Make noise and have fun, Nevill told

PETER Nevill needs to rise above adversity and find fun where there seems none if he earns a Test match recall for the Ashes.

This is the view of wicketkeeping great Ian Healy, who considers Nevill in pole position to edge out incumbent Matthew Wade for the first Ashes Test. The team will be named tomorrow.

He was accused of being quiet and insular when dropped after Australia lost five Test matches in a row, culminating in a capitulation to South Africa in Hobart last summer.

Some former players have insisted the keeper’s demeanour does not matter but Healy, whose on-field spark was such a key factor in Australia’s prosperous 1990s, disagrees.

“They [Australia] don’t need quiet and insular,’’ he said yesterday. “They need effervescence, enthusiasm and a real love for the day’s play.

“Even if things are not going well out there they have to find some fun out there when people start getting on top of them.

“The last time Nevill played in Hobart none of that Australian team had the ability to do that and they dropped five of them.

“They had lost five Tests in a row and it was a tough time, but a wicketkeeper has to rise above that and find some fun and get on with the game.

“He [Nevill] looks to be the man in front. He has been solid in his form. Shane Warne had Matthew Wade in and I did not mind that because he has come through such tough conditions in India and Bangladesh but I still think Nevill is in front.’’

Healy senses Queensland’s out-of-form opening batsman Matt Renshaw will hold his place but, with only 70 runs from six Sheffield Shield innings this summer, must find form soon.

“I would choose him but I do not think they will persist for long [if he fails],’’ he said.

“He has probably got two Tests. He has not made runs this summer in his old familiar scenarios he normally plays well in.

“He needs to have a ‘what the heck’ attitude and get out there and hit the ball. Put some pressure on them and drive the ball. If he does not do that it puts too much pressure on David Warner at the other end. He needs to keep the partnership ticking over.”