Hastings: It isn't over yet
Thu, 25 February 2010
Victoria may only be two wickets away from pocketing hosting rights for the Sheffield Shield final, but Bushrangers all-rounder John Hastings has warned his team-mates they still have plenty of work to do on Thursday when Queensland will resume requiring a further 76 runs for victory at the Gabba. An outright victory will signal a home final, something that will ensure the defending champions take a major step towards defending their crown, but Hastings was not quite ready to pop the champagne, even after a day when he starred with the bat despite coming in at No.9 in the order. Chris Hartley (33 not out), Chris Swan (three not out) and Luke Feldman remain the three obstacles in the visitors' path to sealing hosting rights for March's final, and Hastings won't be underestimating any of them. "Swanny is a fairly good competitor with the bat so I think this is the most crucial partnership of the whole game," Hastings said. "'Harts' has been great for Queensland all season, and I've seen Swanny have a couple of nuggetty innings." "So if we come out tomorrow and they get on top with 20 or 30 quick runs, then we might be under the pump." Nonetheless he remained quietly confident about securing full points, something that would be a remarkable effort considering Victoria was rolled for just 104 in the second innings. "I'm backing our bowlers to come back nice and fresh tomorrow morning and knock them off," he said. "It's been a great season for us and it's been a good fight this game." "Obviously it didn't go as planned this morning, we would have liked a few more runs, but the boys have been bowling fantastically all year." "We knew if we got it (the lead) up there, anywhere over 200, we were a chance to go through them and we showed that today." Hastings showed great humility while discussing his knock of 49 that not only made up almost half of the Bushrangers' second innings total, but was the best score by any batsman on a day when bowler-friendly conditions saw 17 wickets fall in total. "It was strange to be batting nine and being in there in the 14th over, it was definitely a different experience," he said. "It was doing a little bit early ... I knew if I got my ball - it's that type of wicket that you almost have to hit it if it's in your area, because you don't get too many balls to hit." Hastings was able to shed a little more light on one of the many incidents that happened during a tense day's play. Umpires Simon Fry and Marais Erasmus had a short discussion with Bushrangers captain Andrew McDonald late in the afternoon following the dismissal of Bulls skipper Chris Simpson. McDonald relayed the message to his charges, but Hastings suggested there was little to the drama. "Apparently someone said something when he (Simpson) was walking off, but I'm not sure what that was," said Hastings. "Some things might be said in the heat of the battle, but I don't think it is anything to worry about so to speak." "There might be a few hidden rivals out there, but it's normally a good contest between Queensland and Victoria, we've seen that over the years."
Rob Forsaith, Sportal
