In a match that was dominated from the outset by a Victorian team in form against a Tasmanian team on the outer, it was the greying and grizzled veterans who shone brightest, with just a lone star from the future generation able to penetrate their leading ways. And with the spotlight being cast upon Shaun Marsh’s efforts in the first week of the JLT Cup and what it might mean for his prospects of a recall to the national set up, can one now continue to ignore the numbers that have piled up in Cameron White’s corner over the past three seasons?
The Victorian top order did a number on the Tasmanians after they won the toss and elected to bat. Marcus Harris, who is looking to follow in the footsteps of fellow former Western Australian Chris Rogers in topscaling a move to the east coast into a possible Australian selection, continued on his merry scoring way. His 75 runs from 66 deliveries was a further reminder of his talent and ability, and he will be looking to push forward on last season’s good numbers into something even better this season. So too Travis Dean, whose 40 from 43 deliveries appeared serene. Both made the bowling look average. Jackson Bird was expensive early but returned in his second spell to put the clamps back on and looked a lot more penetrating. The reverse was opposite of Andrew Fekete whose opening bursts were impressive and ensured the openers were cautious to his spell. His figures suffered in the back end of the innings as the assault rose, but he again showed good use of pace and seam in taking 4/48, by far the best analysis of the innings for the Tigers.
In the end it was the Cameron White show. He played the anchor early as Harris moved along swiftly. His 50 came off 71 deliveries, at which point Harris was dismissed. He and Dean then moved along at a run a ball. When Dean and then Pucovski were dismissed, he was in the nineties, and his century came up in the 40th over of the innings off 120 deliveries. The score was 3/227. What followed was pure brutal power, the kind of thing that he showed on occasions in the Green and Gold. Before he was dismissed off the second last ball of the innings, White scored 65 runs off 33 deliveries. He broke a seat up in the Prindiville Stand such was the ferocity the ball was struck. His innings was paced perfectly for the one day game, conservative at first, run a ball in the middle, and two runs a ball at the end. He hit 16 boundaries and six over the fence for six. His 165 off 154 deliveries was his highest in One Day Domestic matches. All at the age of 34, an age where in this era of cricket some are still being looked at for higher honours. One could rightly question whether Cameron White should be one of those, given the performance of the ODI team in recent months.
Another old timer took the stage at the start of the Tasmanian innings. The “People’s Champ”, Peter Siddle, looking to put his name forward for the Test team again now he has recovered from his injuries, quickly removed Ben Dunk and Alex Doolan and effectively cutting off any real hope the Tigers had of mounting a victory platform. He came back later to dismiss Simon Milenko, and his figures of 3/27 off 10 overs will have certainly caught the eye of the selector on duty. With all of the talk about a ‘pace explosion’ against England this summer, the People’s Champ has firmly put his name up there to be considered. Chris Tremain also did himself plenty of favours with a pacey barrage in his 3/50, and doesn’t look to be a million miles behind the pack either.
Tasmania’s fate rest with the old and the new, and while the wiley George Bailey made 52 out of a partnership of 103 before being dismissed, it was the emerging Ben McDermott that stole the limelight. Last season McDermott starred with a magnificent century in the Big Bash, and he also made his debut first class century in the Sheffield Shield. He built on both of those innings yesterday, combining patience with brute force as he first helped to revive the innings, and then looked to save it on his own. It was an innings that showed the maturity his batting is gaining. He showed he wasn’t just a pure slogger that his Big bash century had proclaimed, or that he was an out and out grafter such that his Sheffield Shield century had shown. He hit eight fours and three sixes as he reached 97, at which point he bunted rather than cracked a pull shot to a short ball, only to find the fielder on the square leg boundary. An innings that deserved a hundred was cut three runs short. Neither had he been able to get his team near the victory target, but he showed that he is not a one-innings-wonder. Keep an eye on this 22 year old in 2017/18.
Victoria’s eventual winning margin of 111 accurately tells the story of the match. And while the Bushrangers will be looking to add the JLT Cup to their collection this season, the Tigers will be looking for a way to bounce out of this funk they are in. And while the bowlers such as Siddle and Fekete will be happy with their output, it is the tale of old and young, of White and McDermott, that made this match what it was.
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