Cricket Australia, Sheffield Shield, Results: Cameron Green Achieves Century, India 2020-21...

Here are five things we learned from the round.

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Travis Head has a huge fan in Justin Langer, but his place in the Australian middle class has yet to be nailed down.

And with the runs piling up around him on Round 2 of the Sheffield Shield, it was important for the Redbacks captain to respond with some of his own, especially after 31, 54 and 2 points.

Fortunately for the 26-year-old, he did just that – and when his team needed it most.

Head faced another nervous day looking to score a result against Tasmania. He led by example and safely led the redbacks to stumps for the draw. The day ended undefeated with 171 of 265 balls.

The century was Head’s first at the Sheffield Shield since November 2019 and the first in any format since 114 against New Zealand in the Boxing Day Test.

His ton against the Black Caps helped secure his spot on the testing team, but the slates were effectively wiped clean in 2020 due to the lack of play.

That gave the races in the early stages of the shield a bonus that Head can now take advantage of after a few missed opportunities.

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… AND NOR IS PAINE

Australian test captain Tim Paine isn’t going anywhere anytime soon either.

Despite a test average of 31.66 – impressive for any wicketkeeper who beats 7th place – Paines batting has always been scrutinized after a short, lean spot.

This season has proven to be no exception as alarm bells rang after he scored four and ten points in the season opener against Queensland.

Among those who raised their concerns was former test captain Allan Border, who said Paine left the door open to Alex Carey.

Paine hits back on critics

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“Tim Paine did a great job as captain after the ball rigging scandal. He was brilliant but has yet to perform and with Alex Carey in the starting blocks he is putting a lot of pressure on him, ”he said.

The 35-year-old reacted strongly against South Australia on Tuesday, scoring 111 of 201 balls unbeaten.

The century was a rare collector’s item – only Paine’s second prime century in 14 years and his third ever.

He is still waiting for his Test Ton debut but now there is little doubt that he will have another bang this summer if he leads Australia against India again.

NOT ONLY GREEN IN THE RUNS

This lap was all about Cameron Green. The Australian cricketer “it boy” really lived up to the hype with a brilliant 197 that lasted three days and contained nearly 500 balls.

It is easy to be blinded by a light as bright as Green’s rising star, but it would be negligent to ignore the other good performances of Australian hopefuls this round.

It is worth remembering that Nic Maddinson and Moises Henriques were the joint Sheffield Shield Player of the Year last summer. Maddinson is still waiting to start his season, but Henriques started his off with a bang.

Torment! 197 … out of the LBW!

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The NSW veteran scored a brilliant 167 out of 276 against Western Australia, finishing 11th in the first class of his career and third in the last two seasons. It was another step in the right direction after NSW scored 512 at 51.20 last season.

Across the parking lot, Jake Doran scored a long-awaited prime century for Tasmania after not converting any of his previous 10 50+ points to tons while teammate Ben McDermott scored 90 points. Neither of those innings will throw the two young players into the Testmix, but it could be the start of better things for them.

SAGER AND ABBOTT RISE IN BATTERY PARADISE

When Tasmania played for South Australia on Day 195, it seemed like a round for the bowlers. Fast forward three days and that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Neither of the two games reached a fourth inning, and both were abandoned prematurely with no realistic result possible. There were three centuries between South Australia and Tasmania and two more between NSW and WA, but there could have been a few more with the starts thrown away. This was really a round for the batsman.

There were two notable exceptions, however.

Despite the street they were playing on and an overly cozy picket fence, Chadd Sayers still managed remarkable numbers from 3 to 27 of his 29 overs bowling 17 girls. That’s an economy of 0.93 in a game in which the opponents piled up to a total of 8-493. It was a master class in discipline and accuracy.

In NSW’s game, Sean Abbott gave the blues something to cheer on for two and a half long days. The quick took 6-89 as WA scored a Monster First Innings score of 534, which makes up the top four.

While it was a long couple of days for NSW, it was a welcome reward for Abbott, who built himself into the testing mix in the 2018-19 season and took 37 wickets at 10:29 p.m. to halt his progress through a series of injuries who restricted him to five games last summer.

THE REAL TEST SELECTION RACE STARTS NOW

Due to 14-day quarantine restrictions on Victorians entering South Australia, only two games were played in each of the first two rounds of the Shield.

That will change next week as Victoria is late in competing after two weeks of isolation, while Queensland will also return after a week off.

Their return means a massive influx of talented players who are either in the Australian lineup or knocking on the door.

Victoria’s opening game against Tasmania offers last year’s leading scorer Nic Maddinson his first chance to continue his urge for a test recall. Test colleagues Peter Handscomb, Will Pucovski and Marcus Harris will also be involved.

The return from Queensland means the reintroduction of test incumbents Marnus Labuschagne and Joe Burns, as well as Bulls captain Usman Khawaja, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson and in shape all-rounder Michael Neser.

The race for test selection is on the verge of serious warming.