In-form batsman Adam Voges will be in England for this year’s Ashes series – but whether he’s part of the Australian Test squad remains to be seen.
Voges has been in the form of his life this summer, plundering 1132 Shield runs at an average of 102.90 to give Western Australia a shot at hosting the final.
The right-hander has also led the Warriors to the 50-over title and the Perth Scorchers to the Twenty20 crown in what has been a dream season.
Based purely on form, Voges would be a certainty to be picked for Australia’s Test tours of the West Indies and England.
But at 35 years of age, Voges could be overlooked for a younger talent.
Voges was reluctant to talk about his Test chances on Thursday, instead preferring to focus on WA’s crunch Shield clash with NSW at the WACA Ground, starting Friday.
But he did reveal he would be travelling to England in any case for the Ashes.
“I’m playing for Middlesex in the winter. So one way or another I’ll be in England,” Voges said.
“I’ve always said I’d love to play Test cricket, and that’s never changed.
“For me, it’s just about scoring as many runs as I possibly can. Whether I get a call-up or not, that’s not up to me.”
Voges has flourished whenever given the chance at the international level.
In 31 ODIs for Australia he averaged 45.78, while he also returned an average of 46.33 in seven T20Is.
The WA skipper will be aiming to continue his hot form against NSW this week.
Victoria, NSW, and WA are in a three-way battle to make the final, with the Warriors only needing a draw in order to reach the decider.
NSW sits in third spot on the ladder, and need to win in order to reach the final.
The Blues are in hot form after winning four of their past five matches.
But their one blemish during that period came against the Warriors, when they were skittled for 97 runs in their second innings.
“I probably don’t expect that to happen again,” Voges said.
“It’s going to be tough work. We’re going to have to play well to beat them.”
Star allrounder Nathan Coulter-Nile has been named in WA’s 13-man squad, but he is no guarantee to play after pulling up sore from last week’s win over Queensland.
Blues captain Moises Henriques will return from a groin injury in a major boost for the defending champions.
NSW squad: Moises Henriques (captain), Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger, Ryan Carters, Jake Doran, Scott Henry, Josh Lalor, Nick Larkin, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Peter Nevill, Stephen O’Keefe, Ben Rohrer, Gurinder Sandhu.
WA squad: Adam Voges (capt), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Tom Beaton, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Marcus Harris, Michael Hogan, Michael Klinger, Shaun Marsh, David Moody, Nathan Rimmington, Andrew Tye, Sam Whiteman.
