Bushrangers out to end curse
Thu, 11 February 2010
Acting Victorian skipper Davis Hussey says the Bushrangers will not be satisfied with just making this season's Ford Ranger Cup final but desperately want to win it after having been runners-up in Australia's domestic 50-over competition the past three seasons. The Bushrangers took a giant step towards reaching a fourth successive Ford Ranger Cup final on Wednesday night when they downed New South Wales by five wickets to set up a blockbuster last-round showdown with Queensland at the Gabba. The win lifted the Vics level with Queensland on 21 points at the top of the table - ahead of their match at the Gabba on Saturday week with the winner of that match certain to host this year's final. But the loser will miss out on a spot in the final altogether if third-placed Western Australia wins its last preliminary match against Tasmania at the WACA next Wednesday night. If the Vics do reach this year's Ford Ranger Cup final it would mean the Bushrangers will have qualified for the past eight domestic cricket finals in succession. Last season the Vics won the Sheffield Shield and finished runners-up in the Twenty20 and Ford Ranger Cup competitions while the previous season they lifted the Twenty20 title (as they have already done this season) but were runners-up in the Shield and the 50-over final. However Hussey is already looking further than just making this season's Ford Ranger Cup final. "We want to win the thing because we have been runners-up three years in a row so it's about time we won the competition and that is what we have set our sights on," he said. "It's a massive game against Queensland next week but we play well at the Gabba and hopefully we can replicate our win up there in the Twenty20 preliminary final." Hussey played a key role in Wednesday night's win over New South Wales after scoring 45 off just 40 balls after the Bushrangers' target was made more difficult because of a rain delay. Under the Duckworth/Lewis method, the Bushrangers' target was reduced from 225 off 50 overs to 213 off 44 overs after rain began to fall in the 13th over of their innings resulting in a 30-minute delay. But while it made the target more difficult, for Hussey the rain break turned into a godsend after he had struggled having just come to the crease before the break. "I wasn't batting well and (partner Aaron) Finch sat me down (during the break) and said 'get your timing right, I am scoring at the other end so just get me on strike'," Hussey said. The pair went on to combine for a 78-run stand for the third wicket before all-rounder Andrew McDonald and keeper Matthew Wade saw the Bushrangers home with a 101-run stand for the fifth wicket. New South Wales coach Matthew Mott admitted his side would now struggle to reach this year's Ford Ranger Cup final. "We are counting on other results now," he said. "It's a little bit out of our hands but if we go to Adelaide next week and take a bonus point (against South Australia) we will put ourselves back in the mix so that is all we can control." "The other results, well we will have to sit tight and see how they go and hopefully the other teams will do us a few favours."
By Paul Gough, Sportal
