Sheffield Shield 1999

Round 9 Reports

NEW SOUTH WALES "Blues"
1st XI - Manager: Brad Hicks	2nd XI - Manager: Wally Cowan
9 DOWN, 2 TO GO! A disappointing shock loss to Western Australia last weekend has just put a minor bump in this dominating season by the Blues. With a home final already sewn up, the Blues will be set to impress selectors for the final and also put on a show. Injuries to key players Mark Taylor and Gavin Robertson hopefully won't upset the cart too much, with Kevin Geyer getting his first game for the season and the return of Anthony Stuart to the bowling lineup. Steve Waugh will assume the captaincy while Taylor is out.	It took five weeks, but finally our batsmen showed a bit of form as we ended up with a pretty good win over Western Australia. We batted first and we were a bit disappointed with our score of 241. We then managed to keep the lid on the WA innings and we eventually ended their innings at 226 to leave the match evenly poised. Centuries to Phelps and Higgs took our score to 372, setting WA a fairly difficult target of 388. In the absence of Simon Cook, the bowlers shared the wickets and WA were dismissed for 266, giving us a win by 121 runs. Next week we play last placed Queensland in our last hit out before taking on the mighty Tasmania in the final. We will be looking to really click against Queensland to set ourselves up for a big one in the final.

QUEENSLAND "Bulls"
1st XI - Manager: Tony Noyeaux	2nd XI - Manager: Bradley Ashcroft
	Last week was a poor match for us. First innings batting and bowling was okay, but the 2nd innings batting and bowling wasn't very good at all. Probably the only 2 highlights out of the match for us was spinner Paul Jackson taking 10 wickets and Lee Carseldine getting a first innings 88, coming off his great performance a few weeks ago. Also for us Mark Pascoe, our fast bowler, continued to be our best bowler of the season, taking 8 wickets. But we can't continue to be a 3 player team. Next game we need to win if we want to not be wooden spooners. So we will have to try very hard if we want to keep our pride.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA "Redbacks"
1st XI - Manager: Trevor Hansford	2nd XI - Manager: Tyrone Marshall

TASMANIA "Tigers"
1st XI - Manager: John Clifford	2nd XI - Manager: Dave Hickey
	Tasmania manager Dave Hickey this week took his team to task, even though they recorded their 9th win of the season. "They weren't really interested out there," Hickey said. "Everyone was leaving it for someone else to do the hard work. Our batsmen have to learn that they are not there to score 30s and 40s - they have to go on with the job." Hickey is concerned that his young players are already focusing on the final and that as a result they could be setting themselves up for an unexpected loss. "We still have another match before the final and we will need to make sure that we concentrate. You can bet that WA will be looking to finish the year with a big effort."

VICTORIA "Bushrangers"
1st XI - Manager: Westie	2nd XI - Manager: Christo McDonald
We had a great win over Queensland to put us in the running for a Finals berth. Elliott had another great game, scoring over 200 runs for the game. Craig and Mott also did well with the bat with Fleming the danger man with the ball. This is the last game of the season and we are looking at getting into the final. We play South Australia for our last game and if we ever had a chance to win this would be it. South Australia have a good batting line up and we think we have the bowlers to keep them down to a good score. Their bowling on the other hand isn't quite as good, so our batsman will be looking at getting the runs on the board to help out our bowlers. Arnberger gets his first chance to show what he's made of, with Vimpani out of this match, and Harvey comes in for Mott and he will want to show that he is able to make some good scores after having already played 4 matches without an impact.	Ashley Gilbert is still the leading player of the season, well done!! I must admit I have learnt a lot in this, my first season of first class cricket and I have enjoyed it! My team said this week that they are going to win this last match. A win or a draw will let us finish third in our league. A loss and we are fourth. I am sad to leave the boys, but will be back next year. After this weekend, I am leaving sunny Australia to coach a national side for the coming World Cup in England. I have also started on a cricket game. If any of the managers of the other teams have any ideas they think can be good in a cricket game, please mail me.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA "Warriors"
1st XI - Manager: David McMullen	2nd XI - Manager: Peter Nocerini
A surprised Western Australian team took the field this weekend, after coach David McMullen, failed to return to the Healm of the Club. McMullen has reportedly been quoted as saying that he wanted to players to be strong and drop themselves. Upon his arrival back at the club after the game, McMullen was asked whether he thought the week with Bruce McAvaney actually helped the side. "Watching the game from the grandstand, I did see an improved aggression factor. I was incredibly surprised to see the leadership that Adam (Gilchrist) showed." McMullen met with players after the match, and was warmly welcomed back to the club. "I think Dave was trying to prove a point, we were playing pretty badly. I dunno about Bruce though, bloody weirdo that one!" was Adam Gilchrist's response when asked about McMullen and McAvaney. The Warriors' win over NSW this week puts them in good stead for next season. When asked about next season, McMullen replied, "I really enjoy coaching these blokes. I'd jump at the chance to coach them again next year. I think if we work together, we can build a truly strong side!" McMullen's record now stands at 1 and 2, but unfortunately, there is just one round to go! "We are only playing for pride now. Then we will look towards next season." Western Australia faces Tasmania this weekend, and McMullen is looking for a win. "We can't get any worse, so we are keeping a good attitude."	WARRIORS STARING AT WOODEN SPOON Oh dear! Last week, the Western Australia 2nd XI was looking ahead to the end of the Second XI League season. They were one point out of fourth place and looking to move up in the standings - if they could earn a win at North Sydney. But New South Wales had other ideas. The Blues earned a 122-run victory, and now the Western Warriors face the prospect of winning only a wooden spoon. As has been the case for the last three weeks, they stand only two points ahead of sixth placed Queensland. It's the final round of matches for the season, and who should be coming to town but Tasmania. The Devils haven't lost a match all season and will be looking to stay in top form for their post-season challenge from NSW. The Bulls don't have an easy go in the final round either, hosting the selfsame Blues. The Warriors only trailed by 15 runs after the first innings, but NSW put together back-to-back 129 and 90 run partnerships in their second innings and finished at 372, helped by centuries from Phelps and Higgs. WA couldn't meet the 388 run challenge and went all out for 266. On the flight home, everyone seemed to be looking at Steven Glew - and Glew was gazing fixedly at some point out the window. Glew was bowled for 2 in his first innings and caught behind for 1 in his second turn. His totals for the match: 3 runs on 18 balls faced. Mark Lavender didn't exactly light it up, either, going for 32 & 19. Rob Baker and David Hussey both finished with 77 in the second innings but never broke through in their first turn. As for the bowlers, Jamie Stewart, Bret Mulder and Matt Garnaut each took six wickets, but Garnaut's came on a 12.33 average, while the other two yielded over 30 runs per wicket taken. Lineup changes are planned for the final round match with Tasmania. Steve Nikitaras is being assigned to 12th man duties, Garnaut and Stewart will take the new ball, and Marcus North returns to the starting lineup. "He's wanted a chance, and he's been very patient," said Manager Peter Nocerini. "Well, now's his chance to show the home folks what he's made of." He will open with Mr. Consistency, Chris Rogers, who hit 43 & 41 against New South Wales, making his average 41.57. Should they pull off the upset against the Devils and if Victoria derails South Australia, the Warriors can still end up in fourth place. "But it's all up to our hitting against Tasmania."