Vics aim to rebound
Wed, 3 March 2010
The Bushrangers have well-and-truly moved on from last week's events in Brisbane and go into the Sheffield Shield clash against the Warriors starting at the WACA Ground on Wednesday knowing that victory will secure them a place in the competition final. Sitting three points ahead of the second-placed Bulls on the Shield table with two rounds to play, the titleholders have the opportunity to lock-in a home final if results in concurrent matches between the Bulls and the Redbacks at the Gabba, and the Tigers and Blues in Hobart go their way. The Bushrangers have been boosted by the return of batsman David Hussey from Australia's Twenty20 campaign in New Zealand and leg-spinner Bryce McGain. They replace Lloyd Mash and left-arm orthodox spinner Jon Holland who picked up a shoulder injury in Premier cricket last weekend. Rob Quiney has also flown to Perth and could be a chance to play if he recovers from a groin injury while the Warriors will still be without batsman Shaun Marsh who is recovering from a back injury. The Vics have a great recent record against Western Australia having secured outright points in their past three clashes. Chasing 259 for victory in the fourth innings at the MCG in their previous meeting this season, the Bushrangers did it comfortably for the loss of just three wickets thanks primarily to Chris Rogers' 110 and support hands from Nick Jewell (57) and Hussey (66). Last season, the Vics did the double over the Warriors by eight wickets at the WACA and six wickets at the 'G'. The Warriors are out of contention for this year's Shield final, prompting Western Australian captain Marcus North to declare that careers will be on the line over the next two weeks. With state coach Tom Moody having already said he won't be seeking re-appointment for next season, North believes his side owes Moody and the WA public an encouraging finale to a disappointing summer. "We're all playing for next year," North declared on Tuesday. "We're all looking to move forward." "The next two games are very important to finish this season off and it's going to be important for people's careers as well." "Without a doubt, the guys are going to be focused on doing well, trying to win some games of cricket for WA and taking that into next season." North agreed that WA had underperformed in 2009-10 and pledged a big finish to the domestic season. "I think the expectation that we all had was so high," North said. "(We thought) there was some really good times ahead for WA cricket and I guess because that hasn't come through, with that high expectation, the down side to that is that everything looks pretty grim."
Sportal
