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.
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