, so that's going to be a slow process but we're hoping to get him back for a game or two before BBL starts.

"Wes Agar hurt his right shoulder diving to field a ball during his stint with Kent, and Brendan Doggett had a nerve-type issue in his forearm that slowed him down a bit but they're both up and going now and were part of the Second XI game."

Young guns

"Jordan Buckingham is one, he had a great summer last year and he's set up for another big season. He's fit, he's a competitor who wants to bowl, wants to take wickets, and wants to win.

"With the bat, Thomas Kelly had a pretty good finish to last summer so the trick will be trying to find room to get him in and keep developing him in what we hope is a powerful line-up, when a position becomes available.

"And I'd love to see Jake Fraser-McGurk go the next level in the red-ball game."

Key players

"Like every team's captain, Nathan McSweeney will be crucial for us. He led from front last year, worked out his game and found a really good game plan. And he's been working really hard on that during the winter and made a good hundred during our intra-squad game in Brisbane so he's probably the biggest key. There will be a little bit more expectation on him this year with the captaincy, but we've got people around that can help him and I'm going to help him as well."

Team to beat

"I genuinely think it's going to be pretty close this year. Western Australia are obviously the front runners, and everyone trying to catch them. But Victoria have made strides in that race over last couple of years, as have Tasmania who had a great season last year. I think New South Wales are also going to be dangerous, they've got some big guns in there now with Nic Maddinson and Josh Philippe who are a huge couple of inclusions, plus they've got experienced bowlers Jackson Bird and Chris Tremaine as well as young Jack Nisbet. And I know we're not supposed to mention ourselves, but hopefully we're up there as well."