On the board

After being set 164 for victory, Victoria was never troubled, passing the total in the 40th over for a bonus point victory.

Coach Jarrad Loughman was thoroughly pleased with the way his side bounced back from their opening loss.

“We were really pleased with how we played,” Loughman said.

“Obviously, our main priority is winning the match, but once we were in the position to secure the bonus point, we wanted to go as hard as we could for that.”

After skipper Pat McKenna lost his second toss and was again invited to bowl, Ben Ashkenazi (4-18) ripped the heart out of the Tasmanian top-order with a blistering spell of fast bowling, leaving the hosts decimated at 3-29 after 11 overs.

Despite the best efforts of Sean Willis – who made 60 – regular wickets ensured neither the total or run-rate got out of hand as Tasmania limped to 9-163 – a total which included 29 wides.

Sean Griffin claimed 3-32, while Matt Short snared 2-15 with his off-breaks.

“Overall, we bowled really well as a team and that was led by Ben Ashkenazi,” Loughman said.

“We actually bowled with the Duke balls which are harder and more receptive to movement, so there’s an element of the boys just struggling to control the swing.”

Despite the early wickets of Short (11) and McKenna (24), Victoria always in control, before a blistering power play saw the visitors clinch a bonus point.

“The wickets in hand towards the end really allowed us to play our strokes during the power play, so credit has to go to James Lidgett and Jack Blain who batted superbly,” Loughman said.

“But all in all, I was very pleased with the performance we put on after the loss on Monday.” 

Lidgett carried his bat as he finished unbeaten on 62 from 96 balls including six boundaries, while Blain plundered an unbeaten 60 from 91 balls including seven boundaries to enhance his reputation as one of the nation’s most impressive young players.

The focus for Loughman now turns to two-day cricket, starting with their clash against Queensland on Thursday.

“Every game is vital now – wins are worth six points,” Loughman said

“Our batting mentality will have to change and our batting order might be shuffled around, but we have players who can adjust to their roles.”

The National Championships continue tomorrow, with Victoria taking on Queensland.
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