The identity of Travis Head’s Test opening partner remains up in the air after the candidates once again failed to seize their chances during the final round of the Sheffield Shield.

There has been a revolving door of openers in the national side since David Warner retired from the game’s longest format in January 2024, with Steve Smith, Nathan McSweeney and Sam Konstas among the guinea pigs that have been trialled against the new ball.

Although Head has seemingly cemented his spot at the top of the order courtesy of his recent Ashes heroics, Usman Khawaja’s Test retirement has created another vacancy ahead of Australia’s next Test assignment.

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Tasmania’s Jake Weatherald is the incumbent having opened alongside Head during this summer’s Ashes, but the left-hander’s spot is in some doubt after he managed just one half-century across the five-match campaign against England, averaging 22.33.

Since returning to the Sheffield Shield, the 31-year-old has accumulated 261 runs at 43.50 for the Tigers, including fifties against New South Wales and Queensland, while on Sunday he raced towards 62 at Bellerive Oval before feathering a cut stroke through to the wicketkeeper.

Following an impressive summer across all three formats, Queensland’s Matthew Renshaw looms as the leading candidate to replace Weatherald in the Test side should national selectors decide a change was needed at the top of the order. The left-hander made his ODI debut in October last year before impressing during the recent T20 World Cup campaign in the subcontinent, while he’s the only player with three centuries during this season’s Sheffield Shield.

However, Renshaw has failed to heap pressure on Weatherald since returning from Sri Lanka, posting scores of 31, 4 and 10 for the Bulls. In Hobart on Saturday, the 29-year-old lazily spooned a full delivery from Tasmanian all-rounder Beau Webster towards point as Queensland was rolled for 178.

With the Bulls failing to qualify for next week’s Sheffield Shield final, Renshaw will get one final opportunity to press his case for a Test recall in the second innings.

Patterson guides NSW to ODI Cup win | 01:30

Elsewhere, New South Wales young gun Sam Konstas is at serious risk of losing his national contract after he was dropped from the Test side following last year’s Frank Worrell Trophy against the West Indies in the Caribbean.

The 20-year-old has struggled to press his case for a recall, failing to reach fifty in his 16 most recent knocks across formats. He cracked a Sheffield Shield century against Queensland in December, but it was a lone highlight in an otherwise underwhelming campaign with the bat, where he has averaged 33.00.

During the ongoing match against Western Australia in Sydney, the right-hander wafted at a wide delivery from seamer Albert Esterhuysen in the first innings and picked out point, gone for 38, before edging towards the slips cordon for 31 on day three.

Wicketkeeper Sam Harper, meanwhile, was dismissed for 5 in Victoria’s Sheffield Shield clash against South Australia in Melbourne, while rising star Campbell Kellaway notched a stylish 66. The duo have been floated as contenders for the Test opener role courtesy of Victoria’s red-ball success, but neither have bashed the door down for national selection.

Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne’s worrying slump continued during Queensland’s Sheffield Shield clash in Hobart, with the Bulls captain toppled by Tigers seamer Lawrence Neil-Smith for 2. The Australian Test No. 3, who hasn’t managed a Test century in nearly three years, has averaged 22.00 at first-class since the end of October, putting him at risk of once again being dropped from the national side.

The likes of Blues stand-in captain Kurtis Patterson and Victorian veteran Peter Handscomb are breathing down Labuschagne’s neck; the former was the leading run-scorer from this summer’s One-Day Cup campaign, while the latter is the Sheffield Shield’s leading run-scorer with 688 at 36.21. However, neither of the experienced duo converted their starts in substantials scores this weekend, dismissed for 26 and 49 respectively.

Patterson talks Test hopes & One Day Cup | 10:03

Courtesy of Queensland’s first-innings collapse in Hobart, reigning champions South Australia have qualified for the Sheffield Shield final against Victorian in Melbourne, with the state chasing back-to-back titles for the first time in its history.

“It’s been a nerve-wracking week,” South Australian coach Ryan Harris told reporters on Sunday.

“I haven’t had a lot of sleep over the last week thinking about it. The last couple of nights has been pretty hectic.

“It’s something that when I took on the role, I didn’t want to win it last year and have another big break in having a crack at another one. So it means a lot to me and my staff and the organisation.”

Harris also revealed that fast bowler Brendan Doggett, who recently sustained a hamstring tear, was a chance of recovering before the Sheffield Shield final, which commences on March 26.

“I’m probably going to get a report on that either tonight or tomorrow morning,” Harris said of Doggett.

“I think he’s got a catch up tomorrow with (strength and conditioning staff) back home. He’s been bowling. I know that. Look, it’d be nice to have him available.

“He’s come back quite quick compared to what I was originally told. If we play him it’s going to be a risk. But no doubt if he thinks he can do it we’ll play him, and everything points in the right direction. But if it pings again, it didn’t require surgery last time, if it goes and there’s (Tests) in August that potentially is pretty big for him. So we’ll weigh all that up over the next week. It’s not very long. But we’ll see how that goes.”