All to play for
"Win and we are through, if not bad luck,” George Bailey, Tasmanian Tigers captain
With a round to play in the 2012-13 Sheffield Shield, George Bailey’s comment could apply to just about every team in the competition.
After Victoria and Queensland cleared out to the lead before Christmas, the last few weeks have seen a series of intriguing results create a logjam at the top.
Just five points separate top from bottom and depending on results in the three remaining fixtures, every State has a chance to make the play-off.
Warriors v QLD Bulls
You wouldn’t have gone anywhere near the Warriors early in the campaign, injuries to key players and internal issues making the WACA a less than comfortable place for a player to pick up their pay cheque.
Justin Langer started to turn the situation around shortly after taking the helm, bouncing back from a thumping in Hobart to string together an excellent series of results since Christmas.
Most recently, the Warriors have surged to consecutive outright wins on the back of lower-order batting heroics – first against the Tigers and then the Redbacks.
Michael Hogan made 47 not out at number 11 to steer the West Australians home on the weekend and they will host the reigning Shield champion in the final round – and may well fancy themselves.
The Bulls appear to have lost Allister McDermott for the season with a back niggle and with Ben Cutting already out with a groin, are digging deep into their pace bowling stocks.
Ryan Harris has bounced back in his latest comeback from injury and has added firepower to James Hopes’ arsenal, but with the WACA pitch likely to favour pace men, these injuries could prove telling.
As it happens, these sides contain two of the most promising young spinners in the country in Ashton Agar and Cameron Boyce and while they won’t have the chance to bowl in tandem this time around, the potential for them to appear in combination for Australia one day can’t be ruled out.
But, then again, slow bowling can be a cruel mistress. Just ask Nathan Lyon. Or Xavier Doherty. Or Glenn Maxwell…
With Michael Hussey back in the top order and Adam Voges in form, the Warriors have the stronger batting list, but Langer will be keen for his batsmen to stand up this week as his nerves must be close to shot following the two previous nail biters.
The Bulls have power by the bucketload in Luke Pomersbach, Peter Forrest and Joe Burns, but the three haven’t fired in unison of late.
Forrest is coming off a king pair against the Tigers and looks a shadow of the guy who was pushing for a Test berth 12 months ago, his place as an international aspirant seemingly snapped up by young gun Burns.
With Shield and Australia A tons to his name in recent weeks, the richly talented Bull might come into calculations ahead of the forthcoming Ashes tour if he can finish the season with another century that propels his side into another final.
NSW Blues v South Australia Redbacks
As per the Warriors, you wouldn’t have gone anywhere near the Redbacks before Christmas – they were genuinely stinking the place up.
But a watershed outright result in Hobart put them on an upward trajectory that now sees them within a win of an unlikely final berth.
They’ve managed to fire in the absence of boom recruit Phil Hughes, the player that appeared to be scoring all of their runs early in the piece.
While Callum Ferguson has sparkled at times, the Redbacks have only Hughes in the top 10 batsmen in the competition.
With the ball, though, they boast two of the Shield’s best seamers this term in the form of 42-wicket Chadd Sayers and Joe Mennie (33 wickets) as well as the crafty spin of captain Johan Botha.
The Redbacks may be pleased to see NSW veteran Brad Haddin being called up to the Test team as cover for the injured Matthew Wade as Haddin’s absence will be a big blow to the potentially fragile Blues batting.
The Blues were able to blast out the Bushrangers twice during their previous match and despite the loss of Doug Bollinger with a hamstring twinge, have enough depth to do the same to South Australia.
Josh Hazlewood has been in good nick of late while Trent Copeland and newcomer Gurinder Sandhu operate with the kind of relentless precision that seems to guarantee wickets.
Steven O’Keefe has designs on a Test cap and will do his chances of an Ashes tour no damage with a handful of poles on his home track.
David Dawson has been relatively sold atop the order, but it’s in Nic Maddinson and Ben Rohrer the Blues have the kind of free-scoring, classy batsmen that can set up a win in a couple of sessions.
Even with an outright result, the Blues need results to go their way if they’re to claim a shot at the title. That won’t worry them at all – in fact, it will likely redouble their endeavour to nail a big win at the SCG.
Tasmania v Victoria
As grudge matches go, this one looms as a beauty.
There’s no love lost between the near neighbours and the Vics will be desperate to win, knowing full well an outright loss in Hobart will see the Tigers leapfrog them into the final.
Being the gentlemen’s game it is, cricket isn’t normally a place for spiteful encounters, but if there was ever to be one, this would be the fixture for it.
Dave Hussey loves to get under the skin of Tigers players and will no-doubt expect a barrage – verbal and otherwise – from Tassie quick Ben Hilfenhaus when he comes to the crease.
Hilfenhaus seems to be growing in form and confidence at the business end of the season and alongside Luke Butterworth and James Faulkner leads a formidable pace attack.
Evan Gulbis appears to have grabbed the final seam-bowling berth and with George Bailey returned to the middle order alongside Ricky Ponting, Tim Paine and the impressive Alex Doolan, the Tigers are a match for any side on their day.
Their only problem this year is their day hasn’t happened along as often as they’d like and they may well rue narrow losses to South Australia and West Australia that would have them guaranteed of a final already had the results gone the other way.
Ponting’s return to the Shield has been a revelation and there’s a real feeling of destiny about the Tigers – they want to guarantee the State’s greatest player a richly-deserved Shield title should he choose to hang up the spikes at season’s end.
Having fluffed their chance to win the domestic 50 over tournament a fortnight ago, the Bushrangers will settle for nothing less than a win in Hobart.
Cam White has been back in the runs of late, but the way his top order folded up at home against the Blues might well be a concern.
More pressing, though, was a foot injury to strike bowler Clint McKay, a situation likely to leave new ball duties to unheralded Jayde Herrick and Will Sheridan with support from John Hastings.
Fawad Ahmed is the name on everyone’s lips and if he can spin his way through the Tigers, the immigrant leg-spinner might just see another box ticked on his citizenship paperwork ahead of the Ashes series at home next summer.
Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images AsiaPac
