Bushrangers Maul Nsw To Cap Off A Big Week

The Age

Thursday December 21, 2006

By LYALL JOHNSON with AAP

VICTORIA last night made batting look easy on a difficult pitch as it coasted to victory over NSW in its Ford Ranger Cup match.

After clobbering the Blues by an innings and 63 runs in the Pura Cup game that finished on Monday, Victoria romped to victory last night, scoring the 181 required in 38 overs and collecting a bonus point along the way.

The win takes it to 18 points and outright second on the one-day table, trailing Queensland on 22 points but with a game in hand. Michael Klinger (76 not out) continued his rich vein of form and was named man of the match.

Klinger's opening stand with Jon Moss set up the Bushrangers' win, the pair belying predictions that the uneven and patchy pitch would render the game a "120-run match", bringing up the 100-run partnership in 132 balls.

Moss was eventually bowled in the 27th over for 59, while trying to belt Aaron O'Brien into the Southern Stand.

With Moss' dismissal, Brad Hodge joined Klinger and, after being watchful early, raced to 34 not out off 35 balls, in an innings that included four boundaries and a massive six over mid-on.

"It gets us up back towards the top now and sets us up for a pretty crucial match against South Australia in South Australia," Cameron White said afterwards.

Earlier, Victoria had a dream start when paceman Mick Lewis (2-46) continued to celebrate his return to fitness and form with the wicket of dangerman Phil Jaques in the first over. Jaques tried to smash Lewis' fifth ball out of the ground over long off but succeeded instead in nicking a regulation catch to Adam Crosthwaite behind the stumps.

At 1-4, NSW needed to knuckle down, and Simon Katich - as he did in the recent Pura Cup match - joined Ed Cowan and set about settling the ship. The pair moved the score to 30 when Cowan (9) was also undone by Lewis trying to cut, the ball again finding an edge to Crosthwaite.

Daniel Christian (11) and Dominic Thornely (0) never looked settled and when Daniel Smith went next the Blues had lost 3-3 and were in trouble at 5-51.

If not for the partnership of Katich (59) and O'Brien, which yielded 78 runs, NSW would have been dead in the water by the 25-over mark.

? Tasmania needs another 191 runs to make Western Australia bat again at stumps on day two of the Pura Cup match at Bellerive Oval.

The Tigers responded to their first-innings decimation with their best opening stand of the season, Michael Di Venuto and Tim Paine putting on 56 for the first wicket and the home side finished the day on 1-107, with Di Venuto unbeaten on 69 and Michael Bevan 18 not out. The Warriors were bowled out for 392 just before tea after yesterday claiming first-innings points against Tasmania's paltry 94.

? Paceman Shaun Tait has been ruled out of South Australia's side for Saturday's one-day match against Victoria at the Adelaide Oval with a hamstring injury. -- With AAP

SA team: Darren Lehmann (capt), Matthew Elliott, Graham Manou, Callum Ferguson, Nathan Adcock, Jason Gillespie, Cameron Borgas, Daniel Harris, Mark Cosgrove, Ryan Harris, Dan Cullen, Gary Putland (12th man to be named)

© 2006 The Age

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