The NSW Men’s Cricket Team will open their domestic season with a pair of matches in Melbourne this week, with rising 19-year-old all-rounder Joel Davies a chance to make his debut for the Blues.
Blues squad for One-Day Cup openers
The Blues squad, under the guidance of master coach Greg Shipperd and experienced skipper Moises Henriques, kick off their summer in the 50-over Marsh One-Day Cup competition with a clash against Tasmania on Wednesday September 27, before backing up two days later against Victoria. Both matches will be played at Junction Oval, beginning at 10.05am (Sydney time) and broadcast live on cricket.com.au, Foxtel and Kayo. Davies is one of only two uncapped Blues in the 13-player squad that contains a mix of experienced veterans in Henriques, Jackson Bird, Ben Dwarshuis, Chris Green, Daniel Hughes, Kurtis Patterson and Chris Tremain, alongside the next generation of NSW stars that includes Davies and his older brother Ollie, as well as Jack Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Hayden Kerr and Jason Sangha. Hughes in particular stands out after a season for the ages in 2022/23, where the left-hander plundered four centuries in seven matches as he amassed 548 runs for the competition at an average of over 78. Bird is the other player in line to play his first List-A match for NSW, although the former Test fast bowler has played 41 times in the domestic One-Day competition for Tasmania, taking 52 wickets. The younger Davies brother burst onto the scene in last summer’s KFC BBL, playing a cameo role for the Sydney Thunder before captaining Australia’s under 19 team in a series against England. The left hand bat and left arm orthodox spinner has now switched to the Sydney Sixers for the BBL but will be hoping to make his mark for the Blues first. Cricket NSW Chief of Cricket Performance, Greg Mail, said the Blues players had prepared well for the season’s opening matches, praising the level of commitment to off-season training, while heralding Davies. “It has been an impressive off-season for our players and staff, they have worked very hard to set NSW up for success this summer,” Mail said. “There has been a good chemistry built in the group and we are looking forward to starting the season well this week. “We had a really good set of practice matches against Victoria recently with a number of different players putting their hands up and demanding selection for these matches. Joel Davies was one of those players and we are looking forward to watching him develop across the summer and beyond.”
NSW Blues squad to play Tasmania (Wednesday September 27) and Victoria (Friday September 29) in Marsh One-Day Cup action at Junction Oval in Melbourne: Jackson Bird, Joel Davies, Ollie Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Moises Henriques ©, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Kurtis Patterson, Jason Sangha, Chris Tremain
Second XlMeanwhile, a NSW Second Xl team will play Victoria at Joe McAleer Park from today, Monday September 25 – Thursday September 28. Mail said the fixture was an important one for the players selected in that team. “The team is made up of several members of the Blues squad, including some on rookie contracts and the best performers from Premier Cricket last summer,” he said. “This match will give many of those an opportunity to push for selection for our opening Marsh Sheffield Shield match next month (October 4-7) at Cricket Central.”
NSW Second Xl vs Victoria: Liam Doddrell, Ryan Hackney (c), Baxter Holt, Hanno Jacobs, Sam Konstas, Blake Macdonald, Devlin Malone, Blake Nikitaras, Jack Nisbet, Ross Pawson, Will Salzmann, Daniel Solway