Posted October 19, 2018 06:15:20

Photo: Will Pucovski raises his bat on reaching a double century for Victoria against Western Australia. (AAP: Richard Wainwright)

In Dubbo the young Royals were making the monarchy cool again and giving republicans heartburn by hugging toddlers, baking banana bread and being pregnant.

Meanwhile at the WACA ground and Adelaide Oval, Will Pucovski and Lloyd Pope were doing their best to make the Sheffield Shield cool again by scoring big runs and bowling unplayable wrong 'uns, images every bit as arousing for the cricket tragic as Meghan's baby bump has been for gushing royalists.

Okay, okay, Harry and Meghan's convincing impersonation of "normal people" led evening news bulletins.

Pucovski's double century and Pope's beguiling first Shield wicket were witnessed by the collection of diehards and dog walkers loosely described as "crowds" and those of us who squint at the live stream or keep the Shield score browser open on our desktops.

But as Australia's much-heralded batting renaissance — see last week's Offsiders column — came to an immediate halt in Abu Dhabi, the neglected domestic first-class competition seemed like Australian cricket's immediate future rather than its distant past.

This, of course, should always be the case. The diversion of Australian cricket's elite "pathway" from the most enduring source of bone fide talent is an obvious reason for Australia's batting woes.

But putting the philosophical debate about Australian cricket's development program aside, how refreshing to watch — even in tiny tweeted videos — a couple of budding young players bloom in the environment most likely to nurture their talent.

Photo: Will Pucovski plays to the leg side during his double century in Perth. (AAP: Richard Wainwright)

You might once have said the 20-year-old Pucovski's 243 from 311 balls for Victoria against Western Australia had statisticians scouring the record books. Now, of course, it's the Cricinfo search engine.

The most impressive number it spat out was that Pucovski became just the ninth Australian to score a first-class double century before his 21st birthday after Don Bradman, Ian Chappell, Clem Hill, Darren Lehmann, Norm O'Neill, Ricky Ponting, Paul Sheahan and Doug Walters.

The next best measure of Pucovski's impressive knock was that we Victorians were immediately putting on our tin foil hats and concocting conspiracies as to why the Test selectors would never pick him.

"Wasn't born in New South Wales!", "Look what they've done to Maxy!" and "Not related to a single Marsh!" were among the early mutterings on the grassy knoll.

The chip will never fall from Victorian shoulders. But as the wickets fell in Abu Dhabi, the cussedness that has been a stereotypical element of Victorian cricket seemed a wonderful antidote to the frailty of the current middle order.

Victoria has been oddly condemned over the past decade for winning Sheffield Shields yet not producing its share of Test players and particularly Test batsmen.

Forgotten, perhaps, is that the process of winning Sheffield Shields — long stints at the crease and long days in the field — is cricket's equivalent to the pressure that over time forges diamonds.

In Pucovski's case, that durability is already evident in his rousing recovery after a few seasons when his head was ringing like the cymbals during Beethoven's Ninth.

Seven separate bouts of concussion caused much concern in the bunkers at Cricket Victoria's (CV) impressive new Junction Oval headquarters where Pucovski is considered "the real deal".

Photo: Will Pucovski is taken off injured after getting hit by the ball at Junction Oval last March. (AAP: Tracey Nearmy)

So both Pucovski's runs and apparent lack of concern were welcome news to those at CV still tut-tutting that Glenn Maxwell had been summoned to the Middle East to serve drinks (and play T20) while there was a Shield game to be won.

Meanwhile, the excitement created by Pucovski over 430 minutes was contained in a single ball at Adelaide Oval, as the 18-year-old Pope's perfectly pitched wrong 'un jagged viciously back into the pads of Steve O'Keefe.

The smallest measurement of time used to be that imperceptible gap between a traffic light turning green in New York City and a driver blowing their horn. It is now the even more miniscule gap between an Australian leg spinner turning a ball and someone comparing him to Shane Warne.

So, reflexively, Pope's first wicket was immediately contrasted with Warnie's "ball of the century". Never mind the very different circumstances and contrasting trajectories.

But the greatest fear for any Australian spinner now is not that they will be encumbered with Warnesque expectations, but that they will be thrown to the limited overs wolves too soon.

Hopefully Pope — surely to be known as "The Pontiff" — is given years to hone his craft in the Shield and with his local club Kensington, and the temptation to parade him in the BBL circus is resisted.

Also enticing for excited Shield aficionados, Matthew Renshaw will next week return for Queensland having been sent home from Abu Dhabi in somewhat mysterious circumstances.

Australia coach Justin Langer based Renshaw's non-selection on lack of time in the middle after his successful stint in Somerset was truncated by a broken finger, while he also suffered a concussion in the lead-up to the Pakistan series.

The success of Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch as an opening partnership in the first Test — stands of 142 and 87 — justified that decision somewhat.

But after another ugly first-innings collapse, Renshaw's performances for Queensland over the next four matches will surely determine whether the Australian top order should read Finch, Renshaw, Khawaja against India.

So while it doesn't come with free Royal banana bread, this is shaping as a Sheffield Shield season for the loyalists.

Watch Offsiders with Kelli Underwood at 10:00am on Sunday on ABC TV.

Topics: sport, cricket, melbourne-3000