McDonald: Vics better prepared
Thu, 21 January 2010
All-rounder Andrew McDonald expects the Bushrangers to be stronger and better prepared for Saturday's KFC Twenty20 Big Bash final against South Australia than they were in going down to the Redbacks in the qualifying stage. The Vics were given a thorough touch-up at the Adelaide Oval on January 7 when bowled out for 111 inside 15 overs in reply to the home side's 7-202. McDonald said sudden-death victories over Tasmania and Queensland over the past week suggest the Bushrangers are hitting top form at the right time and, having won three of the past four domestic twenty20 finals, they know what it takes to win. "We're probably going to have to get out thinking caps on," McDonald said. "We let them get too many runs - we probably should have kept them to 170 instead of 203 or whatever they got." "The (Victorian) top order went out there and dashed away and it didn't come off." "It can look messy in twenty20, but we're probably not too far off it." McDonald conceded the Victorians' depth will be tested by the unavailability of four key players for the final - Black Caps import Ross Taylor who has his own domestic commitments, along with Peter Siddle, Clint McKay and Cameron White who are on ODI duty. The trade-off is that the Redbacks lose Shahid Afridi who will be representing Pakistan in the Commonwealth Bank Series. Rob Quiney, who made a slashing double century in Premier Cricket at the weekend, Aiden Blizzard and James Pattinson are the likely inclusions for the Bushrangers though McDonald still holds out some hope for Dwayne Bravo who missed Tuesday night's preliminary final win over the Bulls with a fractured thumb. "He's going in tomorrow to have a splint made up and he's quietly confident that if he can hang on to the bat he'll be a starter," said McDonald. "His bowling and the fielding is probably going to be the big question, but hopefully we get him back." "If we don't, it will give another youngster a chance." McDonald said David Hussey and Dirk Nannes had set the tone for the Bushrangers with bat and ball against the Bulls and Tigers while playing down his own contribution - 1-22 from four tight overs and an unbeaten 12 - at the Gabba. "It was just nice to get a bowl, the last couple of weeks I haven't had much of a bowl," he said. "Twenty20 is a pretty fickle game - sometimes you bowl well and go for a lot of runs and other times you bowl poorly, get a lot of wickets and your economy's not too bad." "I thought the ball came out nicely for me last night and I got an important wicket in (Craig) Philipson, so I was happy to contribute." Asked whether the Vics had done the hard work by making the Big Bash final which qualifies them for the 2010 Twenty20 Champions League, McDonald said: "The qualification for the Champions League comes before the final so that's obviously your main goal, but it also gives you the chance to win the (Big Bash) trophy." "I think it's twofold, both are pretty important ... and the boys will now switch their focus to South Australia on Saturday." "Everyone wants to win titles - that's what you play for."
Angus Morgan, Sportal
