Bushrangers crush Tigers
Fri, 12 March 2010
Victoria has warmed-up for next week's Sheffield Shield final against Queensland by demolishing Tasmania inside three days at the MCG. After establishing a 160-run lead on the first-innings, the Bushrangers routed the Tigers for 114 on Friday to win by an innings and 46 runs. With six points for the outright win, the Vics complete the regular season on 41 points, nine clear of the second-placed Bulls who will now travel to Melbourne for the final starting next Wednesday. Queensland, who needed an outright win over Western Australia at the Gabba to have any chance of hosting the final, went down to the Warriors by three wickets in a tight contest on Friday. Pace bowlers Damien Wright and Darren Pattinson set the tone for the Vics, scything through Tasmania's top order on Friday to ensure an early finish and a bonus day's rest ahead of the final. Wright and Pattinson picked up three wickets apiece to have the Tigers 6-29 at lunch after the Vics were dismissed for 362 earlier in the session. The Bushrangers expected to be made to work hard for the outright but the Tigers put up little resistance to the blitzkrieg unleashed by Pattinson, who'd been under a cloud because of an ankle injury picked up during Tasmania's first innings, and Wright, who's in career-best form. Pattinson struck first when he trapped Ed Cowan in front for two in the second over, then Wright chimed-in with the wicket of Jonathan Wells in the very next over for one. Alex Doolan and Rhett Lockyear advanced the Tigers' score to 16 when three wickets fell in the space of six deliveries. Doolan was the first of those, caught behind by Matthew Wade off Wright for three. The Victorians warmly applauded the retiring Dan Marsh to the crease for the final innings of his 17-year, first-class career, then wildly applauded Wright for removing the 36-year-old, third ball. Marsh was adjudged lbw attempting to play an awful pull stroke that was never on. That wicket was Wright's 33rd from his past five Shield matches. Lockyear was next to go, palpably lbw to a full-toss from Pattinson and the next man in, Jason Krejza, was unable to stem the flow. He got an edge to an attempted hook off Pattinson and was taken by Wade for just two leaving Tassie in utter disarray at 6-18. And this, on a flat deck, in fine sunny conditions that were giving the bowlers no special assistance at all. Bryce McGain and John Hastings shared the wickets after lunch as the Vics' advance was frustrated only temporarily by Tassie's acting skipper Tim Paine who made 28 and the hard-hitting Brendon Drew, 40. Earlier, the last two Bushrangers wickets added 30 after Pattinson and Wade resumed the Vics' first innings with the score at 8-352. Pattinson added only one to his overnight score of seven when he was trapped in front by the Tigers' acting skipper Xavier Doherty. But McGain was able to stay with Wade for long enough to allow the Bushrangers' 'keeper to bring up his 50. That was where it ended for Wade who immediately holed-out to Tim Macdonald at deep backward square leg off Doherty who returned the figures of 3-41. Wade's half-century was his seventh for the Vics in all forms of the game and fifth in the Shield this season. Centuries from David Hussey (140) and Aaron Finch (102) on Thursday set up the Bushrangers' big innings lead. Their 212-run third-wicket stand was the Bushrangers' best for any wicket this season, surpassing a stand of 181 between Chris Rogers and Brad Hodge against South Australia in Adelaide. Tasmania first innings 222 Victoria first innings Jewell c Marsh b Drew 28 (41) Hill c Doolan b Drew 19 (64) Finch c Doolan b Griffith 102 (158) Hussey lbw Griffith 140 (189) McDonald c Doolan b Griffith 1 (12) Quiney c Cowan b Krejza 9 (19) Wade not out 50 (90) Hastings b Doherty 2 (14) Wright not out 5 (12) Pattinson lbw Doherty 8 (27) McGain not out 0 (15) Extras: 18 (8b, 6lb, 3nb, 1w) Total: 382 (10 wickets, 99 overs) 1-48, 2-51, 3-263, 4-267, 5-288, 6-324, 7-336, 8-343, 9-359, 10-382 Bowling Griffith 20 - 3 - 75 - 3 (1nb) Macdonald 19 - 2 - 77 - 0 (2nb) Drew 26 - 5 - 101 - 3 (1w) Doherty 19.2 - 7 - 41 - 3 Krejza 15 - 1 - 62- 1 Marsh 7 - 2 - 12 - 0 Tasmania second innings Cowan lbw Pattinson 2 (7) Wells lbw Wright 1 (5) Doolan c Wade b Wright 7 (16) Lockyear lbw Pattinson 5 (25) Marsh lbw Wright 0 (3) Paine lbw McGain 28 (103) Krejza c Wade b Pattinson 2 (9) Doherty b McGain 19 (72) Drew lbw Hastings 40 (49) Griffith b McGain 5 (6) Macdonald not out 1 (16) Extras: 4 (1lb, 3nb) Total: 114 (10 wickets, 51.2 overs) 1-3, 2-3, 3-16, 4-16, 5-16, 6-18, 7-55, 8-108, 9-113, 10-114 Bowling Pattinson 12 - 6 - 15 - 3 Wright 7 - 4 - 11 - 3 McDonald 8 - 4 - 16 - 0 McGain 12.2 - 0 - 57 - 3 Hastings 12 - 5 - 14 - 1 (3nb)
By Angus Morgan at the MCG, Sportal
