Tasmanian skipper George Bailey is wary of a Victorian outfit full of experience leading into Wednesday’s one-day cup final at Junction Oval.
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Victoria is coming off an upset semi-final win over cup favourites Western Australia, while the Tigers earned their ticket with a six-wicket win over Queensland.
It’s been almost a decade since Tasmania tasted limited overs glory with its last 50-over trophy coming in 2009-10 – a drought Bailey, 36, is keen to end.
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“Finals are very special, I think between that and getting your players to play for Australia is really the focus of any state so it’s good to be in another one,” he said.
“We’ve been at the wrong end of the one-day table for a couple years so it’s nice to be back playing in these big games.
“You run through [Victoria’s line-up and] it’s strong. International players, a lot of experience, pretty well covered in terms of power hitters, hundred scorers, spin bowling, quick so they’re a very well-rounded side and I think they’ve been fairly consistent across nearly all formats for a number of years.
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“We’re certainly very wary of them.”
Victoria will be aiming to lift their first one-day trophy since the 2010-11 season, while Bailey said the number of Tasmanian players to stand up throughout the tournament had been key to them making it through to the decider.
“I certainly don’t think we’ve had to rely on any one player with bat or ball which has been something that’s really pleasing, and on the back of that, nearly everyone in that XI has had a really great game and helped us win a game at some stage,” Bailey said.
“We go into the final not feeling like we need someone to come off for us, we just need everyone to play their role and if we do that well enough it will be a good game.”
When pressed on his thoughts about the tournament’s all-teams-play-finals approach and the lack of 50-over cricket throughout the summer, Bailey said he wouldn’t like the responsibility of compiling a roster.
“It’s important to be playing one-day cricket around when there is one-day international cricket being played. It’s dangerous to start picking your one-day team on the back of who’s doing well in the Big Bash,” he said.
“It’s worrying that if this tournament is just being viewed [as a pre-season tournament] and performances aren’t being looked at in terms of the players that dominate this competition.
“You want them to be getting opportunities to be playing for Australia and on that front you want to be playing on the best grounds at the best possible times to ensure those performances do mean something and we can continue to perform in the really big one-day tournaments around the world.”
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Corey Martin
Having started at The Examiner as a cadet in 2009, I have held various positions telling the stories of Northern Tasmanians in sport and news. I was appointed deputy editor in 2019 and became editor in September 2021.
Having started at The Examiner as a cadet in 2009, I have held various positions telling the stories of Northern Tasmanians in sport and news. I was appointed deputy editor in 2019 and became editor in September 2021.
