Ashes 2017-18: Peter Nevill Boasts of Being Best with Bat
Jan 13, 2019 at 4:14 PM
As Australia is bound to face England in the traditional Ashes series at home, the hosts’ Test player Peter Nevill is further hopeful of breaking into the squad while revealing he has eventually become a better batsman owing to his improvement in the domestic circuit.
“I definitely feel I’m a better batsman now than I was back then and I’m always looking to improve,” Nevill was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia.
The 31-year-old gloveman New South Wales-based Nevill is pushing for his case for the Magellan Ashes, in a bid to impress the national Cricket Australia (CA) selectors, as an incumbent wicket-keep batsman Matthew Wade has struggled to perform of late particularly with the bat.
“(Nevill) is very unlucky, there’s no doubt about that,” the national selector for CA Trevor Hohns revealed.
As the spot for the specialist wicket-keeper batsman is up for grabs, Nevill has further shown the promise of coming good if he would be picked for the coveted competition.
“I did a lot of work with Dom Thornley who was our batting coach at the time,” Nevill remarked.
The New South Wales-based batsman represented Australia in 17 Tests in which he scored 468 runs an average of 22.28. He has three fifties under his belt.
However, Nevill has to give his best in the domestic competition in a bid to force the selectors – to think about him regarding the competition which has been slated for November 23 at Gabba in Brisbane.
“He [Thornley] picked up a key points that worked well for me at the back end of the Shield season,” Nevill reiterated.
(Read Also: Ashes 2017: Australia Look To Prepare For Ashes Without James Pattinson)
Pertinently, right-handed batsman was shown the exit door after a humiliating loss in Hobart Test held in November 2016 when he scored six and three which saw hosts losing the match by an innings 80 runs.
The then decision was taken by the management which included other four players, to overhaul the team after struggling to perform.
Moreover, in the domestic set-up, Nevill is widely regarded as best behind the stumps, as he averages 40.22 with the bat in first-class set-up with 263 catches and 15 stumping under his belt while donning the gloves.
Soon after his axing, it was Wade, who was the ideal choice for the selectors while relying on his batting ability when South Africa tour Australia last year.
“We consider Matthew Wade’s wicket-keeping has improved to the extent that we’ve gone in that direction,” Hohns added.
The Hobart-based gloveman Wade represented Australia in 22 Tests in which he scored 886 runs at an average of 28.58. He smashed two hundred and four half-centuries but eventually failed to cement his spot while donning the white jersey.
“There’s no secret Matthew Wade’s batting is very, very good, in fact he’s scored hundreds in Test cricket,” Hohns concluded.
Concurrently, Nevill is participating in the JLT One-Day Cup which is a premier competition in the Australia first-class set-up.
The batsman is primarily focusing on to be among runs and keep himself ready for the national duty.