Dumped Cowan’s shock over NSW Shield snub
REIGNING Steve Waugh Medalist and former Test batsman Ed Cowan has been sensationally dumped from NSW’s season-opening Sheffield Shield side.
Cowan made more runs than anyone else in domestic cricket last summer and was one of only two batsmen to score three centuries, but he won’t be David Warner’s opening partner when the Blues take on South Australia under lights at Adelaide Oval on Friday.
There was always going to be an unlucky victim with Warner and Steve Smith returning to the top order for the opening three rounds, however even at 35 years of age, it would appear a massive call to axe arguably the country’s leading domestic batsman just months after he was crowned NSW’s player of the year.
NSW are instead set to partner recently used Test batsman Nic Maddinson with Warner as opener, and the form run-maker from the oneday cup Daniel Hughes is slated to slot into the middle- order, most likely at No.6.
Steve Smith will be at 3, and Test hopefuls Kurtis Patterson and Moises Henriques at No.4 and 5 respectively.
It’s unknown whether the edict to look to younger players has come from higher up at Cricket Australia, with a suggestion Hughes might be a player selectors have their eye on for representative honours.
However, it seems bizarre that NSW would drop their best batsman when Cowan shapes as the backbone of the batting line-up for the long season ahead when the likes of Warner and Smith return to Test level.
Cowan averaged 73.76 last season scoring just shy of 1000 runs, and he no longer seems to be a consideration for Test selection, older players like Chris Rogers, Adam Voges and Michael Klinger have shown in recent years how valuable they can be for an Australian system desperate for more batsmen to stand up.
It’s understood Cowan is extremely disappointed with the decision and the potential to now miss the opening three Shield matches shapes as a huge blow for a player who doesn’t play Big Bash.