NSW preview: Young Blues out to 'put a stamp' on rivals

The depth of the NSW talent pool runs so deep that coach Greg Shipperd has no doubt they'll have a "really competitive team" despite as many as 15 players set to be unavailable in the early stages of the men's domestic season.

Australia and Australia A selection, as well as several off-season injuries, are set to strain the Blues playing stocks for their first two One-Day Cup matches and next month's Sheffield Shield opener against Western Australia.

Shipperd's men will launch the domestic summer on Tuesday when they host Tasmania at Cricket Central where the veteran mentor has challenged his younger players to use the opportunity "put their stamp on the competition".

Australian white-ball quick Sean Abbott will lead NSW for the first time in Tuesday's season opener with red- and white-ball captain Jack Edwards away on Australia A duties.

NSW one-day squad v Tasmania: Sean Abbott (c), Ollie Davies, Matt Gilkes, Ryan Hadley, Liam Hatcher, Moises Henriques, Blake Nikitaras, Kurtis Patterson, Will Salzmann, Tanveer Sangha, Lachlan Shaw, Adam Zampa

Leg-spinner Adam Zampa will also start the season for the Blues ahead of Australia's T20 tour of New Zealand, while Nathan Lyon will feature prominently in the early Sheffield Shield rounds.

Shipperd is expecting to again have Aussie quicks Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood to call on for fleeting Shield appearances as they build towards the Ashes after the pair ended a three-year absence for NSW last summer.

Incumbent Test opener Sam Konstas will also miss the state's first two one-day games due to Australia A's red-ball tour of in India, but he’ll be back for the start of the Shield season on October 4 as he pushes to retain his place for the first Test against England.

Konstas' twin tons in last season's Shield opener put him on the selection radar before another century for the Prime Minister's XI against India catapulted him into the Test side for a memorable Boxing Day debut.

The 19-year-old is again in fine touch heading into the new summer with a superb 146-ball century in a City v Country pre-season practice match.

"He responded really well in some tricky conditions early and batted with great aplomb," Shipperd told cricket.com.au.

"Really pleased with the way he's approaching pre-season. His work ethic is fantastic (and it's) just about bedding down his strategies and how he applies them going into the various formats that we're playing."

Konstas is not alone in starting the season with big runs as NSW swept Victoria in three high-scoring one-day pre-season matches at Cricket Central last week. Kurtis Patterson (126no), Josh Philippe (161) and Will Salzmann (100) hit centuries, and Edwards scored 96.

NSW narrowly missed the Shield and One-Day Cup finals last season after losing their last regular season matches in both competitions. "(Our goal) again is to just be super competitive and in the race in the last rounds for an opportunity to qualify for finals," Shipperd said.

"We were in that position in both formats last year. It's going to be quite a quizzical start to the season in the sense that a lot of players are removed from the group with all these clashing fixtures (with) Australia and Australia A playing.

"For (most) teams, if you lose one or two of your key pieces, it can have a dramatic effect on the balance of your side.

"We won't be solo in that boat, so it's how we adapt to and approach that. For our players that haven't played a lot of cricket, it's an early-season opportunity for them to put a stamp on the competition."

2025-26 squad

Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins*, Joel Davies, Oliver Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Matt Gilkes, Ryan Hadley, Liam Hatcher, Josh Hazlewood*, Sam Konstas*, Nathan Lyon*, Nic Maddinson, Blake Nikitaras, Jack Nisbet, Kurtis Patterson, Josh Philippe, William Salzmann, Tanveer Sangha, Lachlan Shaw, Steve Smith*, Mitchell Starc*, Charlie Stobo, Chris Tremain, Adam Zampa*. Rookies: Charlie Anderson, Ryan Hicks, Riley Kingsell, Jake Scott

Ins: Joel Davies (upgraded rookie), Lachlan Shaw (upgraded rookie), Will Salzmann (upgraded rookie), Charlie Stobo (WA)

Outs: Jackson Bird (Tasmania), Chris Green, Ryan Hackney, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr (Queensland)

* Denotes Cricket Australia contract

Last season

Sheffield Shield: Fourth

One-Day Cup: Third

Possible best XIs

For first one-day game (v Tasmania, September 16): Blake Nikitaras, Kurtis Patterson, Matt Gilkes (wk), Moises Henriques, Ollie Davies, Lachlan Shaw, Sean Abbott (c), Will Salzmann, Liam Hatcher, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha

Sheffield Shield (at full strength): Sam Konstas, Nic Maddinson, Kurtis Patterson, Steve Smith, Ollie Davies, Josh Philippe (wk), Jack Edwards (c), Mitchell Starc, Sean Abbott, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood (*Pat Cummins injured)

Inside word with coach Greg Shipperd

Availability

Captain Jack Edwards, Sam Konstas, wicketkeeper Josh Philippe will miss the state's first two one-dayers (against Tasmania on Tuesday and South Australia on Saturday) as part of Australia A's tour of India for two first-class matches. Edwards, Tanveer Sangha and Lachlan Shaw will also be unavailable for their Sheffield Shield opener against WA beginning October 4 in Perth due to three 50-over matches that follow against India A.

Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa with also be on international duties during the first Shield round due to Australia's T20 tour of New Zealand, with Shipperd in constant conversation with Cricket Australia around Mitchell Starc, Steve Smith and Hazlewood's availability to play for NSW in the lead up to the Ashes.

Fast bowlers Pat Cummins (back), Chris Tremain (shoulder), Charlie Anderson and Jack Nisbet will miss the start of the season as they recover from injuries, but veteran allrounder Moises Henriques remains available for white-ball matches having retired from first-class cricket at the end of last season.

"We're deep into our next line of bowlers with our internationals (Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood, Lyon and Zampa), as well as Abbott and Dwarshuis, being included more often than not in the Australian team process," Shipperd said. "So the likes of (Liam) Hatcher, (Ryan) Hadley, (new recruit Charlie) Stobo, (Jack) Nisbet and others, it's going to be a season of opportunity for them.

"We've got 10 or so away (to start the season). We'll cobble together still a really competitive team and take on a couple of difficult games away from a Shield perspective starting in Perth and then going to (Melbourne) against Victoria, so it's a great challenge on the red-ball front."

List transition

The Blues have lost a lot of experience over the off-season with Moises Henriques retiring from red-ball cricket and 36-year-old batter Daniel Hughes not offered a new contract. Veteran paceman Jackson Bird has also returned to Tasmania for family reasons.

Jack Edwards (aged 25) assumed the captaincy of both teams last season with Sam Konstas (19) quickly earning a Test debut in his first full season on contract. Emerging quicks Jack Nisbet (22) and Ryan Hadley (26) also impressed last season while leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha is still only 23. The Blues have continued to back their youth ahead of this season, upgrading three highly-promising rookies in Joel Davies, Lachlan Shaw and Will Salzmann.

"For us to grow and improve, all of those players have got to do the same and a couple of them are two or three seasons in now so it's time for them to strike at a personal level," Shipperd said.

"Even underneath that, young (Ryan) Hicks is developing nicely, (Riley) Kingsell looks a good young player and Jake Scott's a left-handed version with the bat of Jack Edwards and he's an exciting option for us. It's season of opportunity for those players to step up and command a position in the side with the knowledge of a number of good players come back into the side after the early season merry-go-round."

Players to watch

"Hoping for a big season from Oliver Davies. Statistically, he's probably at the top of the table in terms of young players and performance over the past couple of years. We hope he repeats the season one that he had (after debuting in 2023-24 with 670 runs at 67.00 in the Sheffield Shield) so that he can challenge in the minds of the national selectors for Australian.

"It's pretty typical that once the competition's seen you, they make some adjustments in year two and he's aware of that now, so it's about his ability to rebound back to the level of cricket he played in year one, which was breathtaking in comparison to a lot of the other young players.

"And Kurtis Patterson is in red-hot form and in a really good place with his cricket. If he's able to start the season with the bang, then if there's any injury problems in the national side, he'd be a terrifically balanced appointment to the next level."

Chris Tremain's progress

The right-arm paceman topped the Sheffield Shield wickets tally in 2023-24 with 50 scalps but didn't play at all last season after being diagnosed with a rare neurological condition that affected his bowling shoulder.

"He's still working his way back to bowling readiness," Shipperd said. "We're all hoping with anticipation that once he gets some consistency and some bowling at high-end speed for him that it'll unfold as though it's something he can do consistently and he's not stop-start in terms of his play.

"We'd love to have his skills. The last time he bowled for us he led the competition and then we haven't seen him since. It's a frustration for him and it's a hole in our team for sure, but he's been not only looking after himself, but he's really stepped in as a leader around our group in helping to co-coach our bowling group."

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