Young NSW keeper Nevill puts Haddin under pressure

Herald Globe (ANI) Thursday 9th February, 2012

The emergence of New South Wales (NSW) wicketkeeper Peter Nevill has put incumbent Australian Test keeper Brad Haddin under pressure.

Already under siege from Matthew Wade at Australian one-day level, Haddin will have to fight Nevill for the gloves in the Sheffield Shield if he is not recalled to the national team for the next bracket of matches in the triangular one-day series.

During the current match against Tasmania, Nevill became the third-fastest wicketkeeper in shield history to score 1000 runs, behind Queensland's Leo O'Connor and Tasmania's Roger Woolley, reaching the milestone in his 29th innings.

Nevill, 26, who made the career move from Melbourne to Sydney in 2008, is also rated as one of the most accomplished glovemen in the country.

Theoretically, the state selectors could include both Haddin and Nevill by playing one as a specialist batsman, but there is already a logjam of batsmen in NSW, with talented opener Nic Maddinson squeezed out of the team for the Bellerive fixture.

Australian coach Mickey Arthur yesterday said Haddin's hopes of a recall later in the triangular series hinged on the team's results

"I couldn't commit to that just yet. There's been talk for yes, but again it will be results-driven and how everyone's going," he said.

He added: "Brad is certainly nowhere near out of the equation. We still regard Brad very highly. It's good to see Wadey pushing him. It's likely we'll take two keepers to the West Indies anyway, so it will be a nice little internal battle going on." (ANI)