Queensland coach James Hopes believes Jack Clayton could “absolutely” bat at No.3 for Australia, as the emerging Sheffield Shield prospect’s Test hopes continue to mount.
The 27-year old has started the domestic season in a rich vein of form, sitting second on the Shield run-scoring charts behind NSW’s Ollie Davies with 303 runs at 75.75.
He has hit a century and two 50s in four completed innings to go with 37 not out and 10 not out, with his 104 against Victoria coming after Usman Khawaja and Kerry O’Keeffe both threw his name into the mix for a Test berth during Kayo Sports’ coverage of Australia’s third Test loss to South Africa in Cape Town.
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“Clayton gets tough runs,” O’Keeffe said, while former Queensland teammate Khawaja was even stronger.
“Jack Clayton … he’s scored six centuries, averaging 38, and no one talks about him,” the former Australian great said.
“When they devalue Sheffield Shield cricket, it frustrates me.”
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Clayton’s strong start to the new season follows a 418-run campaign at an average of 38 in the 2025/26 season, a bowler-dominated campaign nationwide.
Hopes, in his first season as Bulls coach, is equally confident as Khawaja and O’Keeffe that his charge has the game to perform in international cricket.
“If given the opportunity to play for Australia, he wouldn’t let anyone down,” the former Australian limited-overs star told CODE Sports.
“He’s developed his game to a point where I think it’s pretty easy to say that he could have success at the next level, and you’re probably not going to know until he plays at the next level.
“I hope he does soon, because he’s performed well enough in tricky situations in Shield cricket now that he deserves the opportunity to have a go.
“He scores runs under pressure, when the team needs it the most, he’s calm in run chases, he scores a lot of runs at the Gabba, which is normally a pretty good indicator of a player in Shield cricket.”
A spot in Australia’s top seven appears all but certain to open up for the first Test against New Zealand in early December, with Marnus Labuschagne a likely omission having scored 0 and 4 in Cape Town to continue his dire form slump.
While he has primarily batted at No.4 or No.5 for the Bulls, Hopes believes he has the game to replace Labuschagne at first drop should that be his way into the team.
“Could Jack do it? I absolutely think Jack could bat three,” he said.
The former member of the Brisbane Lions’ AFL Academy has been a regular in Queensland’s Shield team since hitting a debut century against Victoria in February 2022.
While playing just two Big Bash League games for the Brisbane Heat, both when a COVID-19 outbreak required the team to field replacement players, he has seven first-class tons at an average of 39.18.
For his part, Clayton said he was “thankful” for Khawaja’s support midway through the Bulls’ Shield draw with the Vics at the Gabba.
“For him to publicly say that was obviously a nice thing to do,” he said.
“My main focus is scoring runs for Queensland and that kind of stuff will take care of itself.”
However, Hopes isn’t resigned to having Labuschagne back as a permanent member of Queensland’s team for the remainder of the summer, with his Test prospects hanging in the balance.
He is confident the veteran will rediscover his best at Shield level, having done so to regain his place for last summer’s Ashes, while also suggesting Labuschagne was “fine” during the first two Tests of the South Africa series.
“He was just finding ways to get out,” Hopes said.
“Technically, he was looking OK, and he was getting in the 30s, which is always the toughest part to do, and he just wasn’t kicking on with it.
“It’s up to the selectors whether they saw enough in the first couple of Tests to say that he has turned the corner, or whether they’re going to go another direction.”