Grumpy Vics don't faze WA in Shield

WA coach Justin Langer is confident WACA curator Matt Page will prepare a good pitch for the Sheffield Shield clash with Victoria.

Western Australia coach Justin Langer insists last week's war-of-words with Victoria have been put to bed as the two teams prepare to slug it out again for a valuable Sheffield Shield win.

Stand-in Victorian skipper Peter Siddle lashed out at WA's tactics last week following a drawn Shield clash on a flat MCG pitch.

Set 390 to win, the Warriors reached 8-282 before the match was declared a draw, with Siddle claiming Victoria were the only team to have a genuine crack at winning across the four days.

But Langer said Siddle's comments were water off a duck's back.

"Sids is a really good friend of mine. He was probably a bit grumpy their fully international team (couldn't beat us)," Langer said ahead of the re-match, starting on Friday at the WACA Ground.

"Our young WA team fought really hard and got a result on a really flat MCG wicket.

"Doesn't worry me. Words mean nothing to me. It's all actions."

Third-placed WA are set to be boosted by the return of star allrounder Nathan Coulter-Nile, who will be named in the final XI if he pulls up well on Friday morning.

Coulter-Nile missed the start of the Shield season because of a shoulder injury, and Langer can't wait to unleash the 28-year-old again.

"The reason why everyone's excited about him is because, with Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris out, he's probably the fastest bowler in Australia now," Langer said.

"Everyone likes that pace. It changes the game. That's why he's such an attractive player."

Rising star Joel Paris is in line to make his Shield debut, while former Tigers batsman Jonathan Wells will play his first game for the Warriors in place of Shaun Marsh (international duties).

Ladder-leading Victoria named Clint McKay and Chris Tremain in their 12-man squad to replace Test duo Siddle and James Pattinson.

Both teams will be hoping for a more lively WACA pitch after last week's Test between Australia and New Zealand fizzled out into a tame draw.

The batter-friendly wicket copped plenty of criticism, but Langer backed curator Matt Page to prepare a fair Shield deck.

"I trust him - that's his job," Langer said.

"He doesn't tell me how to coach the cricket team, and I don't tell him how to make really good wickets.

"He's done a brilliant job for us in Shield cricket over the last few years.

"He's the expert on this. I'm confident he'll give us a really good wicket."


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Source: AAP



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