Peter Nevill focused on NSW role, not fretting over Australia return

Wicketkeeper-batsman Peter Nevill, who had a brief run with Australia but couldn't make the sort of impact which was expected of him, is now knocking at the doors yet again and is the top contender for Matthew Wade's spot in the Test side.

It has been around a year since Nevill last played a Test match, and during this time he's scored plenty of runs for his state side New South Wales. Incidentally, his replacement in the national team, Wade has had a lean run with the bat. With the Ashes coming up, it might be a tough decision for the selectors to make over who should be donning the gloves for Australia.

Nevill, though, isn't losing sleep about what will happen behind those closed doors. His focus, right now, is to contribute for New South Wales in the best possible manner. "I've been very conscious not to speculate as to what might happen," Nevill stated in Sydney. "I've got a very important role to captain the side for NSW now, so that's got my full focus. I've never really sought the selectors out for any discussions anyway. You make runs, you keep well, you leave the decisions up to the people who are paid to make the decisions.

"[I'll be] doing whatever I need to do to help NSW win. We've got all our Test players back, everyone's available for selection, so there's a great opportunity there to be three wins and zero [losses] for NSW in the Shield at the start of the year. I'd like to do whatever I can to contribute to that, and play whatever role the captain needs me to play."

The 31-year old feels that he is now a better batsman than when he got dropped last year, crediting the inputs of Dominic Thornely - NSW's batting coach at the time. "He picked out a couple of key points that worked well for me for the back end of the Shield season and fortunately I was able to perform pretty well with the bat," Nevill said. "I definitely feel I'm a better batsman now than I was back then and I'm always looking to improve."

Nevill is also looking forward to playing with Mitchell Starc, who will be playing a few games for NSW to get back in top rhythm for the Ashes after returning from injury. "It's always exciting, you always enjoy it, and you're always very grateful that you're not standing there facing him. You're a long way back and just catching the ball, it's much nicer than having to face it," Nevill said.