New South Wales wicket-keeper Peter Nevill, who was the first choice to reclaim his spot from Matthew Wade, was in utter shock, as the rest of Australia by Tim Paine’s selection in the first Ashes Test at the Gabba.
Notably, chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said Nevill hadn’t scored enough runs at the Sheffield Shield this season to cement his spot; the day before Australia’s first eleven got announced.
A determined Nevill will be keen to score big in the next Sheffield encounter against Tasmania in Hobart starting this Sunday, where he will be up against Matthew Wade. However, Nevill admitted it didn’t mean that his Test playing days are over.
“A lot of noise was made about it was a three-horse race, so to speak, which evidently was incorrect. It hurts no matter who gets selected ahead of you; there was no particular significance about who it was. Everybody would love to play for their country in Ashes series,” Nevill was heard saying.
However, he seemed determined to score a lot of runs and perform well to get back into the team at some point in time. He further added he needs to be consistent when a future opportunity pops up.
Nevill stated he didn’t watch much of the first Test due to NSW’s match against Victoria but suggested the Ashes series is well and truly alive.
The gloveman feels England are still capable of bouncing back and stated the pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Jose Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins would be lethal in the day-night Test in Adelaide.
“A pink ball Test at Adelaide with a fair bit of grass on the wicket, who knows what could happen. Whenever you see three of them (Starc, Hazlewood, and Cummins) bowl, it’s a formidable combination. The key man there is Jose Hazlewood. He’s such a good bowler as it is, but when you get a grassy wicket and a pick ball, he’s even more of a handful,” the 32-year-old Nevill signed off.
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