Many have decried the state of Australian batting but a group of a dozen or more Test aspirants should be a source of excitement, according to chief selector George Bailey

Flowing left-hander Ollie Peake made an eye-catching half-century on his first class debut for Victoria last year, but he thought he would have to wait much longer for the opportunity. The then-18-year-old had been late for his team’s pre-match meeting in the previous round of the Sheffield Shield, and feared he would spend the season in the doghouse.

“Just after I finished year 12, we had a Shield game here [at Junction Oval] and I was in the squad. We had a meeting at 10 o’clock,” Peake says. “I was like, perfect. I’ll leave extra early at 7.30 from Geelong – it normally only takes an hour – to make sure I’m here on time. There was a crash on the West Gate [Bridge] and I ended up getting here at 10.10.

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