Batsmen See Pink as Shield Matches get Bowled Over

Is the batting of the majority of Australia’ domestic batsmen really as poor as it seemed over the weekend? Or is the bowling as potent and brilliant as it appeared? Or do we have a problem with the pink ball and day/night first class matches? Whatever the case may be, the fact that only one of the three Sheffield Shield opening round matches made it into the fourth day – and only a session of that as well – does pose some serious questions in regards to either the quality of the cricket or the massive influence of the ball and pitch conditions on the outcome of these games.

At the ‘Gabba, where Queensland monstered Victoria in a massive turnaround after the first half of the first day, only Usman Khawaja managed to score more than fifty in an innings, top scoring in both innings with 40 and 122 which removes any doubt about his selection for the 1st Test (if there was any doubt remaining). He was the final wicket to fall in the second innings having crafted a match winning lead of 329 with help from his other batsmen who all managed starts. Victoria’s collapse in both innings to an unheralded bowling attack of Neser, Doggett, Feldman, Swepson and Wildermuth perhaps speaks clearly of a home ground advantage. It also cast further doubt on Test aspirants such as Glenn Maxwell (7 & 20) and Aaron Finch (41 & 0) who failed to make a case for their selection, nor did Peter Siddle (0/30 & 2/64). In fact, the best case put forward in this match was by the big Victorian paceman Chris Tremain, who not only made 20 and 47 with the bat (top score in the second innings) but was excellent with the ball, taking 4/36 and 3/81 in a sterling effort. If form is what the selectors are going to take from these lead up matches to the Test match, then Tremain has started out in the right fashion.

At the Adelaide Oval, where the day/night Test will take place against England, it was carnage followed by serenity followed by carnage in a game that couldn’t even fill in three days of cricket. South Australia’s collapse for 92 on the first afternoon was sparked not by the three Test bowlers in the line-up, but the journeyman Trent Copeland who tore through the Redbacks batting with good old fashioned swing and seam, finishing with 6/24. Of course, if form was used in selection… but you know (and better yet Trent knows) he won’t even be considered for the Test team. It’s pace you need, not other varieties. The Blues reply was just as shaky, except that Dave Warner stood up with a wonderful 83 that spoke volumes of his form and mindset, and 57 from Daniel Hughes to help justify the decision of the selectors to go for him in front of Ed Cowan – though Cowan’s presence at opener instead of Nic Maddinson may well have proved a better option. Maddinson’s defence was shown up terribly in both innings, and despite the fact that the deliveries he received would probably have accounted for anyone he won’t feel any better about it. After all of the batting blues, this was then followed by an amazing opening partnership for the Redbacks second innings of 137 between Dalton and Weatherald who looked calm and collected. Once the breakthrough had been made however, the carnage began. Mitchell Starc gave a glimpse of what might be to come, taking three wickets in the last half hour of the second evening’s play, with both Travis Head and Jake Lehmann getting unplayable deliveries that smashed their stumps. On the third afternoon Starc cleaned up the mess, finishing with 8/73 in bowling out South Australia for 206. It was frightening at times watching Starc bowl, while Ferguson’s innings in staving off the attack was quite an effort, one that should have caught a discerning selector’s eye in how he played against a near Test strength bowling attack. New South Wales lost four wickets in chasing down the 57 runs they needed for victory, which was proof more of the bowler friendly conditions than anything poor about the batting itself. Anyone buying tickets for the 4th and 5th days of the Adelaide Test are extraordinarily optimistic.

At the W.A.C.A. the game made it to the fourth day, but it was barely worth it. The warriors had ground out 323 in their first innings thanks to Test aspirants Shaun Marsh (63), Hilton Cartwright (61) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (42). Tasmania’s reply of 231 was highlighted by gutsy knocks from two young stars they are banking their future on, Jake Doran grinding out 54 before being badly run out, and Ben McDermott whose 45 not out improved the innings from number seven. Western Australia was 7/145 with only a lead of 237 before Coulter-Nile with 52 and Jye Richardson with 71 took the game away with a partnership of 120, and the declaration at 9/272 left the Tigers a chase of 365 for victory.

And… disaster.

Tasmania’s second innings lasted for one ball over 23 overs, and they managed only 63 runs. They were in fact 9/35, and only Beau Webster with 33 not out extended the innings beyond absolute embarrassment. Their 63 still ranks as their lowest ever total in the Sheffield Shield, and raises some more questions in the process.

The question has to be asked – were the wickets prepared for this round of cricket too bowler-friendly in order to preserve the pink ball for 80 overs? Certainly if you watched the game rom Adelaide, the ball zipped around amazingly in the air and off the seam. The balls that rissoled Maddinson in the first innings, and the two from Starc to get Head and Lehmann in the second innings, were quite frightening. There was literally nothing the batsmen could do about them, and it is highly unlikely in a normal first class match on a prepared wicket that the bowlers could get the ball to do what they did. Sure, there is no problem with the bowlers having the conditions in their favour from time to time, and once the batsmen had played themselves in they seemed to handle the conditions well. But perhaps – just perhaps – the pitches were just a tad too friendly across the board for this first round. With the next two rounds reverting to good old fashioned red ball daytime cricket, perhaps we will get a better reflection on the current form of our cricketers with both bat and ball.

Scorecard: Sheffield Shield Round 1: Queensland vs Victoria

Scorecard: Sheffield Shield Round 1: Western Australia vs Tasmania

Scorecard: Sheffield Shield Round 1: South Australia vs New South Wales

Klinger and Paine Shown the Age Card as Shield Gets Underway

Wet conditions, a pink ball and the second half of each day being played out under lights combined for some interesting first up conditions for the new Sheffield Shield season. While both opening matches are still wide open for any result, some of the individuals who are looking beyond the result of the match may still have questions of their own to answer.

Queensland profited heavily from the 53 runs that was added by the final two wickets, taking the score from 8/113 to 166 all out in a disappointing start for them. While the two big pacemen Chris Tremain and Scott Boland were the main destroyers for Victoria taking 4/36 and 4/43 respectively, it was once again the leg spin of Fawad Ahmed who made the two most crucial inroads, dismissing both Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne in his opening spell. It was excellent captaincy by Peter Handscomb to bring Fawad on against Khawaja, much as many have being doing against him in the JLT Cup as well after his inability to show any dominance again spin bowling in recent times. It worked a treat here, as Fawad beat him consistently with his wrong ‘un outside off stump, before eventually luring a prodding bat to gain an edge to slip to be dismissed for 40. He had shown enough at the crease again to suggest he is a lock for the Test team, but if I was the England captain I would be priming my spinners to warm up every time Khawaja comes to the crease this summer, and starve him of the faster bowling he prefers. The beautiful slider Fawad bowled to Labuschagne to have him plumb LBW was another beauty, beating him off the wicket wonderfully. Fawad finished with 2/52 on a first day ‘Gabba wicket with a pink ball, and words cannot express enough how good his spell was.

There was a long wait with a rain delay, and the Vics might have thought they’d get out of batting until the following day, but in the end 14 overs were deemed necessary, and three wickets fell in that time, two to debutante fast bowler Brendan Doggett. Nightwatchman Peter Siddle, brought in to shield Glenn Maxwell who was slated to bat at three could only buy him six deliveries. Maxwell and Handscomb are not out overnight, and have a tough task today not only for their State but in Maxwell’s case in scoring enough runs personally to ensure the selectors he is still the man they need in the Test team. At 3/43 and still 123 runs behind, it shapes as an interesting day’s play.

At the W.A.C.A. another captain won the toss and elected to field, and despite an excellent start by Western Australia the game had pulled back to level pegging by the time stumps had been called. Wet weather hampered the start here as well, but the Warriors looked to be in a powerful position at 1/146 half way through the day, so the fact that Tasmania was able to fight back to have them 7/285 at stumps was quite an achievement. The two batsmen who are the most likely to be pushing for a Test spot in Brisbane – Shaun Marsh and Hilton Cartwright – both did their cause no harm, except that after making a good start they were unable to go on and make the big century both would have been looking for. Marsh fell on 63 and Cartwright on 61 and no doubt both of them thought they left some runs out there. Following this there was only Mitch Marsh’s 36, Ashton Turner’s 32 and Nathan Coulter-Nile’s slashing 36 not out that progressed the innings to their point they are at. While the bowling was probably steady at best, the conditions favoured the pink ball and probably helped their penetration as the evening wore on. The second day will probably answer the question as to the potency of both teams bowling attacks.

The biggest news from the W.A.C.A. was the omission of Michael Klinger from the Western Australian team and Tim Paine from the Tasmanian team. Klinger hasn’t missed a match in the four years he has been a part of the Warriors team, and form didn’t seem to be an issue. Does this follow in the trend of Ed Cowan’s omission by New South Wales? Klinger at 37 is on the older side of the cricket community, but he has barely slipped a notch in his batting over the years. Instead we have inserted players such as Cartwright, Marcus Stoinis and Ash Turner into the top six, all of whom are all-rounders rather than the specialist top order batsman. Once they had decided that Cartwright was going to bat at three it did probably spell and end to Klinger’s current chances. Whether or not this comes back to bite them in the arse will only be seen by the end of Day 4. Tim Paine’s omission was probably more likely, despite the fact he had just returned from India as Australia’s chosen T20 wicket-keeper batsman, and (to be honest) without question the better gloveman than chosen wicket-keeper Matthew Wade, who has transferred from Victoria in the off season. Tasmania has a hundred wicket-keepers to choose from, apart from Wade and Paine, both chosen batsmen Jake Doran and Ben McDermott have done the job, and Ben Dunk remains out of the first class squad for the moment. How Paine takes this rejection will be interesting, because had he been playing these initial Shield matches he would have been right in the frame for the Test keeper’s spot. With the country’s tenth or twelfth best custodian playing in from of him in this match, one wonders just how he feels about his current position.
And just for good measure, let's add in the fact that Jason Behrendorff, who must be an outside chance of making the Test XII for Brisbane, isn't playing in this match because apparently he has 'bowled too much' in recent times in his comeback from injury, so he has to be 'managed'. I mean... we're building up to an Ashes series, and one of the main contenders can't play because he may re-injure himself. Did anyone ask Behrendorff what HE thought about that? All in all, it has been one of the strangest starts to a Sheffield Shield, possibly ever. Let's hope the rest of the cricket can compensate for some of the strange things happening behind closed doors off the field.

Haynes Leads From the Front as Aussies Go 2-0 Up

With the prospect of bad weather around, and the perceived better place to be in such a scenario being the team batting second, England won the toss in Coffs Harbour yesterday and inserted the Australians on what appeared to be a belting pitch. Now, I think we all know exactly what I think about sending the opposition in when winning the toss, and the fact that the subsequent rain did indeed come didn’t change the fact that Australia had been given the chance to post such a daunting target first up, and that it was that decision at the toss that gave the Australians the advantage that led to them winning the second ODI in this Women’s Ashes series.

The Australians paced their innings terrifically well. All credit goes to Alyssa Healy whose run-a-ball 56 at the top of the order set the pace up nicely. Nicole Bolton’s 66 was more circumspect, but along with Ellyse Perry they kept the run rate at around five runs an over, and when both Bolton and Villani departed around the 34 over mark, the launching pad had been set if someone was good enough to take the opportunity.

Enter Australian captain Rachael Haynes.

On Sunday, Haynes had scrapped well, but it looked like a struggle all of the way through. Her 30 came from 56 deliveries, an important contribution, but her demise had allowed Ash Gardner to enter and get the team home.
But not today. From the outset she was positive, firm, pulling out all of the trick shots she is renowned for. The flicks, the ramps, they all came into play. But not only that – she was belligerent. Balls in her zone began disappearing to and over the boundary rope, and it didn’t matter if it was full or short, they kept going. Her pull and cut shots were just as effective as her drives and ramps. It was fascinating stuff.
At the other end, Perry had added yet another half century to her portfolio, finishing with 67 from 75 balls when she was stumped trying to up the ante in the final overs. But she was overshadowed by Haynes, whose fifty came off 36 deliveries, and she just kept raising the bar. By the end of the fifty overs her time to register one of the most amazing centuries ever in Australian cricket had passed, but she finished on 89 not out off just 56 deliveries, and had promoted Australia’s total to an imposing 6/296, and a tough (one would say almost impossible) chase beckoned for England.

England’s reply got off to the worst start possible. The loss of Winfield LBW to the third ball was then exacerbated when the rain came again, which cut their overs to be received by four, but the target lost only 11 runs, being reverted to 285. Then Megan Schutt struck again, removing Beaumont, and at 2/20 off five overs it was going to be a long haul.

In the same way that sometimes the laws of cricket are overruled by people wanting the unwritten and unenforceable “spirit of the game” to take precedence, so too sometimes is common sense unable to be used as it too can be unenforceable over the laws of the game. In her third over, with a new and very slippery white ball in her hand thanks to the downpour that the players had just returned from, Ellyse Perry bowled consecutive full deliveries above the waist of the striker, and as a result was removed from the bowling crease for the remainder of the match, which handed England a massive advantage against their opponent. Now the problem that comes from this is that, to be honest, neither of the deliveries was what could be classed as ‘dangerous’, and neither was deliberate. Neither were good old fashioned ‘bean balls’, aimed at the batsmen with deliberate intent to cause a false shot or out-and-out intimidation. Both deliveries slipped, the first so far over the striker’s head it would have been a wide if not for the no ball call, and the second comfortably wide of off stump such that the striker played it over slips to third man. And yet, according to the laws as they are now written, that was enough to have the bowler removed for the rest of the innings. Surely common sense would have come in, and at least forgiven the first slip. By all means, call it a no ball, but given that everyone realised that it had slipped out due to the conditions and that it was not at the striker in any way, let it go in regards to a warning. And certainly, once the next delivery did the same thing, but much closer to the striker, call it a no ball, and give the bowler a first warning. It would have been a much fairer assessment of the situation, but with the umpire tied to the laws of the game, one that wasn’t afforded. Yet, it seems that any time someone is ‘mankaded’ which is in the laws of the game, the umpires always ask the captain of the fielding team if they want to go ahead with the appeal before actually giving it out. Ridiculous – both ways.

Fortunately Australia has plenty of bowling options, and the varied attack kept snaring wickets when needed as the required run rate rose. It was great to see the twin attack of the young leg spinners Wellington and Beams as well as the left arm finger spin of Jonassen, tying up the English bats and giving away nothing loose. Between them they took five wickets and conceded less than 6 runs an over in conditions that are the worst possible for spin bowlers. All three were terrific in their roles. Up the front the spearhead Megan Schutt was superb, adding to her two early wickets with another two in the later overs, and finishing with 4/26 from 8 overs, a wonderful effort that led Australia to victory by 75 runs under the D/L Method.

With a 2-0 lead early in this series, the third and final ODI on Sunday at the same venue now becomes a vital component for the outcome of the series. If Australia managed to win it would hold six points going into the Test at North Sydney Oval, and would be holding all the cards. England however aren’t that far away, and if they win on Sunday the series is still anyone’s. More importantly if the cricket remains as captivating as it has been in the first two games, we will still have some terrific action ahead of us.

Scorecard: Women's Ashes 2nd ODI: Australia vs England

Discussion: Number Six. Do We Need an All-Rounder?

A discussion piece on the number six position in the Australian Test team, and why it has been such a challenge to fill the spot since the retirement of Michael Hussey.

Mostly, this stems from England and the 2005 Ashes series.
Andrew Flintoff’s mighty frame swung freely during the 2005 series when England won back the Ashes for the first time in 16 years. Batting at six lustily, and opening the bowling pacily, he was the perfect all-round combination which gave the England team the balance they required to finally beat the Australians. Following this series loss, it became the Australian selectors mandate to find an all-rounder who could fill the same position for Australia – batting in the middle order, and providing excellent overs with the ball such that all possible options could be covered in each match. More than a mandate, it became an obsession, completely overriding the selection policy that had served the team so well for two decades, which was pick the best players in each position and allow the team to fall into place like a game of Tetris. By all means – if an Andrew Flintoff or a Keith Miller suddenly appeared on the scene then pick them. What a fillip that would be! Instead the selectors tried to manufacture someone to take on that role, and it has been an impossible task in the 12 years that have passed since that time. You can’t make an all-rounder. You need to choose players who can hold their place in the team as either one of the top six batsmen or one of the top four bowlers. The fact that Flintoff could comfortably do both, for a few years at least, was what allowed him to be selected as an all-rounder. The Australian selectors tended to get that message muddled up completely. What they have been doing since 2005 is trying to find someone who can bat a bit and bowl a bit, and insert them into the team as a lesser player. For the most part, the players who have been chosen in essence as an all-rounder have been unable to convincingly prove they deserve their place in the team as a batsman OR a bowler, and are therefore causing problems for the team on both fronts. They have neither scored enough runs as a batsman to help the top order or hold their place solely as a batsman, and in general they haven’t been bowled enough or taken enough wickets to be considered as a bowler. But because they are apparently half-arsed at both, that then qualifies them as a necessary player.

For years we had Shane Watson shoved in our faces as the team all-rounder. That is, when he hadn’t broken down and spent time out of the team every couple of months. As a kid he had shown enormous potential for his adoptive state of Tasmania, batting at three and bowling at over 140kph. He looked like the real deal, and once Flintoff had laid the platform in 2005 Watson was given a push forward, getting his first Test cap in Sydney in January 2006. Without going into the whole Watson saga, his career never lived up to the promise, and he was the major polarising factor in the all-rounder debate for the next decade.

The next real push for an all-rounder came after the break down of James Pattinson in Adelaide against South Africa in 2012, which thanks to being a bowler down on a road, allowed the Proteas to bat out the draw, surviving 148 overs in their second innings in which Faf du Plessis scored an unbeaten century on debut. Suddenly teams were being selected to cover in case one of the bowlers broke down, rather than accept that this occurrence may happen on rare occasions and cannot be covered even in the instance that a second rate all-rounder may be in the team. Once again, the selection of a player with credentials less than other players was getting a walk up start to the team on the off chance that they might be able to succeed in two spheres of the game rather than one specialist.

The players that have been considered for this position in the Australian Test team are not necessarily bad players, it’s just that they have been selected without the right form or results behind them in the hope that their ‘potential’ would be enough to help them do the job. For the most part, they have not. Apart from Watson, others to have been given a chance include Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Moises Henriques and Hilton Cartwright. The only one who could have said to have succeeded on that list is Smith, who has done so when he himself dropped his bowling and sought selection only as a batsman. 

You could almost weep for someone like James Hopes, who was never afforded an opportunity despite years of service in the role for Queensland. The fact that he was a bowling all-rounder was probably held against him, but if he had been given his chance he would have given everything he had, and probably been better than any of the other players mentioned. 

So what becomes the selector’s thoughts on the number six position heading into this Ashes summer? Once again clouding their judgement could be England’s line up, which not only has Jonny Bairstow as keeper-batsman but two or possibly three world class all-rounders in Ben Stokes (who may or may not make our shores), Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes. Their middle-to-lower order batting is likely to be quite strong – possibly even stronger than their top order, but that is a conversation for another day. The fact that England has so many class all-rounders to choose from may once again have OUR selectors believing that we need our own all-rounder in the middle order, even if they are a very poor relation to those in the England colours. Adding to that cloud is the current injury woes of our fast bowling cartel. Mitch Starc was sent home early from India and didn’t tour Bangladesh at all. Josh Hazlewood broke down in Bangladesh and won’t be seen for a couple of weeks yet. James Pattinson is gone and out of the picture once again. And Pat Cummins has only just made it back into the team after five and a half years of injury following his first Test appearance. Just the mere possibility that one of our bowlers could break down in the middle of a Test is probably starting to give the selectors those same nightmares again. These two factors seems to point to the selectors sticking with someone who is half arsed at both batting and bowling.

If this is the case, then the same candidates will have their names mentioned once again. Both Glenn Maxwell and Hilton Cartwright played in the last Test against Bangladesh and will be freshest in the selectors’ minds. Neither has had much of a bowling workload, nor could really only be relied upon to offer the merest support in that category. Batting wise, the selectors have an obvious soft spot for Cartwright and have been ushering him into the limelight as best they can. He has appeared solid in his two Test innings against meagre opposition. Maxwell scored his first Test century on his return against India in the 3rd Test. In his seven Test innings since against India and Bangladesh, he has passed 20 four times for a highest score of 45, with one of those innings being not out when he scored the winning runs against Bangladesh. He may not have set the world on fire, but if the selectors are fair dinkum then his efforts are surely deserving of having first crack at the number six spot this summer. His style and form don’t adhere to how many people see a Test batsman. And yet he seems to finally be making strides in the right direction, and not picking him for Brisbane would appear to signal that he is surplus to requirements from now on. If he can curb his unorthodox strokes and improve his defence he can still be exactly what Australia require from a number six. Surely he deserves that chance to make the spot his own on home soil.

Not totally out of the running at this stage are Marcus Stoinis and Moises Henriques. Both bowl good medium fast seam, something that would be useful in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. They both have solid first class records, averaging 35 with the bat, and both have batted at the crucial number three spot for their states. Still, surely the number six in the Test team must average above 40, and given that neither of these two does that in first class cricket, and their bowling doesn’t make them indispensable because of it, they need to do more to grab that spot. In the same field you can add Travis Head, who has had a terrific 12 months in the ODI team. He is a handy part time bowler when required, and his batting in the one day game has been superb. But while his average in first class cricket is improving rapidly, it is still currently only at 34.45, which would really need to keep increasing to make him a certain selection.

There are about 20 batsmen in Australia who would like to see their name front and centre in this debate, and all of them have their positives and negatives. The best stage to make your case is in the Sheffield Shield, and with three games being played before the 1st Test in Brisbane, that is where the real audition will take place. Big runs there could be the difference between watching the Ashes from prime position on the field, or on the TV at the pub with the rest of us.

Two Mistakes Cost England Dearly in First Match of Women's Ashes

The Women’s Ashes series began with a brilliant and enthralling first encounter between Australia and England at Allan Border Field, and it has set up the whole series as an enthralling contest. The game ebbed and flowed in both teams’ direction, and the longer it went on the more you feel as though England has only themselves to blamed for not being one game up. There was no lack of intensity or tension in the match, and it was a great advertisement for the game of cricket.

Two key moments can be found to see how the game changed in momentum, and can be pinpointed as the reason that Australia was able to get up in this contest.

1. The run out of Lauren Winfield. England was cruising batting first, 2/103 in the 23rd over with Winfield and Sarah Taylor setting up what looked to be a platform to launch from for a huge final total. 250 looked like it was going to be an absolute minimum which would be enormously difficult to chase. Then both batsmen had a brain fade, as Winfield glided to short third man where Jess Jonassen leapt on the ball – but for some reason both women were in the middle of the wicket, Winfield having run and Taylor watching the ball hadn’t called no. Winfield was run out terribly, and the momentum changed. The Aussies intensity on the field picked up, the bowlers bowled tremendously, and a score of 250-280 was restricted to 9/228 off fifty overs. That wicket changed the match.
2. The dropped caught and bowled of Alex Blackwell. With Australia building carefully, though four wickets down, Blackwell was the obvious leader with the bat and looked to be the key. In the 33rd over when she was on 35, she was fooled by an excellent delivery from Alex Hartley, and hit it straight back to her. Hartley dropped the chance. It was the second game changer. At five wickets down and the top five back in the pavilion, England would have been in the box seat to shut down the match. Blackwell stayed, and was still there at the end when Australia passed the total required with two wickets in hand and five balls remaining. Blackwell had indeed been the key, and the life she received was the missed wicket that changed the match.

There were two other stars for Australia who contributed so much to this victory. Amanda-Jade Wellington came on during the Above England partnership, and bowled as good a spell of leg spin bowling as you could hope to see at such a time of such an important match. She threw the ball up to the bat and spun it hard, consistently beating the edge of the bat, and tying the up in knots. It was a pleasure to watch, and her figures of 0/39 from 10 overs do not accurately reflect how important the early spell was, and how much it contributed to the reeling in of the England innings. It was wonderful stuff. Then there was the cameo innings of Ash Gardner at the end of the Australian innings that was so important to the victory. Coming in at 6/181, with 48 required from 44 balls, Gardner batted fearlessly and took all of the pressure off her senior partner Blackwell, scoring 27 from 18 deliveries with two fours and two sixes. It left Australia needing 9 runs from 15 balls when she departed, a much more comfortable target than when she entered the fray.

While Australia gain the first two points in the Women’s Ashes, England were not far away from having them themselves. The Aussies will know they will need to improve in all areas against this very good England team if they are going to win the series. The two upcoming games in Coffs Harbour this week should be equally fascinating viewing.

Scorecard: Women's Ashes 1st ODI: Australia vs England

Warriors Perfect Tournament Seals JLT Cup Victory

After four weeks of play in the domestic one day competition, the best team has come out on top, and in the process some individuals have asked questions of the selectors of their future roles in the national set up. Having only lost one game in the lead up to the final, against fellow finalist South Australia, the Western Australian team put that result to rights to lift the JLT Cup without any question as to their superiority.

South Australia’s score was hampered by consistent wickets falling, halting the momentum of each partnership as they were beginning to take hold. Unlike previous games where the team was able to accelerate in the final 10 to 15 overs, the Redbacks were kept in check by the Warriors bowlers by wickets, proving their value in such a pressure final situation. The consistency in the bowling was proven by the bowling figures, which showed such similarity throughout for Behrendorff (1/49), Coulter-Nile (2/54), Richardson (2/47), Tye (2/43) and Short (2/47). 9/248 was never likely to be enough given that teams batting first were often finishing with more than 300 in order to create a pressure situation for the team batting second. The bowlers had done their job, and now it was up to the batsmen.

Shaun Marsh and Michael Klinger have again had very good tournaments. If one disregarded their respective ages there would once again be plenty of conversation about both of their chances of playing in the national team. For Marsh at least, that talk is still real, especially after the start he had in this tournament. His supporters have come out loudly behind him, extolling his virtues and in essence looking over the ups and downs he has experienced in his Test career. That he has come back strongly after his latest axing from the Test is a positive. One suggests that his time has probably passed unless some serious things occur.

That this innings was engineered and shepherded through by the next two in the leadership ranks is perhaps the most important part of the final. Cam Bancroft has morphed himself from a recent solid opening batsman contender for the Test team to a freewheeling batsman who is also taking on the role of wicket-keeper in the absence of Shane Whiteman. His keeping has been clean, and his innings here was a key, building the team from 2/57 until his dismissal at 183 had gotten them to relative safety. More food for thought for the national selectors.

Another of those who has polarised opinion is Mitch Marsh, now Western Australian captain and currently recuperating and unable to bowl. When he was in the Test team, batting at six, his lack of runs was what was the cause for concern – that he needed to be scoring more to hold that vital position. This period of his career, where he is playing as a batsman only while also building his captaincy skills at first class level, could be the most vital. He is again being able to focus on his batting, knowing that he must succeed without being able to fall back on his bowling to be his selection backbone. His 80 not out at a run a ball to lead his team to victory was the most impressive part of this final from either side and perhaps the most relevant. Marsh is still so young that he has so much to offer both state and country, and a season putting together a mountain of first class runs and rebuilding his bowling would be the kind of season that could bring both himself and the national team the kind of rewards they have been waiting for.

The one day season is over for Australia’s first class cricketers. The four day cricket begins this week, and the anticipation of the next month now focuses on those performances leading up to the beginning of the Ashes.

Scorecard: JLT Cup Final: Western Australia vs South Australia

"Send 'em In Nasser!" Returns to Haunt Victoria

I know I keep harping on about this, but I’m going to say it once again. What is with this idea about winning the toss and inserting the opposition to bat? It continues to look like a preposterous idea, and it proved extremely costly for the Victorian side in yesterday’s elimination final, as South Australia mega-thrashed the Bushrangers to progress to Saturday’s JLT Cup final against Western Australia.

Whatever Peter Handscomb’s reasons were for bowling first are probably valid, or at least were validated before the toss took place. But it still seems a strange tactic to put the team in a position where they have to chase down a total in order to win a game. It worked for them against New South wales where they blew their batting out of the water, but if a team gets away and posts a large total – and 5/339 off 48 overs is a LARGE total – all the pressure goes straight onto the team chasing, and any early wickets make the task almost impossible. Tasmania found that out on Tuesday and Queensland, and Victoria proved the case here yesterday.

The match was perfectly set up by two of the ‘unknowns’. With all of the Australian players back from India, there was an influx of selections for both sides, with Travis Head, Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson coming in for South Australia – meaning the incredibly unfortunate Jake Lehmann missed out – while Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and Dan Christian returned for Victoria. Despite this, it was the Redbacks opening partnership of Jake Weatherald and Alex Carey that set up the game. Their partnership of 212 from just under 37 overs was the platform that gave the rest of the batting order the chance to explode and put the finishing touches to the innings. Carey was solidity itself, the anchor that allowed the partnership to flourish. His dismissal on 92 off 107 deliveries again stranded his short of his first century for his State, but this combined with his excellent glovework again will have put him well and truly in discussion for that other squad that is being announced in a few weeks. His partner Weatherald though starred once again, scoring his second century of the tournament and playing some wonderful strokes, both deft and bludgeoning. He has shown plenty of promise in his short career so far without actually nailing down some big scores. Turning only 23 in two weeks’ time there is plenty to like about his style, and perhaps this is the season he begins to get the payoff for his determination. His is one name to keep in the black book this summer.

With the start achieved, the middle order did their job. Travis Head smashed 29 from 16 deliveries, Alex Ross a similar 18 from 6 deliveries, while Tom Cooper again showed off his skills with a swift and sensual 59 from 24 balls, all of which meant 127 runs came from the final 72 deliveries. The Victorian bowlers had no answer, despite their excellent series. Tremain, Ahmed, even Peter Siddle who had been so frugal for a month was taken to the cleaners. The final total was even increased to Victoria having to chase 345 off 48 overs because of the earlier rain interruption.

As was to be expected, the Vics crumbled. Aaron Finch lived up to his reputation, being bowled between bat and pad for a golden duck. Handscomb was caught at first slip. Maxwell was plumb LBW to Zampa trying to sweep – at least conventionally. There was no saviour in the tail today, and the unheralded Dan Worrall and Cameron Valente did most of the damage. Worrall went for 62 runs, but picked up five invaluable wickets in his ten overs which destroyed the Victorian batting. Though his three ODI appearances in South Africa 12 months ago didn’t reap the rewards he would have hoped for, he has shown throughout the JLT Cup that he has the skills to improve in this form of the game. So too Valente, whose 2/23 off six overs again showed his all-round ability, something that may well get more of a look-in with the Redbacks this season. It was also +good from a national perspective to see Adam Zampa return and do well, his figures of 3/31 a good indicator that he is back on track after his Indian experience.

Does such a crushing defeat – by 176 runs no less – simply come down to a bad call after winning the toss? Nothing ever does. But if we all learned nothing else from Nasser Hussain’s reign as England captain fifteen years ago, it was that the popularised call of “Send ‘em in Nasser!” doesn’t come about if you win the toss and win, it only comes when you win the toss and insert the home team on a road and they score 2/380 on the first day of the series. Peter Handscomb may well have done well in taking that history with him when he was in the centre of the ground at 1.30pm yesterday afternoon.

Scorecard: JLT Cup Elimination Final: Victoria vs South Australia

Clinical Cricket Doesn't Raise Any Excitement Levels

The final preliminary matches of the JLT Cup turned into one-sided affairs almost from the outset, and though both matches were going to have some say in who would progress to which part of the final layout, the most unlikely scenarios in order for teams to make an impression never came to fruition, leaving three teams to fight out the final two matches to decide this season’s champion.

The young pups CAXI team was completely overwhelmed by the best team in the competition this season, collapsing under the weight of a team at the top of their game and of a four week campaign that will have been a sapping experience against high class opposition. Under captain Beau Webster the young team has done exceptionally well, and the most pleasing part is that each of the players in the team has made a contribution along the way. Even today under the excellent Warriors bowling, the team had managed to reach 2/126 off 33 overs, and a good skip along in the final overs could have gotten them to 250, a score at least worthy of defending. Unfortunately, the following collapse of 8/53 doesn’t do justice to their good work in recent times, and left the Warriors well in the box seat. And there was no mercy shown by them either, as they slashed their way to 1/182 off just 30 overs, with D’arcy Short smashing 119 not out himself of the total.

If justice serves, Western Australia will win the final and the tournament on Saturday. They have been the best team this month, with their only loss a narrow one as they almost chased down a huge target set by South Australia. The senior players have all set the tone, and the up and coming players have followed them. All things being equal they will win, but cricket often doesn’t run to the script.

Scorecard: JLT Cup Match 20: Western Australia vs Cricket Australia XI

Tasmania had to beat Queensland and win with the double bonus point to reach the playoff stage, but the consistent Queensland batting, which finally clicked together for the first time, took that possibility away from them by posting 8/339 from their fifty overs. Yet another consistent innings from both Khawaja and Labuschagne, a Joe Burns classic, the impressive return of Sam Heazlett, the improving performance of the impressive Jimmy Peirson, and one of the biggest sixes ever seen from the bat of Ben Cutting, all meant that Tasmania had to reach the total of 340 off just 25 overs – a required run rate of 13.6 runs per over.

And to be honest, there was that tingling feeling that they would have a real rack at it! Dunk, Paine, Doolan, Bailey, Wade, Silk, Faulkner… the possibility was there. And then, like water doused fireworks, nothing happened. Dunk fell in the first over, and when Paine went in the sixth over the score was 2/17 and under three runs an over. The expected call to arms to snatch a (by any right, an extraordinarily unlikely) finals spot never happened. The most exciting part of the innings came from Cameron Boyce at number nine. He entered at 7/171 in the 38th over, when any chance of a finals spot or even a victory had gone by the board overs ago, and smashed 52 entertaining runs from 31 deliveries, helping the Tigers to reach 256 before expiring. It was a very strange evening all round.

Scorecard: JLT Cup Match 21: Tasmania vs Queensland

Discussion: Australian Wicket-Keeper. Position Vacant?

It’s one of the main talking points leading up to the selection of the 1st Test team for the Ashes, starting in Brisbane in 6 weeks’ time. Since Brad Haddin’s removal from the team in England in 2015 there has been a massive difference in opinion amongst fans as to what the role of wicket-keeper/batsman really means in the Australian set up. This is perhaps only exacerbated by the fact that the national selectors also seem to be poles apart on their opinion on what are the qualities demanded of the position. Their confusing rhetoric only leads to the opinion that they believe the batting output of the keeper is at least as important as his ability with the gloves. Which is a crock of rubbish. Let’s be honest – the second everyone realises that we will be discovering another Adam Gilchrist around about the same time as we pick up the next Shane Warne – i.e. sometime in the next century – then the better off we will be, and the better able to consider all keepers on a normal level we will be able to do.

Amazingly, three of the contenders are all eventually going to be fighting for a place in the Tasmanian team before they get to challenge for the Australian team. Matthew Wade has returned home from India, while Tim Paine has replaced him for the 3 T20 internationals in India. While they have both been away, Ben Dunk has taken on the role with the gloves while opening the batting in the JLT Cup. Dunk also has represented Australia as a keeper in the T20 format. 

Wade of course is the Test and ODI incumbent, and has been since he was chosen over Peter Nevill for the Adelaide Test last summer. He was brought in to the team almost specifically to score more runs than Nevill had been producing, despite the fact that Nevill is a much more accomplished keeper, a fact that was proven by Nevill’s selection over Wade for the T20 World Cup in 2016 in India, where the selectors decided that the team needed sure gloves ahead of late order runs to progress. It has been a bone of contention ever since, and it still isn’t close to being resolved. Despite the selectors showing faith, and his teammates coming out in support of how good he is in the dressing room, there are few around the country that share that enthusiasm. The sheer fact that he averages less than Nevill with the bat in the time he has been back in the Australian team means that the team is actually worse off than it was this time last year in terms of dismissals and runs from its national keeper. But that doesn’t mean he will be discarded.

Tim Paine could quite probably currently be Australia’s keeper if it was not for the horrendous injury he suffered in a meaningless game in Brisbane a few years ago. It put him out of the game at a time that his chance appeared destined to arrive, a chance that eventually went to Matthew Wade. While he is still well regarded as a keeper, the coming battle for the gloves in Tasmania would appear to block any chance he has of making a surprise return to the Test team. He is very unfortunate, as he has always looked a safe prospect.

Peter Nevill’s 12 months has been topsy turvey. He batted for near on a day in Perth last summer in the 1st Test against South Africa to try and draw that match, and his 61 was disciplined and brave. Yet one Test later he was discarded, the victim no less of the fact that the batsmen in the team were incapable of scoring enough runs to win a match, and so the wicket-keeper who had done nothing wrong with the gloves was moved on. It is a signature poor selection from the Australian selectors, and one they have still not lived down – nor rectified. So what did Nevill do? He went back to the Shield, and promptly made three centuries with a top score of 179 not out, and averaged 56.81 for the season. So far in the JLT Cup he has scored runs quickly but briefly at the end of run chases, but with the gloves he has been superb, highlighted by the game against the CAXI when he made eight dismissals in an innings – 6 catches and 2 stumping’s – equalling the world record for most dismissals in an innings by a wicket-keeper. His 2017 compared to Wade’s 2017 really is a case study.

South Australia’s Alex Carey has been putting forward a case for a fresh start with the national keeping position, and doing it boldly and bluntly. The junior AFL and cricket star came to the fore last season, snaring 59 dismissals for the season in eleven matches, more than double of the next keeper (Peter Nevill). He also scored 594 runs at a healthy average of 33.00. So far in the JLT Cup he has made quick runs as an opener, and continued to show talent with the gloves behind the stumps. 

Leading up to the 1st Test squad announcement, the form of all keepers, but these four in particular, will be paramount. They will want to be flawless behind the sticks, and productive in front of them. Even so, the question to be asked will be this - Will the selectors want to make a change? Will they be bold enough to make a change that is warranted? Or will they believe that their judgement has been correct and stick to their convictions?

The danger in retaining Matthew Wade is that any missed chances with the gloves, or a continued lack of runs with the bat, will raise the pressure cauldron on him with each passing moment. If he starts the series in Brisbane and cannot do the job any better than he has since his return last season, it means both the selectors and his teammates will also be under constant pressure. If the team wins then that pressure will be bearable and probably acceptable. If the team loses it will be a different story altogether, which would then create the possibility of a change in that position, which will only retain that pressure in the interim.

If the selectors were to go with Peter Nevill for Brisbane, then the media will likely have him under pressure immediately to prove he can score the amount of runs that the selectors felt he DIDN’T do in his last shot at the role. Some will see it as a backward step, possibly a selection out of necessity rather than correcting an error - and no matter how clean his glove work is, if he doesn’t score runs that are deemed necessary, the pressure on his position will continue as before. It is a problem of the selectors making with their selection of Wade over Nevill last season, and it is one that cannot be solved until the selectors ensure they make clear that they are picking the best gloveman in the country to be the custodian of the Test team.

Alex Carey is the young gun whose name has surfaced in the last 12 months as a possible future candidate. He was named to go on the A tour to South Africa, and his batting has impressed. But it is his glove work that gets him into the queue. Without it you can’t make the role your own. Last season Carey made 59 dismissals behind the stumps, breaking the previous record for most dismissals in a season. Obviously you have to have a good bowling attack to help you break such a record, and there is little doubt that Sayers, Mennie, Richardson and Zampa helped him enormously.

The question that may well be asked is this - would going in with a clean slate for Brisbane create a new beginning for the team? Or would it cause an anxiety that would not be beneficial? Would the passing over of both Wade and Nevill as players who have been given an opportunity but not taken it, in favour of a brand new option in the hope of creating a long term servant in the position, be a turning point? Australia’s selection of Rod Marsh over Brian Taber in 1970 and Ian Healy over several candidates in 1988 were out of the blue selections that were heavily debated for 12 months after they were made. Both men served Australia for over a decade in the role and both are rated at the top of the tree both for Australia and worldwide. Is it time to reset once again?

Everyone will have their own opinion on this position, and in my house the opinion that ‘any keeper in Australia would be a better proposition than Matthew Wade’ has been heard to be floated whenever the cricket is on TV. Hopefully the discussion within the selection panel will seriously consider what needs to be done about the wicket-keeping role, and selects the person who most deserves to be there on their ability with the gloves rather than any runs they may possibly make in order to cover up for the failures of the top six with the bat. Surely if this is the main consideration, then we will have a different keeper on November 23rd in Brisbane.

When Does OH&S Overrule Common Sense on the Cricket Field?

Two completely different matches on Sunday more or less decided the finalists for this season’s JLT Cup, and once again not without controversy rearing its head. While the bat dominated at Drummoyne Oval in a scintillating clash between West and South, it was the low scoring and ultimately hugely disappointing decision to abandon the match at North Sydney Oval that has had the greatest effect on the outcome of the tournament, and again raised questions about either the pitch surfaces or the competence of officials – or perhaps both.

The importance of dropped catches again came to the fore in the match between unbeaten Western Australia and the charging South Australia. Callum Ferguson has been slowly rebuilding his game after his controversial one Test appearance in Hobart last season. Picked without recent form behind him, he failed in both innings before being pushed aside for the new generation in the next Test. He then spent the majority of the summer putting out single figure scores, unable to mount a case for his return. The new season has been kinder to him, and his innings a few days ago was more like the Callum Ferguson everyone enjoyed watching. But today was special. An early chance gave him the opportunity to make a statement, and that he did, pounding the Warriors bowling from pillar to post, building his run rate to excessive levels, and eventually completing a score that must have even surprised himself. His 169 runs from 138 deliveries was striking of the purest kind, playing shots all around the ground in various forms of along the ground and over the top. It was just terrific stuff, and reminded those who remember of his time in the ODI team when he looked as though he was destined for a place in the Test team as well. Injury ruined that dream at the time, and his one taste last summer was like a drop of water to a dehydrated man. Whether he gets another chance or not, if he retains this form he will at least put severe pressure on the incumbent number six.

Chasing 331 for victory, the rampant Warriors top order went at it like it was a forgone conclusion. Even the early loss of Shaun Marsh and Cam Bancroft didn’t ease the attack. Michael Klinger – once again, running out of superlatives for his batting even in the late stages of his career – was just brilliant. He knows his game so well that he can score against any type of bowling that is hurled down at him. He is just as effective playing power shots over the top as he is in playing the cute ducks and slaps around the corner. There have been any number of players down the years that have missed a lot of national section when they obviously deserved their chance, and none was better than what Klinger has shown in recent years. He is a marvel. Alongside him, newly installed captain Mitch Marsh again proved that he has the talent with the bat that we are yet to see at International level, especially in Test cricket. He monstered the bowling, playing in his V between mid-off and square leg. It has been his defence that has been a concern in the Test arena, but here in the one day game he just launched himself and battered the bowling around. I’ve said this recently a couple of times, that the break from bowling because of his ailments may yet be the best thing for his game in the long run, allowing him the time and responsibility to earn his place as a batsman without relying on his bowling keeping him in the frame.

The finish was hurt by losing both of these men in successive balls with 30 runs required off three overs, and while the middle order tried hard they fell five runs short, confining the warriors to their first loss, and the Redbacks the very real chance of making a play-off final. And while it wasn’t a bowlers game one again, the crowd got its money’s worth.

Scorecard: JLT Cup Match 18: South Australia vs Western Australia

The chaos at North Sydney Oval will have brought tensions between New South Wales and Victoria to a head once again, reliving the events of two years ago when a Shield match was abandoned at the SCG due to what was stated to be poor pitch conditions, handing a forfeit to Victoria that essentially won them the Sheffield Shield and had the Blues missing the final because of it.

Last night seemed even more surreal, as the Blues batted first and was dismissed by the Bushrangers for just 144 – a score only inflated by an amazing innings from number eleven Doug Bollinger who made 30, easily top score. The bowling was highlighted by the amazing economical figures of Peter Siddle, whose ten overs cost him only 0/14, while the stars were firstly 17 year old Will Sutherland who finished with a terrific bag of 4/11 from 5.2 overs and Fawad Ahmed who again bamboozled everyone apart from Bradman Bollinger in taking 3/24.

In reply, Mitch Starc and Pat Cummins came out on fire, and bowled with power and pace at their opponents to get their team back in the game. Starc smashed through Harris, Dean and Handscomb to give the team a fighting chance, while Bollinger took out the stubborn Short to have the Vics at 4/66 and the game was in the balance. A restorative partnership had them at 4/108 after 26 overs, and in the box seat to win the game and take the bonus point they needed to knock the Blues out of the competition, and likely Tasmania as well.

It was then that the umpires decided that the pitch had become too dangerous, following two deliveries from Sean Abbott that reared awkwardly at the batsmen. They abandoned the match from any further play, a simply amazing reaction, given that the game was over three quarters of the way through. Why, having watched the Blues bat their entire innings, and then the Bushrangers bat halfway through theirs, did they suddenly decide the pitch wasn’t fit to continue? It is bizarre to say the least, and raises questions not only about the surface itself but the competence of the officials in charge. Does anyone believe that if the match had been the other way around, that New South Wales was on the verge of winning and the game was abandoned in their favour, along with awarding a bonus point to make the finals, that there would not have been an abrupt and over the top screaming match coming from officials suggesting that the old bias in favour of New South Wales had resurfaced? Does anyone think that Cricket Victoria would not have appealed the decision and forced the officials to revisit their decision? It really does appear highly unlikely that in that reverse universe that the match would have been halted at that stage. There is no doubt that Victoria was almost absolutely going to win the match, and highly likely they would have picked up that bonus point as well. No one is seriously disputing that fact. What must be in dispute is why there was no apparent warning that this type of decision was about to be made, that the pitch had changed so severely in such a short space of time that it required this kind of action. While there is no doubt that the Phil Hughes incident was at the forefront of the minds of those that brought about the abrupt end to this match, it still seems unlikely it would have been abandoned had the Blues been about to win, and that they would have been forced to pay out the match.

This now seriously brings into question the match that is scheduled be played at the ground later this week, and also the Shield match that is scheduled there in November, and not to mention the Test match between the Australian and England Women’s teams. Two things will happen from this point – either the games will have to be moved to another venue, or this result will be buried, and games will continue on this surface as scheduled. If that is to happen, then officialdom will surely not escape the axe from this result having been allowed to occur. What is perhaps most disappointing is that an amazing spell of bowling from a 17 year old young man who looks to have an enormous future in the game of cricket in Australia will be overlooked, all because of the over zealous decision making of officials.

Scorecard: JLT Cup Match 19: New South Wales vs Victoria

The Tried and the Untried Make Their Case for Higher Honours

It was a day where two matches brought forth a variety of ex-Test batsmen and a couple on their way to becoming Test batsmen, each of them showing selectors what they can do with the willow in hand. And while for some it may be that their time has passed, and for other that their time is closing in soon, each made their own case in their own way.

In the match between Tasmania and the Cricket Australia XI, it was the two ex-Test batsmen who showed the youngsters how to pace a one day innings after solid start, and turn that into a total that forces itself out of reach. With somewhat of a foundation from the openers Dunk and McDermott, the innings was laid in place, with George Bailey once again the key to the batting. Bailey has been a beacon over the past six to seven years. having fought his way into reckoning in the national one day squad, he even became captain with the cycle of injuries then captain Michael Clarke was facing. His leadership of the team was fearless, yet calm. His batting was straight forward, building in serenity to ending in bombastic fury. He has never complained about his own lot. He barely raised a ripple after being stood down in World Cup of 2015 having led the team in the first match and fashioned a victory, not the least from his own innings that held the middle order together, and yet found himself on the outer for the rest of the tournament. he was then eventually phased out from ODI team altogether, and it is no surprise that the team still seems to miss his presence in the middle order. His innings today, alongside fellow Australian castoff Alex Doolan who has his own tale of woe when it comes to being discarded with little recourse, once again proved that while he may not be the biggest name or flashiest player, he can still do the job required, and with that casual lopsided grin always in place. While Doolan fell for 83 to end their partnership, Bailey was not dismissed until the final ball of the innings for 126 off an even 100 deliveries. It had stretched the total to 7/334, and probable safety. Bailey's record for Australia will always be underrated, and perhaps that is something that should be looked at. Today he proved once again what he is capable of.

Once again the CAXI showed promise, but without the experience in either cricket terms or in age they again found it difficult to put pressure on the first class opposition. This is perhaps as it should be. Every one of these players is gaining valuable game time and knowledge in each of these games, and although winning would be something the team and individuals would prefer, it is not a necessity. The exposure to top level cricket is the reward and winning in itself. The progression of their own cricketing career is getting a kick along that previous generations have not received. The individual performances have been impressive viewing, and for at least some of these players will be the key to their further growth in skills.

Scorecard: JLT Cup Match 16: Tasmania vs Cricket Australia XI

Down the road, four left-handed batsmen - two who have played for Australia and two who are destined to do so - dominated a match that locked in Usman Khawaja for the 1st Test in Brisbane and proved that the New South Wales top order has a lot to offer the future of Australian cricket.
Khawaja was calmness personified. Against a hostile attack on what in fairness was a road, he saw off the early loss of his partners to combine with Marnus Labuschagne in an innings-rescuing partnership. He held his ground, waited for the loose ball, and rode the wave like the class international batsman he is. Even when Nevill intelligently opened the bowling with Nathan Lyon against Queensland batsmen who have a known weakness against spin bowling, he saw off the threat and pounced on the middle order bowling in style. After a 2017 that has been littered with little opportunity and disappointment in what he has been given, he has the chance to rectify that in the upcoming summer, where surely he will be given every opportunity to dominate.

Nic Maddinson's 2017 hasn't been much better than Khawaja's. Given his Test chance, he was dropped after three games, and he sat out most of the rest of the summer in an effort to deal with it. The most pleasing part of all of this was he was duly given the time by Cricket Australia, Cricket NSW, his teammates and the fans to collect himself, and he is now repaying all of them with his run making in this series. He made 86 here again, and it was decorated with the kind of stroke play everyone knows he can achieve. Though he fell with another century in sight, the fact that he has put aside his disappointment and now started laying the beginnings of the case to give him another chance at the highest level is the most pleasing thing of all about the start to this summer.

Dan Hughes continues to build his reputation alongside Maddinson. Although he missed the chance to represent the Australia A team when the tour to South Africa was called off in the pay dispute, he has continued on his course from last season. His 122 here was the perfect example, where he found gaps all around the ground and kept the run rate ticking over at the precise rate required, without appearing in any trouble. His ascent has been swift, and hopefully there is more to come this season. Kurtis Patterson as well continues to show the form that has people mentioning his name for the future. many thought he was unfortunate not to get the call up for the Adelaide Test last season when his teammate was selected, but his tall stance and powerful driving has him primed to get a chance at some stage. Though run out here for 43 in the final chase, his innings reeked with class.

While New South Wales won in comfort, the left hand combination of batting in the match was the talking point, and the is plenty of conversation going on about just how much influence each of them will have on the different levels of the 2017/18 season.

Scorecard: JLT Cup Match 17: Queensland vs New South Wales

When One Unheralded Over Wins You a Match

Once again in this tournament we have been privy to a captain winning the toss, and then, at least to my mind, throwing away that advantage by immediately asking his opponents to have a bat. A perfect day, a perfect wicket and a small and fast ground must surely make a captain think that the perfect way to start a match is bat first and set a total. Though this may have been one of the points of the match that could be used to explain why the match turned out the way it did, on this day it was one over – almost THE PERFECT OVER – that proved to be the difference between winning and losing, and it was a pleasure to watch and enjoy.

With South Australia inserted to have first use of the wicket, they didn’t waste it. As Alex Carey held the anchor with his 33 from 66 deliveries, his opening partner Jake Weatherald showed his class again with a fast paced 71 from 51 deliveries, which was well supported by run-a-ball innings from Callum Ferguson, who looks to have finally rediscovered his mojo with 73 from 72, Tom Cooper with 37 from 32 and Alex Ross with 33 from 37.
So far in this tournament the 38th over mark has been an interesting comparison point. We have often seen teams at around that 180 run mark, and needed 10 an over to post a par score of 300, something that never looks likely at the time but more often than not is achieved anyway. Today South Australia was cruising at 3/212 after 38 overs, and 10 an over from that point would have been a total of 332, something that they probably had to achieve to put the pressure on Victoria. And once again this target was exceeded, thanks to the final pair of Jake Lehmann and Cameron Valente. Together they added 78 runs in the final five overs. Valente hit the ball clean and long, his 36 runs coming from just 17 deliveries and impressing in its orthodoxy. He has something about him that makes you wonder just how good he could be as an all-rounder in the future. His innings was serene compared to his partner. Lehmann started off with classic Lehmann cuts and drives that could easily have been by his father in his prime such was their similarity. But then came the push, and the outrageous irregularity of his flicks and ramp shots and taking of deliveries from a metre outside off stump down to the fine leg boundary was incredible to watch. And not off spinners, this was off bowlers such as the debuting 17 year old paceman Will Sutherland, and the pacey Boland and Tremain. It was amazing stuff, and his fifty came from just 22 deliveries before finishing on 63 not out off 25 deliveries. Just incredible. That late flurry of runs pushed the Redbacks total to 6/356, and perhaps, just perhaps, out of Victoria’s reach. In all of this carnage, Fawad Ahmed again was terrific, picking up 3/62 from his ten overs, where despite the punishment on the small ground he still managed to provoke false strokes from the batsmen, and the teenage debutant Will Sutherland who is studying for his final year exams was also terrific in his first two spells, not overawed at the situation and beating the bat on several occasions. He can be well pleased with his first effort.

The reply from Victoria was as to be expected. Even without Cameron White they went hard at the total, refusing to accept it was beyond their reach. 21 year old Matt Short scored a run-a-ball 81 at the top of the order to again highlight the amazing talent in youth Australia has coming through. Travis Dean followed him, and then led him, playing his first leading innings in a domestic one day match. The loss of Harris, Short and then skipper Peter Handscomb for only 21 left Victoria at 3/203 off 30 overs, and the chase for another 154 off 20 overs was, on this size ground in this day and age, very achievable. Sam Gotch played well again before falling for 32, but Dean was advancing and dominating, bringing up his century and along with 19 year old Blake Thomson was within striking distance after 44 overs, with the score being 4/294, and 63 runs required from six overs.

One often wonders what bowlers are thinking sometimes in these run chases. Some decide short pitched bowling is the key, others think a plethora of slower balls are what is required. Most of the time we are left wondering as ball after ball disappears to or over the fence, and yet the plan doesn’t seem to change. On occasions though, there are overs that are bowled that win matches, even if they are overlooked in the final wash up of events. It isn’t always the last over heroics that wins a game of one day cricket. Sometimes a thoughtful and sensible over can be the difference, the one that changes the fortunes of the result. That happened in this match, the 45th over of the Victorian innings, and it was bowled by Cameron Valente.

What was so special about it? Simply put, six deliveries were bowled, and each was either in almost the perfect spot, or WAS in the perfect spot. With 63 runs required from 36 deliveries, Valente bowled the first ball of the over to Blake Thomson. It was full, landing on the batting crease at yorker length, just a little more than a foot wide of the off stump. Thomson played over it and was unable to get any bat on it, and it was taken excellently by the keeper Alex Carey, standing up to the stumps. Dot ball. The second ball was a dead ringer for the first, and it played out in exactly the same fashion, thudding into Carey’s gloves. Dot ball. The third ball was of the same length, but on the line of off stump, and Thomson squirted it away for a single, nothing more. Three balls down, only one run, when over ten an over was required. The fourth ball was to Travis Dean, 119 runs to his name from just 97 deliveries and in the best innings of his one day career. Valente’s delivery was again full, right up at that Yorker length, but this time it was drifting down the leg side. Dean moved his front leg toward the leg side to look to hit it through the field, but the ball just beat him for pace, although perhaps more importantly in the dip in the air. It hit his front pad and crashed back off it into the stumps, ending his innings and changing the course of the match. The new batsman was Chris Tremain, a known hitter of the ball. His first ball once again was full and straight, and all he could do was squirt it away for a single. The final ball of the over was again to Thomson, who could only block it back to the bowler. 45 overs gone, and Victoria now needed 61 runs off five overs, at over twelve runs an over, with their set and highest scoring batsman now back in the pavilion. Several of the South Australian fielders came over and gave Cameron Valente a pat on the back, but it deserved so much more. In the course of six deliveries he had taken a match that was still a 50/50 proposition, and had basically handed it to his team. It was one of the best overs I have seen in such a pressure situation in domestic one day cricket.

Victoria battled hard, and the bravado of 29 runs off the final three overs meant little when they actually required 41 off those last three overs. A final margin of 11 runs left many to ponder where the winning bonus had come from. Was it the slashing of Lehmann and Valente in those final five overs of the Redbacks innings? Was it the missing piece in Cameron White? Was it Peter Handscomb’s early dismissal? While those things, along with sending the opposition in at the toss, may have had their effect on the result, you can mark down that 45th over of the second innings as the point where the winning team claimed their advantage, through the medium paced thinking bowling of Cam Valente.

Scorecard: JLT Cup Match 15: Victoria vs South Australia

Neser Almost Provides the Possimpible Dream

The match itself between Western Australia and Queensland was not that remarkable in the final wash up of things. The Warriors dominated from the start with the bat, and even after a rain delay shortened the game to 41 overs a side they seemed to have everything completely under control. That was before one of the most remarkable innings so far in the JLT Cup brought the game to within a bee’s wing of the biggest upset of all time. All from the bat of Michael Neser.

Western Australia was clinical from the start. Shaun Marsh took four boundaries from Doggett’s second over, and the run fest never looked like evaporating. Even the stoppage for rain didn’t dissipate the runs. Marsh added 69 to his list of impressive innings this season, while his opening partner went on further. Michael Klinger as a run machine just keeps churning them out, and his 128 from 120 deliveries was classic Klinger. He gets better the older he gets, and though he was finally awarded a national call-up for the T20 side against Sri Lanka earlier this year, one suspects he still thinks he can do the job in the other formats as well. His figures suggest the same thing. Along with these two, Cameron Bancroft continued his rise, scoring 73 from 47 deliveries at the end of the innings as they warriors built up their imposing total. Bancroft was nominated as an Australian opening batsman three seasons ago, but so far hasn’t been given the final call up. By showing he can play the fast paced innings as well as the solidifying innings at the top of the order, he appears primed to go if he is given his opportunity.

Western Australia’s 3/301 was increased to a target for Queensland of 304 by the complicated Duckworth-Lewis method, but for most of the innings there appeared little chance of the innings ever getting close to it. Renshaw and Burns both registered golden ducks, and at 5/63 with only the tail to come Usman Khawaja was already facing a task of scoring 241 runs off 25 overs – near enough to 10 runs an over. Still, he looked the international batsman he is, working the ball around the field beautifully and finding the gaps as necessary. When he finally fell for 81 runs off 78 balls in trying to up the tempo, the score was 6/146, and the required equation was 158 from 12 overs with just four wickets in hand. And although we’ve seen teams make a good fist of the last 12 overs in other games already, surely in was unlikely the tail was going to get over 13 runs an over.

Michael Neser at this point was 37 from 43. Ben Cutting could only manage four runs, while Cam Gannon contributed 27 from 17 deliveries. Michael Neser meanwhile had added another 49 runs to his tally from just 24 deliveries. At the end of that over, Queensland needed 70 runs from four overs – just 24 deliveries – with Neser and Mitch Swepson at the crease.

Is a game ever really over anymore? Is there any target that is just too outrageous to chase? 30 years ago, 70 required off 15 overs was considered at least a 50/50 bet, if not more in favour of the bowling team. Now, with the equipment and pitches and small grounds all in favour of the batsmen, the game has become less predictable in this respect, and tougher on the bowlers and fielders. Boundaries are closer and easier to clear let alone reached along the ground. The bats hit the ball further and cleaner than ever. The bowlers have a strict line and width they can bowl without being called for a no ball or a wide. It is all set up for the batsman, no matter how outrageous the task.

The 38th over brought 15 runs for the Bulls, though two wides from Jye Richardson didn’t help the cause. Neser had moved to 99 of 72, and took care of the century by blasting the first ball of the 39th over to the boundary. Only five further runs came from the over from Mackin, leaving 46 required from two overs. Neser took nine runs from the first three deliveries of Richardson’s final over, but it was then that Swepson stood up, taking 4, a wide, 2 and 4 from the remainder of the over. 20 runs from the penultimate over, and that left 26 needed from the last over. Even despite the carnage that had come recently, one still only had to recall the words of the great Billy Birmingham in his Richie Benaud voice – “not an impossible task, but pretty fucking close to it!”

How then do you think the Warriors players felt when Neser slapped the first ball of the final over from Mackin over the boundary for six? 20 required from five deliveries, and it was now at a more ‘manageable’ four runs a ball. Yep, despite the unlikelihood of it, I’d say they were wondering how this could be happening. Order was restored when Neser was unable to find the boundary next ball, and was run out trying to complete a two that would have kept him on strike to attempt the impossible victory. His final score of 122 off 81 deliveries was an amazing thing to watch. Watching it I could only wonder why the bowlers weren’t changing their tactics. To be fair in the long run, it was just a great piece of power hitting, especially when you consider that his last 85 runs came from just 38 deliveries. Swepson managed another seven runs to his tally to finish with 23 not out off 13 deliveries, as the Bulls finished 11 runs short on 9/292.

It’s hard to believe that this match will only ever be rememebered for Neser’s amazing batting, and that the wonderful bowling of Matthew Kelly for the Warriors should have closed this match out early. His 4/25 off 8 overs was just fantastic, but it won’t be remembered. Nor will the batting of Marsh, Klinger and Bancroft, nor Khawaja. No, this was Neser’s match, and the fact he couldn’t pull off the most miraculous of victories will never dampen that.

Scorecard: JLT Cup Match 14: Western Australia vs Queensland

Three Changes That Helped Turn Australia's T20 Fortunes Around

I guess in the long run it is an upset that Australia defeated India in the second of three T20I matches overnight. A shock perhaps. India had managed seven consecutive victories over Australia in this format of the game, stretching back to 2012, and given the number of players unavailable for the Australian team it didn’t appear likely that they would be troubling the scorers any time soon. Perhaps in the long run there are three major reasons for the change up of result, and perhaps reasons for looking ahead in regards to the T20 format in order to improve the Australian output.

Number 1: David Warner is installed as captain. With Steve Smith rehabilitating his shoulder before the start of the Ashes series in November, Warner has been given the captaincy of the team for this series. As vice-captain for Australia in all formats of the game it was not a surprise, but what is more compelling is that he has spent the past two years as captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team in the Indian Premier League. He knows this form of the game better than most, and his captaincy has been inventive and encouraging. That he is captain of Australia here is perhaps a better move than having Smith there. New ideas, different ideas, giving a team a better chance of victory. The team would be better having Smith in the line-up, but perhaps the different take on the captaincy is also providing a different mindset.

Number 2: Picking a winning bowling line-up. The Perth Scorchers has been the best all-round team over the history of the Big Bash League in Australia. They have made most of the finals, and they seem to be able to win the toughest matches. One wonders why with such form that it has taken so long for the pieces of that team’s bowling attack to finally be installed in the national team? Last night the opening three bowlers for Australia were Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Andrew Tye. All three ply their trade with the Scorchers. All three did their jobs immaculately last night. Behrendorff’s spell of 4/27 from four overs, where he took the top half of the batting order off at the waist, was exactly the kind of performance Australia’s selectors and fans have been waiting for from him. It was bravado of the best kind. Coulter-Nile has been superb, and Tye did his job again. Was it coincidence, or was it the happy course of events that gave these three Scorchers the chance to bowl together in the national team? Time may be the one who answers, but one suspects it is the Scorchers link that is the most prevalent.

Number 3: Moises Henriques given his chance. There is little doubt that Warner being captain has created this little gem. While Henriques’ has been a team mate and captain of Warner at New South Wales for some years, Warner is also Henriques’ captain at Hyderabad, and Henriques mostly batted at three in that team. Last night, his captain elevated him to the crucial number three spot, and he didn’t let his captain down. Moises has been on the periphery of the national team for almost a decade, and his fleeting opportunities have not shown the best of his ability. Last night he and Travis Head (another IPL luminary) steadied the Australia chase of 119 from 2/13, and got the runs themselves with few problems. Head’s 48 from 34 balls was much like he has shown over the past 12 months in the ODI set-up. But it was Henriques’ innings that proved to be most potent. 62 runs from 46 deliveries, with four boundaries and four sixes. It was like the kind of innings he put together for Hyderabad. His captain’s faith was rewarded with victory, while Henriques showed what he is capable of when given the right opportunity. There is still time for him to parlay that into other sections of cricket at international level.

Scorecard: 2nd T20I India vs Australia

The Importance of the Toss in Deciding the JLT Cup Outcome

Two games began yesterday with the captain who won the toss electing to field first, as has become the norm in this competition. It was a tactic that was heavily used in the 2015 World Cup, another competition where I was screamingly critical of the decision. Despite the overcast conditions to start both matches yesterday, surely the old ‘runs on the board’ strategy is one that should more better utilised? We’ve already seen this week in South Africa where Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim has twice won the toss and sent the home team in on roads, and accordingly lost both Tests convincingly. In the long run the final result is what counts, and on this day there was a win and a loss for the two captains and teams involved.

Peter Handscomb returned from India as both captain and, somewhat surprisingly, as wicket-keeper for Victoria in their match against the CAXI, and while his decision to bowl may have irked me, it was soon validated as his bowlers ripped through the young batting line-up. The CAXI fell to 6/45 after 15 overs thanks to the firepower of Peter Siddle and Chris Tremain, and it looked for all money that it would be an early finish at Hurstville Oval. But what has impressed most about this collection of talented young cricketers has been their resolve in even the most difficult of predicaments, and again they fought their way through the adversity to regain some possibility of fighting for a win. Wicket-keeper batsman Harry Nielsen played a most impressive innings, initially holding the innings from falling apart completely, building to a half century off 68 deliveries that showed resolve and poise under the pressure of the situation. As first Mac Wright (30) and Mark Steketee (28) played exorbitantly, Nielsen stuck to his tact, until the final overs crept upon the team. Charlie Stobo’s 25 at number ten improved everything, as Nielsen aimed at getting the total to a winning one. Two consecutive sixers off Short took him to 94, and his attempt at a third consecutive six to bring up his century was only thwarted by having the tallest man in the Victorian team on the boundary, and even then Chris Tremain had to jump to his full height before bobbling the ball from the wrong side of the rope to the field side, ending Nielsen’s exemplary knock. From a position of disaster, the back end of the CAXI batting had pulled their final total to 9/232 from their fifty overs, and impressive effort.

The reply from Victoria was pugilistic. The loss of three wickets for 74 may have caused a ruction in other dressing sheds, but skipper Handscomb, now battle hardened after nine months of solid international duty was having none of it. Along with Seb Gotch, who LOOKS to be the heir apparent to the keeping role, the two added 159 runs in 22 overs to claim victory by seven wickets with more than 11 overs remaining. Gotch was assured with 51 not from 59 deliveries, while Handscomb dominated the partnership and the bowling, scoring 103 runs off 73 deliveries, with ten boundaries and four sixes to complement it. It was the innings of a man who is better than first class cricket, something which we have already seen in recent times. He looks set to be a dominant force this summer. Jackson Coleman deserves credit for his 0/32 from 10 overs, the Victorian doing his best in front of his captain to press his claims for the summer ahead.

Final mention of this match must go to the People’s Champ, Peter Siddle, who continues to have a hold over all of the batsmen in this competition. Today his ten miserly overs brought forth the figures of 2/20, and he again had all of the batsmen in trouble. It may only be one day cricket, and it will be interesting to see if he can translate this to the first class game, but he is doing everything in his power to get himself selected in the Ashes team come November.

Scorecard: JLT Cup Match 13: Victoria vs Cricket Australia XI

Over at North Sydney Oval, the replica of previous matches drew itself together once again. Having been sent in to bat, Tasmania has made a reasonable fist of setting a target, but after 38 overs they sat at 3/184. With the size of the ground and the trueness of the pitch, most teams would consider that you would need at least 300 runs in order to be able to defend. With this in mind, the Tigers had to score at ten an over for the remaining 12 overs to do this, and as had been the case in previous matches here with other teams, it didn’t look likely. History repeated itself however. George Bailey (86 of 62) blazed, Matthew Wade, in his first outing with his returned state, cobbled along with 46, and James Faulkner scored 34 off 19 balls at the end to help Tasmania reach a final total of 6/315 – an amazing 131 runs from the final 12 overs. The South Australian attack had been exposed again for its lack of discipline, although Joe Mennie was again terrific with 1/37 from his ten overs.

One still expected a contest the way the Redbacks had batted in its last two matches, but it wasn’t to be. Alex Carey and Callum Ferguson made a good start from one wicket down, forming a base to go on with. Unfortunately, all of the batsmen tended to throw their wickets away with poor shotmaking rather than penetrative bowling. Catches that were basically just bunted to fieldsmen from Carey and Ferguson, Cooper and Ross, and rash shots from the rest of the order against the spin bowling duo of the well credentialed Cameron Boyce (an excellent 3/27) and the sheer part-time offies from keeper-in-every-other-match-so-far Ben Dunk (an incredulous 3/14) meant the Redbacks collapsed to be all out for 186.

This match again proved the theory of the unpredictability of this tournament so far. South Australia was on a rise, Tasmania was unable to find their feet at all. And yet, the Tigers won convincingly. One wonders if the result would have been the same if the captain that won the toss had chosen to bat first and set that target that seems so difficult to run down.

Scorecard: JLT Cup Match 12: South Australia vs Tasmania