Sydney, Oct 17 (IANS) Australian Test stars Steven Smith and Mitchell Starc will play their first Sheffield Shield matches in more than three years as the duo have been included in a 13-player New Soth Wales squad for the second round of the 2024/25 Sheffield Shield against Victoria at the MCG on Sunday.

Smith and Starc will join Nathan Lyon in the squad that also includes World Cup winner Sean Abbott and former Test seamer Jackson Bird. Moises Henriques will captain the team that also have Josh Philippe, Ollie Davies and Sam Konstas.

Starc last played Shield for NSW in the final of the 20/21 season, where the side went down to Queensland, while Smith last represented the state in first-class cricket in the 19/20 summer.

NSW selectors also said that Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins were not considered for the Shield match but are likely to play in NSW’s One-Day Cup fixture against Victoria at CitiPower Centre in Melbourne on October 25.

New South Wales squad Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Ollie Davies, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques, Sam Konstas, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Jack Nisbet, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc