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Review by John Polack
While the 1999-2000 season brought with it an indication that brighter
things abound on the horizon for the Redbacks, this was essentially a
summer in which South Australia simply marked time as a team. After seven
finishes in the bottom half of the interstate first class table over the
last nine seasons, the State was seeking more favourable results; despite
some imaginative play, the end result alas ensured that the team extended
that unhappy statistic to eight from ten.
To a large extent, the South Australians' final placing of fourth was not a true reflection of their competitiveness for most of the first class season. In all honesty, it was more a consequence of their inability to force results at crucial times. All the way until the second last round of matches indeed, the Redbacks remained in with a chance of reaching the Pura Milk Cup Final. But by the same token, there was always a sense that they did not quite possess the resources to match it with the more powerful among their rivals. That they ultimately ended with three less outright victories than second-placed Victoria and were a staggering five successes adrift of competition pacesetter Queensland bore testimony to this reality.
In captain Darren Lehmann, the Redbacks again arguably produced the star batsman of the Australian domestic season. For the fifth time in a decade in which he has consistently plundered bowlers in interstate competition, the South Australian skipper exceeded the magical mark of one thousand runs for an Australian summer and he did so with awesome aplomb. Notwithstanding the fact that he again encountered severe disappointment at the hands of the national selectors, Lehmann was almost unstoppable; he hit seven cracking centuries in a mere twenty innings and at one point was on the verge of equalling Sir Donald Bradman's longstanding record for centuries in the most number of consecutive Australian first-class matches. It was no surprise indeed that the belligerent left hander was ultimately named the Pura Milk Cup Player of the Season. But, ironically enough, therein South Australia's biggest problem continued to reside. If Lehmann were ever to have merely an average season at this level, it is likely that this side would be in immense trouble. His efforts offer the wallpaper over some serious cracks in the side's middle order, and have done for some time; much to the frustration of all concerned, contributions of note from that area were again difficult to discern this summer.
Only in opener David Fitzgerald (whose maturation this season following several difficult years and a change of States was a revelation) did the Redbacks find a batsman who illustrated a similarly insatiable thirst for runs. Ben Johnson battled bravely to make a century in the first match and another in Perth in the middle of the season; otherwise, he only passed fifty on one occasion. Chris Davies continued to underline his promise with three stylishly constructed half centuries, but consistency eluded him too. Veteran Jamie Siddons' acknowledgement late in the season that injuries had finally overtaken the all-time leading runscorer in Australian domestic first class competition was symptomatic of the fact that there was precious little about which to enthuse when it came to this particular aspect of the team's play.
With the ball, the South Australians' performances were thankfully more harmonious and dependable contributors came forth in substantially more heartening numbers. The redoubtable Paul Wilson enjoyed another fine season; he recorded his best ever first class figures (against Pakistan) relatively early in the summer and went from strength to strength thereafter on his way to seizing forty-four wickets. Left arm medium pacer Brett Swain similarly acquitted himself well, and his twenty-five wickets told of his increasing comfort at State level. Spinners Brad Young (thirty-one wickets) and Peter McIntyre (twenty-four) also enjoyed productive seasons even if their scalps came at a comparatively high cost, and they each played starring roles in affording the team possibly its two best wins of the summer - the home triumphs over Western Australia and New South Wales. Another of the high points of summer was also provided by a bowler, but this time for slightly different reasons. This moment of inspiration arrived in the closing stages of proceedings in the form of speedster Jason Gillespie's long awaited comeback to South Australian ranks following his recovery from an infamous on-field collision with Australian captain Steve Waugh in a Test in Kandy in September.
At one-day level, the Redbacks' form was only slightly less frustrating than their efforts had proved in the first class arena. They played well enough through the preliminary rounds to again flirt with the hopes of their supporters and reach the semi-finals but, for far from the first time in recent seasons, they suffered a narrow loss in that section of the competition. It was in a tight tussle with eventual champion Western Australia in Perth that they ultimately succumbed, a loss rendered all the more galling by the fact that victory had seemed well within reach for large periods of the match. Nevertheless, the Mercantile Mutual Cup campaign did offer several good moments, particularly during that phase of the preliminary contests through which Lehmann, Greg Blewett and Wilson played a large part in ensuring that the team was able to survive a string of four matches without defeat.
Although the decisions in recent times of the national selectors to cast aside both Lehmann and Blewett from international duties have hardly sparked celebrations in the State (quite the contrary in fact), the likelihood that they will each be available for more matches next summer does represent a significant source of optimism for Redbacks fans. That Gillespie's rehabilitation will likely be further enhanced by a season of league cricket in England over the winter is also a promising development. Siddons' experience will be badly missed, but if this can be offset to an extent by the satisfactory development of Davies, opener Shane Deitz, wicketkeeper Graham Manou (and more youngsters like them), then all is certainly not lost for South Australian cricket. Indeed, a return in the near future to the glory days of 1995-96 should never be regarded as completely out of the question for a squad which possesses as much raw talent as this one does on paper.
Site: South Australia
Key Player: Darren Lehmann
Rising Star: Shane Deitz
Pura Milk Cup: 4th
Mercantile Mutual Cup: Semi Finalist
ACB Cup: 5th (Group A)
Under-19s Championships: 5th
Under-17s Championships: 3rd
Statistics:
First-class
Pura Milk Cup
Mercantile Mutual Cup