Selectors under fire for sidestepping Sheffield Shield as batting fails in South Africa
Columnist Geoff Lawson says Nic Maddinson's Test call-up and Marnus Labuschagne's poor run show the panel has lost faith in domestic first-class cricket
Cricket columnist Geoff Lawson has accused Australia's Test selectors of sabotaging the national team by disregarding the Sheffield Shield, the domestic first-class competition that has underpinned Test selection for 130 years. Writing in The Sydney Morning Herald on October 25, Lawson argues that the selection of Nic Maddinson, who had not played a Shield match last season, and the continued poor form of Marnus Labuschagne prove the panel has lost its commitment to the traditional pathway.