SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 12: Glenn Maxwell of the Bushrangers bats during the Matador BBQs One Day Cup match between Victoria and Western Australia at Blacktown International Sportspark on October 12, 2015 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
The domestic One-day Cup is starting to garner real interest on the Australian cricket calendar, and can make an instant star of anyone who can make a hefty score or takes a haul of wickets.
With the competition kicking off at the start of October, let’s have a glance at one player from each state with plenty on the line at the start of the Australian summer.
Whilst cricket purists will not like it, Peter Nevill is coming under scrutiny for his inability to score runs.
His shocking averages of late including 12.9 in 2016 and a meager 8.5 in the latest test series against Sri Lanka mean he will have to start scoring runs as well as he is wicketkeeping to maintain his spot in the test side.
Adding to that is the desperation of Victorian wicky Matthew Wade to regain his place in both the Australian test and one-day side, and Nevill has plenty to play for ahead of the tours to South Africa and India.
Joe Burns has suffered an inconsistent start to his test career, despite still holding a strong average of 41.5.
Despite a promising series in New Zealand, where he managed his top test score of 170, he was dropped after just two tests in Sri Lanka, where he showed nervousness on the dusty subcontinent pitches.
To avoid becoming just another of the many Australian batsman who play themselves out of their test whites after just a few poor innings, a good score or two in the upcoming Matador BBQs Cup would not go amiss.
After playing 12 odis from 2013 to 2016, including a five wicket haul and man of the match performance against India, Kane Richardson has all of a sudden fallen from favour with Australian selectors.
Given white ball cricket is arguably Richardson's most potent form, a strong Matador Cup will be essential if he is to make his way back to international cricket for Australia.
With a lot of bowling talent missing for South Australia this One-Day Cup, Richardson will likely find himself with the new ball each match, and has a big chance that he must take with both hands to continue his career in the green and gold.
How likely is it that a 31 year old keeper with a history of injuries could make his way back into the international frame after not playing any international cricket in six years?
Not very likely. But with all the conjecture taking place about who should and shouldn't be keeping wickets for Australia in all three forms of cricket, a strong Matador BBQs Cup with bat and gloves could vault Tim Paine's name right back into the conversation.
Given the success of Adam Voges' first baggy green at age 35, selectors will now be far less reluctant to start handing out caps to players whom they feel deserve it, regardless of age. This is an opportunity that should not be lost on Paine.
After a request to defect to arch rivals New South Wales was denied, Glenn Maxwell will have to return to Victoria to smooth things over with teammates. One way he can go about that is by making runs and taking wickets.
Maxwell was aghast at his dropping from the one-day international side, and has all of a sudden gone from fighting for a test recall to fighting for his international career.
No one is under delusion about Maxwell’s strengths and weaknesses, not even the man himself. Whether he can address them or not in the upcoming Australian summer will go a long way to sorting out how many more caps he pulls on for his country.
Once considered a great Australian all-round prospect, Nathan Coulter-Nile has since fallen back to “bowling prospect”, to “one-day star”, and is now starting to fall off the selectors’ map.
Not selected at all for the odi series in Sri Lanka, Coulter-Nile has not made an impression with ball (or bat for that matter) in his latest matches, and at 28, he does not want to be behind the eight ball going forward.
Formerly described by the Australian selectors as “one of the best fieldsmen in the country” much more was expected from this guy than was delivered. It may now be that his time is over.