An undermanned Tasmanian side gained a surprise win in the Mercantile Mutual Cup against the highly-fancied Queensland side at Bellerive today. Tasmania went into the match without Shield veterans Jamie Cox (injured hand) and Rod Tucker (gastric virus) and had the additional burden of playing Shaun Young, whose suspected shin stress fracture prevented him from bowling, and rendered him almost immobile in the field.
On a pitch that gave inordinate assistance to the quicker bowlers, Queensland had no hesitation in sending the home side in to bat on winning the toss. Dene Hills and Michael di Venuto got Tasmania off to a flying start, the pair adding 28 in six overs before Hills was out in the seventh, essaying a cut against first-gamer Adam Dale and providing Ian Healy with the first of five catches behind the stumps. Having thus secured a wicket with his second ball, Dale effectively put the squeeze on the Tasmani- an run rate after the errant Michael Kasprowicz and Andrew Bichel had been relieved.
Ricky Ponting and di Venuto moved the score to 50, at which point di Venuto was caught smartly in the gully by Martin Love in the gully off Scott Prestwidge. Ponting looked ill at ease on the seaming wicket and received a let-off at 8 when Ian Healy deflected a catch past Allan Border at slip. David Boon played one spanking cover drive, but in attempting to fiddle Prestwidge down to third man, was easily snapped up by Healy. Shaun Young, barely able to raise a trot, was beautifully run out by an excellent re- turn from Trevor Barsby at deep mid wicket to Dale after Ponting called him through for an ambitious second run. And when Ponting himself perished for 37 when he drove loosely against the re- turned Kasprowicz, Tasmania was perilously placed at 5 for 91 in the 27th over.
Worse was to come as Kasprowicz smashed through the middle order. Michael Farrell edged to Healy at 101, and one run later Tony Daly was brilliantly caught low down by the sprinting Andy Bichel at deep square leg. When Miller spooned a full toss to cover, Tasmania was reeling at 8 for 110 in the 37th over, and to all intents out of the match.
At this point the patient Mark Atkinson was joined by Mark Ridgway, and the pair slowly built on the meagre total. The re- introduction of Bichel into the attack was the signal for Ridgway to go on the attack, and with a mixed selection of good drives, ungainly hoicks, and a bevy of thick edges through the vacant slips, he helped Atkinson add a crucial 62 off 76 balls. When he finally and inevitably edged to Healy off the last ball of the 49th over, there was only time for Josh Marquet to come and go off the last ball of the innings. Atkinson remained undefeated for an invaluable 29 off 55 balls, he having played a fine sup- porting role for the attacking Ridgway, whose 32 came off only 44 balls. Andy Bichel's ten overs cost his side 54 runs, which proved too expensive in the final analysis.
After the lunch break, the Tasmanian opening bowlers Marquet and Ridgway made a fine start, finding their length early on and causing the Queensland openers Trevor Barsby and Martin Love plenty of problems. It was no surprise when Ridgway trapped Barsby lbw in his third over, but the major prize came at the other end. Love, having driven and pulled fours from consecutive Marquet balls, unluckily dragged the next ball onto his wicket from outside the off stump. With his next ball, at the start of his next over, Marquet induced Stuart Law to edge a square drive to Michael Farrell in the gully, a Queensland disaster that left them at 3 for 24 in the 11th over. Worse was to come for the visitors, for Andrew Symonds edged to wicketkeeper Atkinson for a ``duck'' at 29. This prompted Queensland skipper Ian Healy to come next to the crease, and he and Jimmy Maher set about righting the Queensland innings. They were helped in this by the necessity to rest Marquet after his first seven overs had brought him three wicket for 15 runs, and the introduction of friendlier bowling. Ridgway bowled his ten overs straight for 18 miserly runs and a wicket, but the strange Tasmanian selection policy, which left them a bowler short, meant that he had to be replaced by the part-timer Ricky Ponting.
Things looked desperate for Tasmania as the Queensland score mounted, and it was a surprise when Maher, who looked most dangerous, mis-timed a drive and was caught and bowled by Colin Miller for a well-made 36 off 61 balls. The experienced Allan Border came in at this point, and he looked in no trouble as Hea- ly took over the attacking role. Off-spinner Michael Farrell plied his off-breaks economically but looked unlikely to break through as the score passed the 100 mark. Again, it was a surprise when Farrell out-foxed the former Australian captain; a ball pushed down the leg-side was called a wide, but it found Border out of his ground, and Atkinson effected a brilliant leg- side stumping. With Queensland now 6 for 117 in the 39th over, the crowd of 2002 could sense a home-team victory, a view that was reinforced when Ian Healy, attempting to take maximum toll off another part-time bower in Michael di Venuto, holed to square leg for 48 off 84 balls. Michael Kasprowicz came in to partner Scott Prestwidge, and was at the centre of a controversy when what appeared to be a brilliant left-hand catch from David Boon at short mid-on was disallowed by umpire Donaldson when Kasprowicz was on 1.
Josh Marquet, however, put the issue beyond doubt when he was recalled and took two wickets in his ninth over. He comprehensively bowled Prestwidge middle stump at 150, and two balls later, had Kasprowicz leg before wicket. With 25 runs required off 15 balls by the last pair, Bichel threw the bat at everything, and was himself bowled by the last ball of the 49th over, delivered by Colin Miller. Tasmania thus fell in by 17 runs in a most exciting, if low-scoring, one-day match.
The Man of the Match award went to Josh Marquet, whose 5 for 23 was only Tasmania's second five-wicket haul in domestic limited overs cricket, bettering Mark Hill's 5 for 29 at Brisbane in 1985-86. Today, Marquet took 5 for 6 in 22 balls.
Source: CricInfo
Editorial comments can be sent to CricInfo at help@cricinfo.com
help@cricinfo.com