Former Test batter and New South Wales captain Kurtis Patterson has been dropped from their Sheffield Shield team for the match against Victoria after another winless start to the season.
It is the second time this year that Patterson has been dropped after he was left out for the final game of last season when he was replaced as captain by Moises Henriques. Since last November Patterson has averaged just 14.92 in the Shield and has started this season with scores of 32, 4 and 10.
Blake MacDonald, who made his first-class debut in the final game of last season against South Australia and scored 61, comes into the squad.
New South Wales have not won a match in their last 14 Sheffield Shield outings stretching back to February 2022 but should have claimed the opening game of this season against Queensland only to be denied by Michael Neser and Jimmy Pierson.
They were then comprehensively beaten by South Australia in Adelaide last week when they were bowled out for 183 and 136.
However, in a boost for their hopes against Victoria at the MCG they will have Nathan Lyon available with the offspinner set to play his first four-day game of the season as he continues his comeback after the Ashes-ending calf injury.
Lyon is due to play the match in Melbourne, followed by NSW's two home games against Western Australia and Tasmania next month ahead of the Test summer which begins in mid-December.
For Patterson, this latest omission continues a difficult few years after he had reached the Australia Test side against Sri Lanka during the 2018-19 season and scored a maiden century in Canberra.
Since that season, where he hit three first-class centuries and another brace for a CA XI against Sri Lankans in Hobart which ultimately earned him his Test call, he has made three hundreds and averaged 27.19 in first-class cricket.
New South Wales squad vs Victoria Jackson Bird, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Ryan Hackney, Moises Henriques (capt), Daniel Hughes, Nathan Lyon, Blake Macdonald, Jack Nisbet, Jason Sangha, Chris Tremain