Sheffield Shield final 2025-26 – Vic v SA – Ryan Harris thinks Nathan McAndrew should be in the Test frame

McAndrew’s performance against Victoria was remarkable. He scored 17 and 60 with the bat. The latter teamed up with Alex Carey in a 105-run stand to rescue South Australia after they were seven down with a lead of just 59 in the second innings.

Between those innings he bowled 21 overs and took 3 for 71, including the key wickets of Victoria’s two leading run-scorers this season in Peter Handscomb and Sam Harper, as well as young gun Ollie Peake.

Then, after his 144-ball innings on day four, he struck twice in the evening session to leave Victoria 35 for 3 and post 196 to win. He returned on the fifth morning to trap Mitch Perry lbw to finish with 3 for 50 from 15 overs in the fourth innings as Victoria collapsed to be bowled out for 139.

In last year’s decider, McAndrew’s team-mate Brendan Doggett took 11 wickets to win Player of the Match, which he won seven months later on Test debut in the Ashes. The same thing could happen to McAndrew, given the health of Australia’s fastball line-up and a brutal 20-Test schedule in the next 18 months.

“I think he probably should have already done it (played Test cricket) to be honest personally,” Harris said. “If you talk to him, I don’t think he’s too worried about it. I just think he wants to keep winning here, which for me is a great attitude to have.

“We’ve got some good cricketers playing in that Test team anyway. But should he have been given a chance? Maybe. I think he’s shown what he’s been in (South Australia) for five years now? Four of those years he’s been the leading wicket-taker or not far off. And he’s pretty handy with a few runs.”

“I think he’s (the ultimate) professional who rarely misses. Credit to him for getting man of the match. He’s a super player, and he’s batted really well too. To me, against him, he’s just pretty relentless. Very accurate.”

Victoria captain Will Sutherland on Nathan McAndrew

It’s hard to believe McAndrew only debuted in Shield cricket at the age of 28. He played three first-class matches for Auckland in the Plunkett Shield, “haphazardly” to use his own words, in 2016. But he spent his 20s in Sydney grade cricket, trying fruitlessly to break into the New South Wales team. But those years built her durability, both physically and mentally.

McAndrew has not yet been in test calculations. But the selectors picked him in three Australian A matches and a Prime Minister’s XI first-class match that was essentially an A team. However, he is realistic about his chances of earning a baggy green.

“I don’t really know what’s ever going to happen at the next level,” McAndrew said after receiving his match award. “At the end of the day there are three incredible quicks, plus Scotty Boland. No matter how well I bowl, I’m not taking any of their places. I’m not that stupid.

“Injuries have to happen for me to get an opportunity. And all I can do is just keep bowling to the best of my ability and if anything at that next level ever comes up, then I’ll be rock-solid. If not, I’m just as happy with what I’ve been able to achieve in the last five years after stepping down and not playing any first-class cricket.”

It’s one thing for his coach to make his case by singing his praises, it’s quite another for his opponents to do so. But when you ask any Shield batsman about who faces the toughest bowlers in the competition, McAndrew’s name comes up frequently.

There have been questions about his ball speed transferring to the next level, but opponents believe he can hit the bat harder than others and benefit from a lighter workload, in the same way Michael Neser found success in the Ashes after a winter without county cricket and not being bowled into the ground in every Shield game.

“I think he’s (the ultimate) professional who rarely misses,” Victoria captain Will Sutherland said. “Credit to him for getting player of the match. He’s a super player, and he batted really well too. To me, against him, he’s just pretty relentless. Very accurate.

“He’s a weapon around the wicket for left-handers.”