Vic Bowlers Crush Tigers' Resistance
The Age
Monday November 13, 2006
AFTER their batsmen had failed on what many thought was going to be a batsmen's paradise, Victoria pulled together an amazing bowling and fielding display to rout Tasmania in the Ford Ranger Cup match at the MCG yesterday.
Defending a meagre 200 runs, the Bushrangers were looking down the barrel of a massive defeat and the loss of a bonus point when Tasmania coasted to 0-50 after 12 overs.But after skipper Ricky Ponting fell caught behind to a ball he may not have hit to have the Tasmanians 2-74, Victoria tore through their resistance to capture 8-71 in 24 overs, and pick up a bonus point itself.Led by Mick Lewis, who returned to form with 3-32 off eight overs, all the Victorian bowlers contributed with telling blows, in particular the medium pacers Jon Moss and Andrew McDonald, who chimed in with the key wickets of Travis Birt and Ponting respectively to stymie the Tasmanian innings.Gerard Denton then chipped in with the key wicket of Tim Paine, who on 56 had his stumps collected when he bafflingly tried to smash Denton back over his head, to change the momentum of the game at 4-108 off 30 overs.Yet it was an all-round effort by the Bushrangers, whose fine bowling was backed up by some equally superb fielding efforts.McDonald's spectacular overhead catch to dismiss Michael DiVenuto to set the ball rolling was no more important than the magnificent glove work of Adam Crosthwaite in effecting two run-outs and the leg-side catch up to the stumps off McDonald to get rid of Ponting."We definitely thought we were a few short on that wicket, probably 20 or 30," Victorian skipper Cameron White said. "It just worked out that we created a lot of pressure through the middle of the innings with Mossy and some tight bowling at the end as well." Victoria had been sent in by Ponting, who thought the overcast conditions might have suited his bowlers and the thought of chasing a total on the drop-in pitch did not concern him.And despite the early loss of Michael Klinger to a brilliant catch by George Bailey, Brad Hodge and White seemed to be settling in nicely on a flat deck that appeared to stay low but offered few surprises.But no sooner had Hodge started to look comfortable, cracking pull and cut shots to the boundary, than he spooned a simple return drive back to Brett Geeves.Victoria then lost a further six wickets for 100 runs, White bringing up his 50 before being unluckily run out when Luke Butterworth got his fingers to a Jon Moss straight drive and deflected the ball onto the stumps, before debutant Clinton McKay joined Denton.McKay, a quick bowler who has two centuries to his name in Premier Cricket, looked at ease at the crease where other batsmen hadn't, and notched up 27 to push the Bushrangers' score to 200.Just as Victoria had, Tasmania started well, DiVenuto and Paine looking untroubled against Lewis and Denton, and it wasn't until the first over of Lewis' second spell that the breakthrough came. It was the 12th over of the innings and a welcome relief for Lewis, DiVenuto's scalp being his first in four one-day and Pura Cup games this season.As the ball got older, the medium pace of Moss and McDonald slowed the run rate and the wickets started to fall.With four wickets down, Lewis jumped in the driver's seat and came at the Tasmanians hard, picking up the wicket of George Bailey and the very next ball trapping Dane Anderson in front of his stumps. Unfortunately his hat-trick ball was well kept out by Butterworth.But Lewis' wickets had shaken the Tigers, who were then forced to work hard for any run they could - twice coming up short to fine fielding and smart work by Crosthwaite. McKay added to his efforts with the bat by picking up the wicket of Brett Geeves.The win takes Victoria to third on the one-day cup table.
© 2006 The Age