The Running Of The Bulls - A Cricket Dynasty

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"Personally, I have always looked on cricket as organised loafing."
Future archibishop of Canterbury (UK) William Temple, addressing parents when he was headmaster of Repton school, c. 1914

"When is the game itself going to begin?"
Groucho Marx, whilst watching a match at Lords, the preemiment venue in the cricketing world.

"I have seen cricket, and I know it isn't true."
American entertainer Danny Kaye.

"Cricket is baseball on valium."
Robin Williams, addressing Prince Charles.

"The rules and nuances of cricket are about as obvious as metaphysical biochemistry."
Dan Howley on timesunion.com

"In major league baseball games, they use giant catapults to fire giant hot dogs into the crowd. Catch it and you can eat it. If someone fired a hot dog at a cricket fan, while he watched a championship match, it might ruin his day. It could knock over his flask of tea, or land on his book of collected poems."
Ed Smith compares baseball's razzamatazz with English county cricket's quietness, in 'Playing Hard Ball' (2002)

[Rawhide]

How to explain the game of cricket to an audience that is largely unaware of its existence?


Many years ago in this very forum another poster attempted to chronicle a cricketing dynasty (using a totally different program to the one I am utilising). It is with apologies that I use his consise explanations, word for word - nearly.


The original thread - by a chap whose name escapes me now - can be found here, and is reproduced for you now:

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Firstly, a general background on the game of cricket, of which more will be explained later. The easiest way is to draw comparisons with a game that the vast majority of you know well and is at least superficially similar, baseball.

In cricket, as baseball, one team bats attempting to score runs whilst the other fields against them, attempting to restrict runs whilst scoring outs, thus ending the batting team's inning and swapping the teams. The winner is, generally, the team with the most runs at the end. In baseball, there are nine innings each composed of three outs, but in first-class cricket there are two innings for each team, each comprised of ten outs or 'wickets'. This is because in cricket every player is expected to bat in an innings, but there must always be two players 'in' at a time. As soon as the tenth out is reached, the final player at the crease has no partner, so the innings ends (the final player is declared 'not out').

The general state of play is somewhat similar as to that of baseball. The Batsmen stands at one end of the 'pitch', a 66ftx10ft strip in the centre of the playing field, and awaits the 'bowler' (analogous to the pitcher) to deliver the ball towards him. The batsmen then uses his bat to strike the ball, attempting to find a space away from the fielders to allow time to 'run'. A run is scored by the two batsmen (remember, there are always two batsmen at a time) crossing by running past each other along the pitch for one run. If they then turn and complete another crossing they score a second run and so on. Once the batsmen cease running as they believe they cannot score anymore without danger of being 'run out' (more later) the bowler prepares to bowl the next delivery. If the batsman strikes the ball and it crosses the outer boundary rope before a fielder can reach it he automatically scores four runs and if he does so without the ball hitting the ground before hand he scores six; these are called 'boundaries'.

So if that is how the batsmen score runs, then how do the fielding side take wickets? there are a variety of ways:

1. Caught - Exactly similar to a fly out, a batsman strikes a ball in the air which a fielder catches before it hits the ground.

2. Bowled - The batsman must protect a set of three sticks called 'stumps' at the end of the pitch. If the bowler bowls a delivery that strikes the stumps he is automatically out. Therefore, protecting the stumps is the batsman’s primary concern.

3. Hit Wicket - If the batsman strikes his stumps with his bat, or kicks his wicket, or dislodges it in any way whilst attempting to play a delivery, he is out.

4. Leg Before Wicket (LBW) - The batsman cannot deliberately use his body to protect his stumps. If the ball strikes the batsman on his legs and the umpire adjudges that it would have struck the stumps had he not got in the way, he is given out. There are a few complicated caveats to this basic LBW law which are not essential to know, even for some umpires it seems at times...

5. Stumped - If the batsmen advances out of his 'ground' (a safe zone about 2 yards long down the pitch) and the 'wicketkeeper' (catcher) collects the ball and strikes the stumps, the batsmen is out.

6. Run Out - If the batsmen are attempting to make a run, but the fielding side 'throw down the stumps' (hit the stumps by throwing the ball at them) whilst the batsmen at that end has not yet made his ground, he is out. This is why batsmen have to be careful in deciding when to run.

Unlike in baseball, the ball is must hit the ground on its way towards the batsmen, both for rules and strategy. A delivery 'on the full' over waist height is an illegal ball, adjudged 'no-ball' and means a penalty run awarded to the batting side. Also, a ball that does not bounce is generally much easier for a batsmen to hit. Bowlers manipulate various spins on the ball whilst delivering it, attempting to induce odd changes in speed and direction when it strikes the ground. A ball that 'seams' is one that strikes the ground flush on the seam of the ball, thus coming off at a slightly changed angle. A ball that 'spins' is one that grips on the surface and rips across one direction depending on the spin imparted. Finally, a ball that 'swings' changes direction midflight based on aerodynamics akin to a curveball or slider. Changes in velocity are generally not as prevalent as in baseball, although occasionally a bowler will use a slower delivery in an attempt to keep the batsman off guard.

The key difference between baseball and cricket is the equipment. In baseball, the bat is thin and round whilst every member of the fielding side has gloves. This makes scoring runs difficult whilst making outs relatively easy. In cricket the bat is wide and flat, whilst the fielders are all barehanded (barring the wicketkeeper) and expected to cover 360 degrees of the field. Therefore, scoring runs is comparatively easy to taking wickets. Following on from the differing emphasis, in baseball a good hitter who is a poor fielder will often be left out, but in cricket excellent fielding skills do not make up for a deficiency in batting.

A second key difference is that in cricket each innings is made up of many 'overs', a set of six legal deliveries bowled by one bowler. One bowler will bowl six balls from one end of the pitch, followed by another bowler bowling six from the other end of the pitch. Bowlers are not allowed to bowl consecutive overs. This also means that whilst in a baseball team there is one pitcher and everyone else are only batsmen and fielders, in cricket a side of 11 is usually made up of 6 specialist batsmen, 1 wicketkeeper and 4 bowlers. The specialist batsmen bat in the top order trying to score as many runs as possible and are usually good fielders also, the wicketkeeper is the best fielder in the side and usually a handy batsman also whilst the bowlers specialise in bowling, but must also field and bat, even though they are often not that good at either, as in cricket there are no substitutions (If someone is injured they are replaced by a sub who is not allowed to bat or bowl, only taking the injured player's place in the field). Some players termed 'all rounders' are good at both batting and bowling, making them valuable players to have as they can help balance the side to add more runs or bowling firepower as need be. However, an all rounder is usually a jack-of-all-trades, not quite as good as a specialist at either, unless they are a truly world-class performer such as the legendary greats Gary Sobers, Ian Botham, Imran Khan and select others including the contemporary Andrew Flintoff.>>
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[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']There are two predominant types of cricket played around the world, limited overs (one-day) cricket and four-day (first-class) cricket. OD cricket is limited to one innings per side in which there are a maximum number of overs allowed, in the English 'National League' it is 45 overs. The team with the most runs in their 45 overs wins. In FC cricket, each side has two innings to bat until either they are all out or they choose to end their innings for strategic reasons (to 'declare'). FC cricket lasts for four days and draws are fairly commonplace as all four innings must have been fully completed in order for a side to win. This makes balancing going for more runs to assure victory with declaring to allow extra time with which to bowl out the opposition a key factor in many games. OD games at international level are called simply One Day Internationals (ODIs) and FC games are extended to five days and called 'Test Matches' or simply tests. The longer form of the game is held up as the ultimate examination of a player's ability, especially test matches, but OD contests have gained a lot of prestige over the last 20 years or so, even if they will never been seen as equal to 'proper cricket' as the purists call it, somewhat tongue in cheek.>>[/font]
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[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Statistics are very important in cricket, as they are in baseball, although there are not quite so many different types.[/font]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif'][/font]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']At the most basic level a batsman is judged by how many runs he scores, a bowler by how many wickets he takes. By these raw numbers are of course not very useful on their own. [/font]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif'][/font]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']A batsman's main statistic is his 'batting average', which is simply the number of runs he's made in his career/season divided by the number of times out in his career/season. An acceptable average is around 35, anything above 40 is good and nearing 50 excellent. A few players in the world average above 50 not only in domestic first-class cricket, but also at Test level and are therefore truly brilliant players, such as Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, Jaques Kallis, Rahul Dravid etc. Don Bradman, the Babe Ruth of cricket, averaged a truly astonishing 99.97 at Test level, a full 35+ runs better than anyone else in history. The other main way of measuring a batsmen is how attacking he is. This is done by taking his runs against how many balls he has faced and extrapolating it to an average number of runs per 100 balls faced, getting a 'strike rate'. Around 40-45 per hundred is usual with 55 or so quick and 65 + very quick. In the limited overs format, averages are usually 5 or so runs lower simply as there is not so long to bat, and strike rates much higher with anything below 60 being slow and players often scoring at more than a run a ball i.e. 100+.[/font]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif'][/font]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Bowlers have three main ways to measure their performance. The 'bowling average' is the most useful and important, simply runs conceded divided by wickets taken. Anything below 30 is good and the nearer it is to 20 the better. The legendary Glenn McGrath, the most Test wickets of any fast bowler and still active at 35 years old, averages a truly excellent 21.19 at Test level. The other measures are 'economy rate' which is runs divided by overs bowled, a very important statistic for OD cricket but less so for FC, anything below 4.5 is good here. Also there is strike rate, which is number of balls bowled divided by number of wickets, essentially showing how often a bowler takes a wicket, with a mark of 50 or so being very good.[/font]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif'][/font]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']These statistics can show different player types fairly effectively. For example, a pinch hitter who opens the innings aggressively in a one-day game may only average around 25, but have a strike rate of 110 or 120. A grafting number 5 in FC cricket could average 45, but at a strike rate of 30 or so. A quick strike bowler whos job is to attack could average 35 and have an economy of 4.9, but a strike rate of 43.[/font]
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[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Edit:[/font]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif'][/font]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Also, there are special milestones in cricket which are unique to the game. Every time a batsman reaches 50 runs in an innings, a fine score, he take applause from the crowd a opposition, raising his bat in muted appreciation etc. Whenever a batsman reaches 100 runs, the crowd gives a standing ovation and the player removes his helmet and salutes the crowd and his teammates much more joyously. A 'century' is a major feat, especially in Test cricket. This means that every half-century and century is recorded in a players career also, alongside averages and total runs etc.[/font]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif'][/font]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Somewhat similarly, it is recorded whenever a bowler takes 5 wickets in an innings, or 10 wickets across the whole match (both innings combined). The ovations reserved for bowlers are usually less boisterous even if equally well intended, showing how the modern game is slanted towards the batsmen.

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Thus the rules of cricket were explained to this community in 2005.

More information - and quite specific and detailed at that! - can be found here: http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/hoski...xplanation.htm


Next post: the structure and "flavour" of cricket.

[Rawhide]

Being a creation of "old mother England", it was natural that cricket would take root in those countries which were colonial possessions during the 1800s. Over the course of time, however, cricket has evolved to the point where it is played in some organised form in over 100 countries, many of them having no significant English influence (e.g. China, Denmark). The globalisation of cricket is illustrated by the fact that the governing body, the International Cricket Council, is now based in Dubai.

The highest standard that a country can attain in the world of cricket is that of "test nation". This means that the standard of cricket throughout that country is of a generally high standard. It also allows the national team of these countries to play each other in "test matches" (for first class cricket) and "one day internationals".

The test nations are:
Australia (first test was played in 1877)
England (1877)
South Africa (1889, suspended between 1968 and 1991)
West Indies (1928 - a combination of several nations in the Caribbean Sea)
New Zealand (1930)
India (1932)
Pakistan (1952)
Sri Lanka (1982)
Zimbabwe (1992, suspended between 2004-05, and since 2006)
Bangladesh (2000)

There is no tournament that officially decides the "champion" test nation, although an official ICC championship was instituted using an ongoing points system from series played. The current champions are South Africa.

In the past thirty years one day cricket has been a commercially successful alternative to the grind of five day Test Cricket. With a result (usually) guaranteed and the match finished in one day, the genre of cricket was suited to broadcasters, with a rival competition established for a time in Australia in the late 1970s. A World Cup tournament was established in 1975 and played mostly every four years since then.

World Cup Finals
1975 - West Indies beat Australia
1979 - West Indies beat England
1983 - India beat West Indies
1987 - Australia beat England
1992 - Pakistan beat England
1996 - Sri Lanka beat Australia
1999 - Australia beat Pakistan
2003 - Australia beat India
2007 - Australia beat Sri Lanka

Non test-playing nations reguarly participate in the World Cup, with the last two tournaments providing big upsets. Kenya progressed to the semi-finals of the 2003 edition, while Ireland made the second stage in 2007.

A very recent innovation on the cricket timeline has been the advent of Twenty20 cricket. It is a form of limited overs cricket, with teams restricted to only 20 overs each. Games are typically high scoring and usually finished within three hours, making it even more suited for broadcasting than 50-over cricket.

In 2008 a new competition called the Indian Premier League was established, with "franchises" based in eight Indian cities and featuring most of the best players in the world, a first for a domestic based competition which typically feature only players from their home country. The success of the IPL spurred the creation of other Twenty20 competitions in most test nations, with the very best of these recently playing in the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League. The winning team, New South Wales (Australia), won $2.5 million - an unprecedented prize for a cricket tournament.

An international championship for Twenty20 has been played since 2007.

ICC World Twenty20 final results
2007 - India beat Pakistan
2009 - Pakistan beat Sri Lanka

Next - a closer look at the three forms of cricket in Australia, where this dynasty is set.

[Rawhide]

Cricket is one of the most popular sports in Australia, at international, domestic and local levels. Despite football codes such as Australian rules, rugby league and rugby union generating far greater public interest, they suffer a massive discrepancy in popularity among different states. In 2007, a survey by Sweeney Sports found that 59% of the Australian public have an interest in cricket, second to none. The peak administrative body for both professional and amateur cricket in Australia is Cricket Australia . Cricket is often known as Australia's national sport due to its equal popularity in all parts of the country.

On a domestic level, each of Australia's six states has a cricket team which competes in three separate competitions over summer:

• A four day first-class competition known as the Sheffield Shield (or simply, "The Shield")
  A one-day competition known as the Ford Ranger One Day Cup.
  A Twenty20 competition called the KFC Twenty20Big Bash.

In the Sheffield Shield and One Day Cup, each team plays each other home and away for a total of ten games. The top two in each competition qualifies for the final. In the Twenty20 competition, the second and third team playoff for the right to meet the first placed team in the final. The two finalists qualify for the World Twenty20 Champions League tournament.

The six teams that compete in the three domestic tournaments are as follows:

QUEENSLAND BULLS
Colours - Maroon and gold
Home Ground - "The Gabba", Brisbane
First Sheffield Shield season - 1926-27
Sheffield Shield victories - 6
One Day competition victories - 8
Twenty20 competition victories - 0

NEW SOUTH WALES BLUES
Colours - Sky Blue
Home Ground - Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
First Sheffield Shield season - 1892-93
Sheffield Shield victories - 45
One Day competition victories - 9
Twenty20 competition victories - 1

VICTORIA BUSHRANGERS
Colours - Navy Blue
Home Ground - Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
First Sheffield Shield season - 1892-93
Sheffield Shield victories - 27
One Day competition victories - 4
Twenty20 competition victories - 3

TASMANIA TIGERS
Colours - Green and red
Home Ground - Bellrieve Oval, Hobart
First Sheffield Shield season - 1973-74
Sheffield Shield victories - 1
One Day competition victories - 3
Twenty20 competition victories - 0

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Colours - Red and black
Home Ground - The Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
First Sheffield Shield season - 1892-93
Sheffield Shield victories - 13
One Day competition victories - 2
Twenty20 competition victories - 0

WESTERN (AUSTRALIA) WARRIORS
Colours - Gold and black
Home Ground - The Western Australia Cricket Association Ground (abbreviated as "The WACA" and pronounced "whacker")
First Sheffield Shield season - 1947-48
Sheffield Shield victories - 14
One Day competition victories - 11
Twenty20 competition victories - 0

[Rawhide]

Queensland Bulls

Squad Overview
Each player listed is contracted to Queensland to the end of the 2008-09 season. Where applicable, their domestic team during the northern summer is also listed. (It is quite common for players to play concurrently for two distinct teams in seperate countries - typically Australian players play either in the English County competitions - EC - or the Indian Premier League - IPL)

Career batting and bowling averages for each genre of cricket are listed where applicable. E.G. Shield -4-47.00/12.00 means a batting average of 47.00 and a bowling average of 12.00 in four apperances in the Shield competition.

FC - First Class competition (Shield)
OD - One Day competition
T20 - Twenty20 competition


Opening Batsmen
Ryan Broad, 27 RHB
Batting - FC 35.06, OD 27.44

Nick Kruger 26 LHB
Batting - FC 24.81, OD 23.50

Middle Order Batsmen
Glen Batticciotto, 28 LHB
Batting - OD 54.00, T20 26.67

Martin Love, 35 RHB
Batting - FC 49.86, OD 33.42, T20 27.67
Australian Test Batting - 46.60

Aaron Nye, 30 RHB
Batting - FC 29.23, OD 19.41, T20 6.60

Clinton Perren, 34 RHB
Batting - FC 34.93, OD 35.60, T20 24.50

Nathan Reardon, 24 LHB
Batting - FC 9.50, OD 20.29, T20 18.21

All-Rounders
Lee Carseldine, 33 LHB, LM (Rajasthan (IPL))
Batting - FC 36.45, OD 25.47, T20 56.50
Bowling - FC 41.75, OD 22.82, T20 17.83

Ryan Harris, 29 RHB, RM (Deccan (IPL))
Batting - FC 17.87, OD 14.74, T20 11.43
Bowling - FC 32.59, OD 35.68, T20 16.20

James Hopes, 30 RHM, RM (Punjab (IPL))
Batting - FC 30.53, OD 26.39, T20 20.04
Bowling - FC 32.36, OD 26.96, T20 37.42
Internationals - ODI Batting - 20.87, ODI Bowling - 32.23, T20 Batting - 23.00, T20 Bowling - 23.90

Chris Simpson, 27 RHB OS
Batting - FC 20.32, OD 12.38, T20 14.18
Bowling - FC 64.71, OD 31.67, T20 - 22.75

Chris Swan, 31 RHB RFM
Batting - FC 21.33, OD 17.75
Bowling - FC 33.70, OD 18.60

Andrew Symonds, 34 RHB OS (Deccan (IPL))
Batting - FC 42.21, OD 34.17, T20 52.28
Bowling - FC 36.01, OD 33.07, T20 39.65
Test Matches - Batting 40.61, Bowling 37.33
Internationals - ODI Batting - 40.37, ODI Bowling - 37.68, T20 Batting - 56.17, T20 Bowling - 34.65

Wicket Keepers
Chris Hartley, 27 LHB
Batting - FC 28.03, OD 20.26, T20 19.57

Greg Moller, 26 RHB
Batting - FC 22.82, OD 12.00

Bowlers
Scott Brant, 26 RFM
Bowling - FC 30.49, OD 28.90, T20 21.91

Ben Cutting, 22 RFM
Bowling - FC 48.18, T20 36.67

Daniel Doran, 28 LS
Bowling - FC 57.97

Ben Laughlin, 26 RFM
Bowling - yet to play

Ashley Noffke, 32 RFM (Worcestershire (England))
Bowling - FC 28.13, OD 33.17, T20 16.78
Internationals - ODI Bowling - 46.00, T20 Bowling - 10.25

Nathan Rimmington, 26 RFM
Bowling - FC 161.33, OD 13.60, T20 14.56

Grant Sullivan, 25 RFM
Bowling - FC 63.13, OD 34.80, T20 22.00

Scott Walter, 20 RFM
Yet to play

LHB - Left Hand Batsman, RHB - Right Hand Batsman
RFM - Right Fast Medium bowler
LS - Leg Spin bowler
LM - Left Medium bowler
RM - Right Medium bowler
OS - Off Spin

[Rawhide]

October 2nd 2009 - James Kelly replaced Terry Oliver as manager of the Queensland Bulls domestic cricket team in Australia. He announces that Andrew Symonds will captain the Bulls in 2009/10, despite issues that he has previously had with cricket officialdom - Symonds was dismissed from the Australian team after a series of alcohol-related incidents, including missing a training session to go on a fishing trip. Kelly also indicates that Queensland may seek to add to their squad before the start of the 2009/10 season, highlighting a need for depth in opening batsmen as a real concern.

October 3rd 2009 - Sensational news for Queensland with Matthew Hayden agreeing to play the 2009/10 season with the Bulls. Hayden is widely regarded as one of the greatest test opening batsmen of all time, playing 103 tests and holding the Australian record for the highest score (380). He has also won the World Cup on multiple occasions. He has now retired from international cricket and can devote himself solely to domestic matters.

October 4th 2009 - The Bulls board has decreed that Queensland must win both the Sheffield Shield and the State Cup this season.

October 5th 2009 - Australia lose to Sri Lanka by 5 wickets in the Champions Trophy at Potchefstroom, South Africa.

October 6th 2009 - Unknown Irish bowler Peter Connell has joined the Queensland Bulls for the upcoming season. He has represented Ireland at the 2007 World Cup.

October 7th 2009 - Australia beat New Zealand by 6 wickets in the Champions Trophy.

October 9th 2009 - Ben Laughlin is out of contention for approximately a week due to a broken thumb. England defeat Australia, knocking them out of the 2009 Champions Trophy being played in South Africa.

October 12th 2009 - Young batsman Sam Robson rejects an offer from Queensland, signing instead with South Australia.

October 14th 2009 - The Champions Trophy final between England and New Zealand finishes as a tied game. England win the trophy by virtue of losing less wickets during their innings (4/252 as opposed to 5/252). Justin Langer, another well-credential former Australian opener, will play for Victoria this season.

[Rawhide]

State Cup (50 Over) Game - Queensland v South Australia
October 15 2009 - The Gabba, Brisbane

8:45am - Queensland team announced: Hayden, Kruger, Love, Perren, Symonds (c), Hopes, Hartley, Hoffke, Doran, Connell, Brant

South Australia - Maher (c), Klinger, Jewell, Borgas, Wessels, Ferguson, Manou, Cleary, Cullen, Tait, Rofe

10:00am - Weather conditions - cloudy. Some help for fast bowlers. The pitch is fairly predictable but there should be something there for the bowlers.

10:45am - Andrew Symonds wins the toss and Queensland will bat first

11:11am - Queensland are racing in the early stages. 0/30 after 3 overs.

11:41am - WICKET - Hayden out for 41 off 37 balls (lbw b. Cullen). 1/75 after 12 overs.

11:52am - WICKET - Krueger out for 39 off 41 balls (c. Clearly, b. Rofe). 2/96 after 15 overs.

12:40pm - Martin Love brings up his fifty, with Queensland well placed for a big score at 2/156 after 30 overs. Their run-rate is 5.26.

1:06pm - WICKET - Love out for 74 off 92 balls (b. Cleary). 3/193 after 37.2 overs.

1:25pm - Clinton Perren registers the second fifty of the innings, off 75 balls. Queensland 3/223 after 43 overs.

1:32pm - Andrew Symonds takes 11 runs off a Jimmy Maher over. QLD 3/255.

1:38pm - He repeats the dose, this time for 10 runs. QLD 3/274

1:42pm - Symonds brings up his fifty off only 36 balls - an impressive feat! QLD 3/290

1:45pm - The Queensland innings comes to a close, with Symonds unbeaten on 52 runs, and Perren on 79. South Australia need to score 293 to win.

2:44pm - WICKET - Klinger out for 14, bowled by the Irishman Connell. SA 1/22.

2:53pm - WICKET - Jewell out for 14, caught Brant bowled Connell. SA 2/50

2:58pm - WICKET - Maher out for 31, caught Krueger bowled Connell. SA 3/63. The Irishman is enjoying a magical debut!

3:05pm - WICKET - Wessels out for 13, caught Hartley bowled Connell. SA 4/81.

3:45pm - South Australia are recovering from their initial slump, and are on 4/163 after only 23 overs.

3:48pm - Borgas brings up his fifty for South Australia, off only 37 balls faced.

4:00pm - Ferguson follows suit, with SA now 4/193 in the 28th over. They are on pace for victory. Noffke is bowling dreadfully, conceding 56 runs off only 6 overs.

4:10pm - Noffke goes for 11 runs in the 30th over and is taken out of the bowling attack. SA 4/210, needing 83 runs off 120 balls.

4:37pm - Whatever Queensland tries doesn't want to work, with South Australia only needing 49 more runs off 72 balls.

4:51pm - Ferguson caps off South Australia's day by bringing up his century, off 108 balls faced.

4:53pm - It's double celebration for the Redback; Borgas required only 92 balls for his century.

5:01pm - The match is over, with South Australia winning comfortably by 6 wickets. Ferguson and Borgas together contributed to a 212-run partnership for the 5th wicket. Every Queensland bowler was expensive, conceding close to six runs an over each. The exception was Ashley Noffke, who had a dreadful day, with figures of 0/100 off ten overs.

In other results today, New South Wales beat Tasmania by 6 wickets, while Victoria comfortably beat the Warriors.

State Cup Standings
1. South Australia - 4 points
2. New South Wales - 4
3. Victoria - 4
4. Western Australia - 0
5. Tasmania - 0
6. Queensland - 0

[Icy]

I'll be reading with curiosity.

A 6 hours long game? Is it the usual?

[Rawhide]

Thanks Icy.

Yeah, that's quite usual for a fifty over game.

A four day game goes for....well....I guess you can work it out!
Each four day game is subdivided into three "sessions" of roughly two hours or thirty overs. Players break after the first session for "lunch" (roughly 40-60 minutes) and after the second session for "tea" (typically 20 minutes).

[Young Drachma]

Woo, cricket. I'm partial to Twenty20, but only because I feel like it's the only way cricket will truly ever make headway in America.

[bbgunn]

I'll be following along. Looks interesting!

[Young Drachma]

Will there be any coverage of The Ashes in this dynasty?

I wish there was some way to meld baseball and cricket. You know, like the international rules series that happen when the Aussies go to Ireland to play football.

[Rawhide]

Thanks all for your comments.

I'll try to cover as much of the cricket world as possible - in this story, the next Ashes series won't take place until the 2010/11 domestic season.

[Rawhide]

Sheffield Shield Match
Western Warriors v Queensland Bulls
The WACA, Perth

The Bulls made two switches to the side that lost to South Australia in the State Cup, with Ryan Broad replacing Nick Kruger and Lee Carseldine coming into the team for Scott Brant.

QLD - ML Hayden, RA Broad, ML Love, LA Carseldine, CT Perren, A Symonds (captain), JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, DJ Doran, P Connell

WA - SE Marsh, CJ Simmons, MEK Hussey (captain), DC Bandy, MJ North, AC Voges, MA Johnson, AK Heal, MG Johnson, BR Dorey, BM Edmondson

The Warriors have many top class players, including Mike Hussey, Shaun Marsh, Marcus North, Adam Voges, Mitchell (G) Johnson and Brett Dorey - all of whom have played for Australia at one stage in their careers. They will be very difficult to beat.

Conditions - The pitch is nice and even at the start, good for batting. The weather is positively blistering, as it usually is in Perth at this time of year.

Mike Hussey - playing for his home state after being on international duty for Australia - has won the toss and will bat. Bugger.

Day One - October 18 2009

12:05pm - The Warriors are positively rocking, with Simmons bringing up his century. WA 0/79

12:38pm - Finally, a wicket falls! Peter Connell traps Simmons inf ront for 83. WA 1/131

12:48pm - Fifty to Shaun Marsh. WA 1/137

1:00pm - Lunch is called, at the end of the first session. The Honours well and truly go to Western Australia, who are 1/157. Marsh is 64 not out, Hussey on 6.

1:40pm - The second session begins.

2:25pm - Wicket - Andrew Symonds inserts himself into the attack and immediately gets the improtant wicket of Marsh, stumped out of his crease by Hartley for 91. WA 2/213.

2:33pm - Wicket - Spin seems to be working, with Symonds getting his second wicket. Bandy is caught behind by the wicketkeeper Hartley. WA 3/217.

2:41pm - Wicket - A collapse is on at the WACA with North departing for 11. Symonds is again the wicket-taker. WA 4/229

3:02pm - Wicket - It's that man again. Hussey is caught by Love, bowled Symonds. WA 5/242.

3:28pm - Wicket - Queensland switch back to the fast bowlers, and Connell gets his second wicket in maroon colours. MA Johnson is out for 17. WA 6/282.

3:40pm - The teams come off the ground for the tea break. Queensland can claim honours in the session, slightly, taking five Warriors wickets. The Westerners are still scoring at a tremendous clip (4.15 per over!)

4:00pm - The final session is underway

4:09pm - Wicket - Ashley Noffke takes his first wicket for the season, with Heal being clean bowled. WA 7/302.

4:14pm - Wicket - Voges is gone for 40, bowled by Pete Connell. WA 8/311.

4:35pm - Wicket - Symonds gets his fifth wicket for the innings, bringing up a milestone for the new Queensland captain. Mitchell Johnson, Australian fast bowler and former Bulls player, is out for 8. WA 9/323. The end is nigh.

5:04pm - With WA 9/338 after 80 overs, the Bulls are entitled to ask for a new ball, which Symonds quickly decides to accept. The fast bowlers are switched back on.

5:26pm - Dorey and Edmondson are hanging around, and have survived five fiery overs with the new ball thus far. WA 9/353.

5:34pm - With the shadows growing long on day one, the Warriors are finally all out, with Dorey bowled by Ashley Noffke for 22. The two teams will now switch sides after a ten minute break.

5:44pm - Hayden and Broad enter for Queensland. This is a real danger time for the Bulls, who would not want to lose a wicket before the scheduled close of play at 6:00pm. Play may be extended however as there is a set number of overs needed to be bowled.

6:05pm - There are still five overs left to go. QLD 0/16

6:27pm - Queensland survive to the end of the day without losing a wicket. Hayden is unbeaten on 20, Broad still in on 9 runs.

End of Day One
Western Australia 357 (Marsh 91, Simmons 83, Hussey 45, Voges, 40, Dorey 22, Symonds 5/44, Connell 3/82, Noffke 2/118)
Queensland 0/31 (Hayden 20*, Broad 9*)

Western Australia lead by 326 runs.

Day Two will be very important, with Queensland wanting to stay in all day and accumulate lots of runs.

[Rawhide]

Sheffield Shield Match
Western Warriors v Queensland Bulls
The WACA Ground, Perth

Day Two

11:00am - Queensland resume their innings at 0/31

11:09am - Explosive start as the Bulls race to 0/54, adding 23 runs in 12 balls!

11:58am - Matthew Hayden - aka "Matt the Bat" has his first fifty for the new Shield season. QLD 0/87

12:28pm - Ryan Broad scores a fifty, off 104 balls. QLD 0/114

12:59pm - Wicket - On the cusp of the lunch break, Broad falls, caught Johnson, bowled Johnson for 60 runs. QLD 1/144

1:03pm - Queensland in control in this session, scoring 122 runs and only losing one wicket. It's lunch time.

1:40pm - The game resumes with the Warriors 204 runs ahead.

2:16pm - A century for Matthew Hayden! 100 not out, 142 balls faced, after 208 minutes at the crease, stroking 11 fours. QLD 1/188

3:00pm - Queensland continue to tonk the bowling to all corners of the ground. Love now has a half-century, QLD 1/251.

3:40pm - All going to script for the Bulls fans as the players break for tea. The Warriors are only 62 runs ahead, with Hayden on 145, and Love on 75.

4:00pm - Tea is over, the game resumes once more.

4:02pm - Hayden brings up 150 runs. QLD 1/304.

4:32pm - Yet another milestone for the Bulls, with Love scoring a century. QLD 1/345 - an incredible score!

4:35pm - Mike Hussey has taken the new ball for the Warriors.

4:40pm - Queensland passes Western Australia's first innings score, securing at least two points on the Sheffield Shield table. QLD 1/360.

5:20pm - Wicket - A massive 254 run partnership between Hayden and Love is broken as Martin Love lashes out to Ben Edmondson, off the bowling of Mitch Johnson. Love made 125 runs, QLD 2/398.

5:31pm - Matt Hayden is unreal, as he raises his bat after scoring 200 runs. QLD 2/414, with roughly an hour to go today.

6:24pm - The day of horror ends for the Warriors, with Queensland leading by 110 runs. Hayden is unbeaten on 229 runs, while Lee Carseldine remains not out on 30.

Day Two Summary
WA (1st Innings) - 357
QLD 2/467 (Hayden 229*, Love 125, Broad 60, Carseldine 30*)

The decision for Symonds would be when to declare the innings closed. This is a tactical move where Queensland ends their batting; the Warriors will then attempt to either bat out the remaining time for a draw, while Queensland will try to bowl the Warriors out and secure a win.

[Rawhide]

Sheffield Shield Match
Western Warriors v Queensland Bulls
The WACA Ground, Perth

Day Three

11:00am - Queensland resume their innings, endeavouring to score as many runs possible as quickly as possible so that Symonds can declare on an imposing score. The talk around the ground is that Queensland will bat until around 12:30pm, certainly declaring by lunch.

11:17am - 250 runs for Matthew Hayden. QLD 2/492 (lead of 135)

11:59am - Carseldine continues the scoring romp, bringing up a fifty. QLD 2/541 (lead of 184 runs)

12:18pm - 300 runs for Matthew Hayden. QLD 2/569 (lead of 212 runs)

12:37pm - Wicket - A 200 run partnership is broken with Hayden finally subcuming, bowled by Heal for the mighty score of 307. Symonds declares the innings closed with Queensland ahead of 241 and holding all the aces in this contest. Carseldine is not out on 75 runs. Western Australia have no chance to win this game, and will need to avoid being bowled out behind Queenslands score, otherwise they will lose by "an innings"

12:45pm - The Warriors innings starts

12:57pm - Wicket - Connell removes Simmons for 7. WA 1/17

1:10pm - Lunch is called, with Queensland ahead by 220 runs.

1:40pm - The battle resumes.

2:14pm - Wicket - Marsh is bowled clean by Connell for 24. WA 2/53

2:25pm - Wicket - Hussey departs for 21 runs, again by Connell. WA 3/62

2:52pm - Wicket - Bandy out fo 11, caught Connell bowled Symonds. WA 4/72 and fading fast in this contest.

3:40pm - The Warriors stablise and tea is called. WA 4/125

4:00pm - The innings starts up again. Queensland can secure victory here with six wickets.

4:17pm - Rain starts to fall in Perth, as the players scamper from the field.

6:34pm - With rain continuing to fall, stumps is called for the day.

Day Three Summary

WA (1st Innings) - 357
QLD (1st Innings) - 3/598 (dec) (Hayden 307, Love 125, Carseldine 75*, Broad 60)
WA (2nd innings) - 4/148 (Voges 42*, North 36*, Connell 3/51)

Queensland lead by 93 runs with a day left to play.

[Rawhide]

Sheffield Shield
Western Warriors v Queensland Bulls
The WACA Ground, Perth

Day Four (Final Day)

The best outcome for the Warriors would be a draw, helped along by a repeat of yesterday's rain. Games cannot be extended beyond their scheduled four days. Queensland are in a very strong position and should win today, weather pending.

11:00 - Ashley Noffke begins the day's play, bowling to Adam Voges. The weather currently is very hot, playing into Queensland's hands.

11:02 - Wicket - Voges doesn't hang around long today, being bowled by Pete Connell for 43. WA 5/151 (trailing by 90 runs)

11:10 - Wicket - Noffke gets his act into gear and removes Marcus North for 41 runs. WA 6/158, with both of the overnight batsmen removed.

11:39 - Wicket - James Hopes gets his first chance of the innings and immediately has an effect, getting rid of Heal for 4 runs. WA 7/169.

11:52 - Wicket - The Warriors aren't offering much resistance any more, with Mitch Johnson going for 1, caught Hartley bowled Hopes. WA 8/174. Queensland need two more wickets to win the match.

11:57 - Wicket - Andrew Symonds takes a wicket with his fourth ball of the day. The "other" M.Johnson is gone for 12. WA 9/176

12:17 - Wicket - It's all over, as Ben Edmondson drags a Hopes delivery onto his stumps. Queensland have scored an impressive victory!

Match Summary

WA (1st Innings) - 357 (Marsh 91, Simmons 83, Hussey 45, Symonds 5/44, Connell 3/82)

QLD (1st Innings) - 3/598 (declared) (Hayden 307, Love 125, Carseldine 75*, Broad 60, MG Johnson 2/174)

WA (2nd Innings) - 185 (Voges 43, North 41, Connell 4/57, Hopes 3/11, Symonds 2/26)

Queensland wins by an innings and 56 runs
Man of the Match - Matthew Hayden


An impressive victory by the Bulls to open up the 2009/10 season. The bowling was much improved in the second innings, especially with the contribution from James Hopes to finish off the Warriors on the final day.

The main talk is the deep batting line-up, as evidenced by the Bulls scoring nearly 400 runs on Day 2 to set up victory.

Sheffield Shield Ladder
1. Queensland Bulls - 6
2. Southern Redbacks - 6
3. Victoria Bushrangers - 6
4. New South Wales Blues - 2
5. Tasmania Tigers - 0
6. Western Warriors - 0

Note - NSW received two points for finishing in front of Victoria at the end of the first winnings, but they failed to win the game outright.

[Rawhide]

October 25 2009 - Australia beat India in the first one day international in their series in Kolkata, helped principally by captain Ricky Ponting's unbeaten 131, successfully chasing a victory target of 231 runs.

October 27 2009 - Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe in an ODI in Chittagong.

October 30 2009
State Cup Game
New South Wales Blues v Queensland Bulls
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney

Team News - Ryan Broad replaces Nick Kruger in the team line-up. Otherwise, the same team that lost to South Australia. (I should point out that since different players excel in different aspects of each form of cricket, in reality each team selects two parallel squads for first-class and one day cricket)

New South Wales are greatly weakened by the fact that their best players are currently on tour with Australia in India. Queensland, on the other hand, are missing no players.

Queensland - ML Hayden, RA Broad, ML Love, CT Perren, A Symonds (c), JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Hoffke, DJ Doran, P Connell, SA Brant

New South Wales - PJ Hughes, GJ Mail, PJ Forrest, SNJ O'Keefe, DJ Thornely, BJ Rohrer, DLR Smith, MC Henriques, NM Hauritz (c), NW Bracken, BT Cockley

Nathan Hauritz - another former Bull playing interstate - wins the toss and the Blues will bat.

11:07pm - Wicket - Mail is removed by a Noffke delivery in the second over. NSW 1/15

11:33pm - We continue our problem of leaking too many runs. NSW 1/65 after ten overs.

11:41pm - Wicket - PJ Forrest is caught out in the deep by Hopes off Connell's bowling. NSW 2/82 in the 12th over.

11:46pm - Philip Hughes brings up his fifty, off only 35 balls. NSW 2/98

11:55pm - The "Powerplay" period of the Blues' innings ends - Symonds is able to place fielders wherever he likes now. Previously, he was only able to place two men outside a circle encompassing the pitch, allowing batting teams to make quick starts to matches. NSW 2/117 after 15 overs, scoring at 7.8 runs per over. They are presently on course for a score exceeding 350!

12:04pm - Wicket - The new fielding changes work to Queensland's advantage, with Hughes being caught behind off Connell's bowling for 72 off 52 balls. Hughes scored 11 fours and one six. NSW 3/130.

12:30pm - Rain starts falling in Sydney.

1:44pm - Game back on!

1:50pm - Hopes and Doran are tightening the screws, yet the run rate for the Blues is still far too high. NSW 3/178 in the 28th over.

2:10pm - Symonds back into the attack. NSW 3/203 in the 35th over.

2:12pm - Steve O'Keefe brings up his fifty. Compared to Hughes' earlier effort, it's a snooze, coming off 74 balls. NSW 3/205 in the 36th over.

2:18pm - Daniel Doran finishes his ten over spell (the maximum allowed under the rules of 50 over cricket) with the very tidy figures of 0/28, a major reason why the run rate has slowed as it has.

2:25pm - Wicket - Symonds claims Steve O'Keefe's wicket, with the Blues #4 making 59 runs off 91 balls. NSW 4/224 in the 41st over.

2:26pm - Wicket - Symonds claims Ben Rohrer out "leg before wicket" on his very first ball. He now has the chance to claim a "hattrick", which is three wickets in three consecutive balls, a rare feat.

2:27pm - The hattrick attempt is unsuccessful, but New South Wales are in slight trouble at 5/225. They have 48 balls remaining in their innings.

2:31pm - Dominic Thornely has his fifty. NSW 5/228.

2:39pm - Andrew Symonds complete his ten overs, with the decent figures of 2/42.

2:45pm - Wicket - The big Irishman, Peter Connell, is back on and claims Dom Thornely for 59. NSW 6/245.

2:48pm - Wicket - Wicketkeeper Daniel Smith is bowled by Ashley Noffke. NSW 7/247 with 15 balls remaining.

2:50pm - Wicket - Moses Henriques is caught by Ryan Broad off Peter Connell's bowling. NSW 8/251 and fading fast.

2:52pm - Wicket - Nathan Hauritz departs after having his wickets shattered by Peter Connell. NSW 9/254.

2:55pm - The innings is over, with the Blues whimpering to a total of 9/259. After their lightning start, this is a relatively poor score.

3:41pm - After a break, the Queensland innings gets underway.

3:59pm - After five overs, Queensland are starting solidly. 0/25

4:17pm - Wicket - Ryan Broad is bowled by Burt Cockley. It is the youngster's first ever wicket in one day cricket. QLD 1/51 after ten overs.

4:30pm - Matthew Hayden tonks three consecutive fours off the bowling of Moses Henriques. QLD 1/75 after 14 overs.

4:38pm - Wicket - Hayden is removed by former teammate Nathan Hauritz, departing for 43 off 54 balls. QLD 2/84 after 16 overs.

4:49pm - Wicket - Martin Love now departs the scene, claimed by Henriques for 17. QLD 3/98

4:50pm - Wicket - Calamity for Queensland as Clinton Perren leaves for just 7. QLD 4/98 and struggling to stay in the contest. Symonds and Hopes are now at the crease, having not faced a ball yet in the contest.

5:03pm - Halfway through the Queensland innings, the Bulls are 4/124. They need to score a further 136 runs but only have 6 wickets left in hand. A good partnership between Symonds and Hopes would be just what the doctor ordered!

5:22pm - Hopes peels off ten runs off a Nathan Bracken over. QLD 4/147

5:26pm - Hopes survives a determined leg before wicket appeal.

5:36pm - Queensland needs 98 more runs off 15 overs, or 6.53 runs per over. Time to up the ante!

5:50pm - With ten overs to go, Queensland needs exactly 78 runs. Symonds is 35 not out, Hopes on 46. The tactic is upgraded to "all-out-attack".

5:52pm - Wicket - After smacking ten runs, Symonds falls to Moses Henriques, caught on the boundary by Nathan Bracken. QLD 5/192, requiring 68 more runs off 56 balls.

5:55pm - Wicket - Now James Hopes leaves, bowled by Steve O'Keefe. QLD 6/198, needing 62 runs off 50 balls. Mission Improbable.

6:00pm - Chris Hartley has started well, scoring 12 off 8 balls. QLD 6/207, needing 53 runs off 42 balls.

6:06pm - Queensland now need 43 runs off 30 balls. QLD 6/217

6:08pm - 36 needed off 24. QLD 6/224

6:09pm - Wicket - Noffke is out, bowled Henriques. QLD 7/226, needing 34 runs off 22 balls.

6:12pm - 30 runs needed off 18 balls, or ten runs per over.

6:14pm - 25 runs needed off 12 balls. The Blues have victory in sight, with Hartley and Doran swimming against the tide.

6:16pm - Wicket - Doran lofts a shot towards the boundary and is caught by Greg Mail. Henriques bags another wicket. QLD 8/237, needing 23 runs off 10 balls.

6:18pm - The lights are turned on at Sydney, with Queensland requiring 18 runs off the final 6 balls of the game.

6:20pm - Wicket - With victory out of reach, Chris Hartley is trapped leg before wicket by Phil Hughes. One ball to go.

6:21pm - Wicket - Scott Brant is stumped by wicketkeeper Daniel Smith, who is subsequently named man of the match. The Blues have dismissed Queensland and won the contest by 10 runs.

New South Wales Blues 9/259 (50.0) (Hughes 72, O'Keefe 59, Thornely 59, Forrest 31, Connell 5/63, Symonds 2/42, Noffke 2/55)

Queensland Bulls 249 (50.0) (Hopes 47, Symonds 45, Hayden 43, Henriques 4/66, Hughes 3/41

State Cup Standings
1. Victoria Bushrangers - 8
2. New South Wales Blues - 8
3. Southern Redbacks - 4
4. Western Warriors- 4
5. Tasmania Tigers - 0
6. Queensland Bulls - 0

A disappointing start to the season in this competition - it goes without saying!

[Rawhide]

October 30 2009 - Australia beat India in the second ODI of their series, easily chasing down the Indians' total of 167.

November 1 2009 - India strikes back, winning the third ODI by 29 runs, thanks largely to Satyajit Parab's 143, his first ton in international cricket.
Zimbabwe squeeze out Bangladesh by one run at Dhaka.

November 3 2009 - Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by 8 runs in Khulna, and Pakistan down New Zealand by 8 wickets in Auckland.

November 4 2009 - Australia clinch their series against India, winning by 9 wickets at Jhalawar.

November 5 2009 - The Black Caps beat Pakistan in Wellington.

November 6 2009 - The morning of our Sheffield Shield match against South Australia starts in dramatic circumstances, with Martin Love being rested by the Australian selectors. As Love is centrally contracted by the national body, the Australian Cricket Board, they are able to intervene into state cricket and dictate when they would like "their" players rested, usually with a view to being called into the national team. This is a sign that Love is under consideration for a recall into the Australian test team, whom he last played for in 2004. At the age of 35, it would be an amazing call-up.

The selectors are currently meeting to decide whether to make any changes to the side that convincingly beat the Warriors.

[Rawhide]

The computer froze while I was playing the third day of this game, so I had to start the game over again. Fast-play this time...

Sheffield Shield
Queensland Bulls v Southern Redbacks
The Gabba, Brisbane
November 6 2009 to November 9 2009

Two changes to the Queensland side, one forced by the absence of Love. Aaron Nye is called into the squad and will bat at #5, while fast bowler Scott Brant replaces spinner Daniel Doran. Nye has played only 8 games and averages a reasonable 29.23 with the bat, with a high score of 102. Brant has taken 73 wickets in his 26 matches. His main role will be to support Ashley Noffke and Peter Connell.

Queensland - ML Hayden, RA Broad, LA Carseldine, CT Perren, AJ Nye, JR Hopes, A Symonds (captain), CD Hartley, AA Noffke, P Connell, SA Brant

South Australia - DJ Harris, M Klinger, MJ Cosgrove, N Jewell, CJ Borgas, CJ Ferguson, GA Manou (captain), CB Bailey, MF Cleary, PC Rofe, AB Wise.


Lunch Day 1 - South Australia 2/72. First session affected by rain. Cosgrove unbeaten on 27 for the Redbacks.

Tea Day 1 - Score is unchanged, rain continues to fall.

Stumps Day 1 - South Australia 3/165. Scott Brant has two wickets, but Cosgrove is still not out on 66.

Tea Day 2 - South Australia bowled out for 435, Cosgrove made 77, Borgas 112. Captain Graham Manou chipped in with a 70 run contribution at the tail end. Noffke and Brant each took 3 wickets.

Stumps Day 2 - Queensland 0/76, with Hayden and Broad both looking good. The Redbacks are in the ascendency however, leading by 359 runs.

Lunch Day 3 - Queensland 2/200. Hayden and Broad both out for good scores (89 and 58).

Tea Day 3 - Queensland 5/318. Carseldine out just twelve runs shy of his century. The Redbacks lead by 117.

Stumps Day 3 - Queensland dismissed for 406, South Australia now 0/53, a lead of 82 runs. They have secured first-innings points.

Lunch Day 4 - South Australia 3/172. Daniel Harris made a good 85, Cosgrove is amongst the runs again with 43 not out.

Tea Day 4 - The Redbacks have declared their innings closed at 4/220, giving Queensland a victory target of 250. At tea, the Bulls are 2/40 and need 210 more runs off a minimum of 37 overs to claim an unlikely victory. The Redbacks only need to take 8 wickets.

Stumps Day 4 - The match ends in a draw, with Queensland only 50 runs short of victory.

South Australia (1st Innings) - 435 (Borgas 112, Cosgrove 77, Manou 70, Noffke 3/81, Brant 3/96)
Queensland (1st Innings) - 406 (Hayden 89, Carseldine 88, Broad 58, Wise 4/99, Cleary 3/125)
South Australia (2nd Innings) - 4/220 (dec) (Harris 85, Cosgrove 51, Klinger 32, Noffke 3/68)
Queensland (2nd Innings) - 4/200 (Nye 58*, Hopes 49*, Perren 49)

Result - Match Drawn (SA receives two points for first innings victory)
Man of the Match - Allan Wise (Redbacks)

Sheffield Shield Table
1. Victoria Bushrangers - 12
2. Southern Redbacks - 8
3. New South Wales Blues - 8
4. Queensland Bulls - 8
5. Tasmania Tigers -0
6. Western Warriors - 0

[Rawhide]

State Cup Match
November 14 2009
Western Warriors v Queensland Bulls
The WACA Ground, Perth

Martin Love is playing for Australia today against the West Indies in a one-day international (ODI) in Adelaide, so Lee Carseldine slides into the squad.

Bulls - ML Hayden, RA Broad, LA Carseldine, CT Perren, A Symonds (captain), JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, DJ Doran, P Connell, SA Brant

Warriors - SE Marsh, CJ Simmons, DC Bandy, LA Pomersbach, MJ North, AC Voges (captain), L Ronchi, AK Heal, BR Dorey, BA Knowles, BM Edmondson

In the end, the Bulls were far too good for the Warriors, winning handsomely by a whopping 214 runs, despite having only three players score more than 10 runs in their innings!

Hayden made 77 off 54 balls, Clinton Perren contributed with 68 off 82, while the star of the innings was Andrew Symonds, smashing 116 runs off 108 balls. Queensland finished their fifty overs with 9/310. Brett Dorey took 7/55 for the Warriors, a magnificent effort.

The Warriors' innings lasted only 21 runs, being bowled out for the specatularly bad score of 96. Half of the runs were scored by captain Adam Voges, who finished not out on 47. Three of the Queensland bowlers took wickets - Ashley Noffke bagged 5/22, Peter Connell took 3/31 and Scott Brant chipped in with 2/4.

The result represents Queensland's first win in the State Cup for 2009/10. Queensland earned a bonus point on the ladder for restricting the Warriors to less than 80% of the Bulls' score (the other way a team can earn a bonus competition point is to chase a score in less than 40 overs).

Queensland 9/310 (50.0) (Symonds 116, Hayden 77, Perren 68, Dorey 7/55)
Western Australia 96 (21.0) (Voges 47*, Noffke 5/22, Connell 3/31, Brant 2/4)

Queensland won by 214 runs.

State Cup Standings
1. Victoria Bushrangers - 12
2. New South Wales Blues - 8
3. Queensland Bulls - 5
4. Southern Redbacks - 4
5. Tasmania Tigers - 4
6. Western Warriors - 4

Martin Love was not used as the Australians crushed the West Indies by 9 wickets.

[Rawhide]

Sheffield Shield
Queensland Bulls v New South Wales Blues
The Gabba, Brisbane
November 16-19 2009

Love is still absent for Queensland, while young fast bowler Ben Cutting is brought into the team at the expense of Nye.

Bulls - ML Hayden, RA Broad, LA Carseldine, CT Perren, JR Hopes, A Symonds (captain), CD Hartley, AA Noffke, P Connell, BCJ Cutting, SA Brant.

Blues - GJ Mail, DA Warner, PJ Forrest, SNJ O'Keefe, DJ Thornely, BK Rohrer, PM Neville, MC Henriques, NM Hauritz (captain), AC Bird, NW Bracken

Day One Scores

Lunch - NSW 2/144 (Mail 51, Warner 39, O'Keefe 23*, Forrest 22*, Brant 2/33)

Tea - NSW 6/254 (O'Keefe 46, Forrest 43, Thornley 32, Rohrer 28, Neville 3*, Henriques 1*, Connell 3/74, Symonds 1/67)

Stumps - NSW 333 (Nevill 27, Bracken 14*, Hauritz 13, Henriques 11, Bird 11, Connell 3/89, Noffke 2/59, Brant 2/61, Symonds 2/82) QLD 1/48 (Hayden 27*, Broad 18, Noffke 1*, Hauritz 1/4)

Day Two Scores

Lunch - QLD 1/90 (Hayden 57*, Noffke 10*)

Tea - QLD 3/202 (Hayden 108*, Carseldine 38, Noffke 29, Perren 0*)

Stumps - QLD 318 (Hayden 151, Perren 32, Bracken 3/125, Hauritz 3/108) NSW 0/6 (Warner 4*, Mail 1*)

Day Three Scores

Lunch - NSW 2/158 (Warner 88, Mail 48, Forrest 11*, O'Keefe 3*) - Blues lead by 173 runs

Tea - NSW 5/230 (O'Keefe 35, Forrest 11, Thornley 14, Rohrer 17*, Nevill 7*, Connell 2/70)

Stumps - NSW 291 (Nevill 26, Rohrer 18, Henqirues 18, Hauritz 14, Bird 6*, Bracken 0, Connell 4/105, Carseldine 3/37 - career best figures!) QLD 3/86 (Hayden 10, Broad 24, Carseldine 24, Perren 22*, Hopes 6*). Bulls require 221 more runs to win.

Day Four Scores

Lunch - QLD 6/124 (Perren 34, Hopes 15, Symonds 10, Hartley 6*, Noffke 0*, Bird 2/41, Hauritz 2/32) - Queensland needs 183 more runs to win, but rain has stopped play.

End of Match - QLD bowled out for 160, the Blues have won by 146 runs.

New South Wales (1st Innings) - 333 (Mail 51, O'Keefe 46, Forrest 43, Connell 3/89)
Queensland (1st Innings) - 318 (Hayden 151, Carseldine 38, Perren 32, Hauritz 3/108, Bracken 3/125)
New South Wales (2nd Innings) - 291 (Warner 88, Mail 48, O'Keefe 35, Connell 4/105, Carseldine 3/37)
Queensland (2nd Innings) - 160 (Perren 34, Broad 24, Carseldine 24, Hauritz 4/34)

New South Wales won by 146 runs

Sheffield Shield Table
1. Victoria Bushrangers - 18
2. New South Wales Blues - 14
3. Southern Redbacks - 8
4. Queensland Bulls - 6
5. Western Warriors - 2
6. Tasmania Tigers - 0

[Rawhide]

Disaster for Queensland with Lee Carseldine out for approximately two weeks. Now, if only we can get Martin Love back...

Sheffield Shield
Tasmania Tigers v Queensland Bulls
Bellrieve Oval, Hobart
November 28-December 1 2009

Two changes for the Bulls, with Nye replacing Carseldine and Ryan Harris coming into the side for Ben Cutting, whose contribution towards the Bulls in their last game was neligible.

Bulls - ML Hayden, RA Broad, CT Perren, AJ Nye, JR Hopes, A Symonds (captain), CD Hartley, AA Noffke, RJ Harris, P Connell, SA Brant

Tigers - TD Paine, MG Dighton, AR Crook, AJ Doolan, TR Birt, GJ Bailey, DJ Marsh, JJ Krejza, AR Griffith, GJ Denton, BW Hilfenhaus

Day One Scores

Lunch - TAS 7/114 - Great start for the Bulls! (Paine 0, Dighton 0, Crook 39, Doolan 2, Birt 35, Bailey 5, Marsh 25*, Krejza 5, Griffith 1*, three Bulls bowlers have two wickets)

Tea - TAS 8/175 - Rain stopped play (Marsh 61*, Denton 14*, Griffith 8, Symonds 3/45)

Stumps - No further play possible. Tasmania in serious trouble regardless.

Day Two Scores

Lunch - TAS 190 (Marsh 69*, Denton 19, Hilfenhaus 2, Symonds 3/42, Noffke 3/59) QLD 1/91 (Hayden 50*, Perren 9*, Broad 30)

Tea - QLD 4/209 - First innings points in the bag! - (Hayden 97*, Symonds 24*, Perren 10, Nye 6, Hopes 33, Denton 4/52)

Stumps - QLD 292 (Hayden 115, Symonds 44, Hartley 17, Hoffke 6, Harris 8, Connell 3, Brant 1*, Denton 4/73, Krejza 3/80) TAS 1/24 (Paine 0, Dighton 10*, Crook 12*) Bulls lead by 78 runs.

Tim Paine was dismissed on the very first ball of each Tasmanian innings - an extremely rare feat known as a "golden pair".

Day Three Scores

Lunch - TAS 5/126 (Bailey 28*, Marsh 14*, Dighton 27, Crook 21, Doolan 8, Birt 22) Tigers lead by 24 runs.

Tea - TAS 214 (Marsh 48*, Bailey 47, Krejza 14, Griffith 8, Denton 6, Hilfenaus 2, Symonds 5/50) QLD 0/8 (Broad 5*, Hayden 2*) Bulls require 105 more runs to win

End of Match - 5:18pm on Day THREE - QLD 4/114 (Hopes 62*, Symonds 12*, Hayden 26, Broad 5, Perren 0, Nye 4, Hilfenhaus 3/38)

Tasmania (1st Innings) - 190 (Marsh 69*, Crook 39, Birt 35, Symonds 3/45, Noffke 3/59)
Queensland (1st Innings) - 292 (Hayden 115, Symonds 44, Hopes 33, Denton 4/73, Krejza 3/80)
Tasmania (2nd Innings) - 214 (Marsh 48*, Bailey 47, Dighton 27, Symonds 5/50)
Queensland (2nd Innings) - 4/114 (Hopes 62*, Hayden 26, Symonds 12*, Hilfenhaus 3/38)

Queensland won by 6 wickets
Man of the Match - Andrew Symonds


Sheffield Shield Table
1. Victoria Bushrangers - 20
2. New South Wales Blues - 20
3. Queensland Bulls - 12
4. Southern Redbacks - 8
5. Western Warriors - 4
6. Tasmania Tigers - 0

[Rawhide]

State Cup - December 4 2009
Queensland Bulls v Tasmania Tigers
The Gabba, Brisbane

Love is back! He replaces the injured Carseldine in our one-day line-up.

Bulls - ML Hayden, RA Broad, ML Love, CT Perren, A Symonds (captain), JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, DJ Doran, P Connell, SA Brant

Tigers - MG Dighton, DG Dawson, RT Ponting (captain), AR Crook, TR Birt, GJ Bailey, DJ Marsh, JJ Krejza, AR Griffith, GJ Denton, BW Hilfenhaus.

The Tigers are instantly improved with the addition of Ricky Ponting, the Australian test captain and one of the greatest batsmen in recent cricket history. We will need to take care of business today to ensure a good result.

In the end, the innings is a disaster for Queensland, as the Tigers absolutely smash our bowling to all corners of the ground. The result is 4/371. Ponting made 114 off only 95 balls, Dighton 86 off 59 (!!!), and Dawson 83 off 68, a new career high score.

We tried gallantly, but the odds were certainly mathematically against us winning, with the Bulls bowled out for 294, giving a win to the Taswegians. Hayden, Broad and Hopes all tried their best, scoring better than a run per ball, but it wasn't enough.

Tasmania - 4/371 (50.0) - Ponting 114, Dighton 86, Dawson 83, Crook 61
Queensland - 294 (46.1) - Hayden 72, Hopes 61, Hartley 43, Krejza 3/32, Griffith 3/62

Tasmania won by 77 runs

State Cup Standings
1. Victoria Bushrangers - 16
2. New South Wales Blues - 12
3. Tasmania Tigers - 8
4. Queensland Bulls - 5
5. Southern Redbacks - 4
6. Western Warriors - 4

[Rawhide]

We play competition leaders Victoria in our next games in both the Sheffield Shield and the State Cup, after which our season will be half over.

Five of our next six games are on home territory, which makes the next period of the season quite important if we are to have title aspirations in 2009/10.

Sheffield Shield
Queensland Bulls v Victoria Bushrangers
The Gabba, Brisbane
December 8-11 2009

Love and Carseldine return to the Shield team, replacing Nye and Harris.

Bulls - ML Hayden, RA Broad, ML Love, LA Carseldine, CT Perren, JR Hopes, A Symonds (captain), CD Hartley, AA Noffke, P Connell, SA Brant

Bushrangers - CJL Rogers, MTG Elliott, EJM Cowan, BJ Hodge, DJ Hussey (captain), MS Wade, AJ Crosthwaite, SM Harwood, JM Holland, DP Nannes, PM Siddle

Queensland (1st Innings) - 314 (Symonds 106, Perren 55, Hopes 32, Holland 3/47, Nannes 3/102)
Victoria (1st Innings) - 347 (Elliott 91, Cowan 86, Hodge 41, Brant 4/25)
Queensland (2nd Innings) - 368 (Love 71, Hopes 50, Symonds 49, Harwood 3/72, Siddle 3/109)
Victoria (2nd Innings) - 272 (Hussey 74, Wade 47, Elliott 44, Connell 4/83, Symonds 3/54)

Queensland won by 63 runs.
Man of the Match - Scott Brant

Yes! Bulls back into the Sheffield Shield title hunt!

Sheffield Shield Table
1. New South Wales Blues - 26
2. Victoria Bushrangers -22
3. Queensland Bulls - 18
4. Southern Redbacks - 8
5. Western Warriors - 4
6. Tasmania Tigers - 2

[Rawhide]

State Cup - December 13 2009
Queensland Bulls v Victoria Bushrangers
The Gabba, Brisbane

Carseldine replaces Doran in our one-day team.

Bulls - ML Hayden, RA Broad, ML Love, CT Perren, LA Carseldine, A Symonds (captain), JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, P Connell, SA Brant

Bushrangers - PA Jaques, CJL Rogers, EJM Cowan, BK Hodge, DJ Hussey (captain), CL White, AJ Crosthwaite, BE McGain, SM Harwood, DP Nannes, PM Siddle.

Victoria - 5/314 (50.0) - Rogers 72, Jaques 53, Hussey 51, Hodge 50
Queensland - 4/306 (44.3) - Hayden 142*, Symonds 74*, Love 39

The Bulls win by 6 wickets on the Duckworth/Lewis Method
The D/L method is used when rain reduces the amount of overs possible in a one-day match, by determining a new victory target based on the number of overs possible and the amount of wickets lost. Hence, the Bulls actually won despite not scoring more runs than the Victorians.

That's cricket!

State Cup Table
1. New South Wales Blues - 16
2. Victoria Bushrangers - 16
3. Tasmania Tigers - 12
4. Queensland Bulls - 9
5. Southern Redbacks - 4
6. Western Warriors - 4

Coming up - the half-season review.

[Rawhide]

Scott Brant
Sheffield Shield - 4 matches, 18 runs @ 4.50, 15 wickets @ 26.07
State Cup - 5 matches, 6 runs @ 6.00, 4 wickets @ 57.75
Mark - B (Shield), D (Cup)


Ryan Broad
Sheffield Shield - 5 matches, 223 runs @ 24.78
State Cup - 4 matches, 66 runs @ 16.50
Mark - C- (Shield), D (Cup)

Lee Carseldine
Sheffield Shield - 4 matches, 307 runs @ 51.17
State Cup - 2 matches, 32 runs @ 16.00, 1 wicket @ 78.00
Mark - A (Shield), C- (Cup)

Peter Connell
Sheffield Shield - 5 matches, 33 runs @ 6.60, 26 wickets @ 30.31
State Cup - 5 matches, 18 runs @ 18.00, 14 wickets @ 22.21
Mark - B+ (Shield), A (Cup)

Ben Cutting
Sheffield Shield - 1 match, 5 runs (no average), 0 wickets (no average)
Mark - F (Shield)

Dan Doran
Sheffield Shield - 1 match, 0 runs (no average), 0 wickets (no average)
State Cup - 4 matches, 38 runs @ 12.67, 1 wicket @ 110.00
Mark - F (Shield), D- (Cup)

Ryan Harris
Sheffield Shield - 1 match, 8 runs (no average), 0 wickets (no average)
Mark - F (Shield)

Chris Hartley
Sheffield Shield - 5 matches, 134 runs @ 22.33
State Cup - 5 matches, 69 runs @ 23.00
Mark - B- (Shield), B- (Cup)

Matthew Hayden
Sheffield Shield - 5 matches, 763 runs @ 84.78
State Cup - 5 matches, 375 runs @ 93.75
Mark - A+++ (Shield), A+++ (Cup)

James Hopes
Sheffield Shield - 5 matches, 277 runs @ 46.17, 4 wickets @ 7.00
State Cup - 5 matches, 110 runs @ 36.67
Mark - A (Shield), B+ (Cup)

Martin Love
Sheffield Shield - 2 matches, 210 runs @ 70.00
State Cup - 4 matches, 135 runs @ 33.75
Mark - A- (Shield), B (Cup)

Nick Kruger
State Cup - 1 match, 39 runs @ 39.00
Mark - B (Cup)

Ashley Noffke
Sheffield Shield - 5 matches, 90 runs @ 18.00, 18 wickets @ 37.39
State Cup - 5 matches, 42 runs @ 14.00, 7 wickets @ 43.14
Mark - C- (Shield), D (Cup)

Aaron Nye
Sheffield Shield - 2 matches, 91 runs @ 30.33
Mark - C+ (Shield)

Clinton Perren
Sheffield Shield - 5 matches, 231 runs @ 28.88
State Cup - 5 matches, 181 runs @ 45.25
Mark - C+ (Shield), A- (Cup)

Andrew Symonds
Sheffield Shield - 5 matches, 251 runs @ 41.83, 24 wickets @ 25.21
State Cup - 5 matches, 289 runs @ 96.33, 5 wickets @ 36.40
Mark - A+ (Shield), A+ (Cup)

[Rawhide]

Sheffield Shield
Queensland Bulls v Western Warriors
The Gabba, Brisbane
December 19-22 2009

Martin Love is being "rested" by Australia again, yet does not participate in the test match against the West Indies. Joke!

Aaron Nye slides back into the squad, while Nick Kruger replaces Ryan Broad.

Bulls - ML Hayden, NJ Kruger, LA Carseldine, CT Perren, AJ Nye, A Symonds (captain), JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, P Connell, SA Brant

Warriors - SE Marsh, CJ Simmons, TP Doropoulos, LA Pomersbach, AC Voges (captain), AW Crawford, L Ronchi, AK Neal, BR Dorey, BA Knowles, NM Coulter-Nile

Western Australia (1st Innings) - 470 (Doropoulos 174, Voges, 100, Simmons 97, Brant 5/75, Hopes 2/9)
Queensland (1st Innings) - 430 (Hayden 123, Symonds 85, Hartley 44, Doropoulos 3/57, Dorey 3/128)
Western Australia (2nd Innings) - 257 (Marsh 71, Pomersbach 58, Simmons 46, Noffke 4/83, Symonds 3/48)
Queensland (2nd Innings) - 6/298 (Carseldine 69, Perren 64, Hayden 48)

Queensland wins by 4 wickets
1. Victoria Bushrangers - 28
2. New South Wales Blues - 26
3. Queensland Bulls - 24
4. Southern Redbacks - 10
5. Western Warriors - 6
6. Tasmania Tigers - 2

[Rawhide]

State Cup
Southern Redbacks v Queensland Bulls
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
December 24 2009

Bulls - ML Hayden, NJ Kruger, LA Carseldine, A Symonds (captain), CT Perren, AJ Nye, JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, P Connell, SA Brant

Redbacks - JP Maher (captain), DJ Harris, MJ Cosgrove, DT Christian, CJ Borgas, MH Wessels, GA Manou, MF Cleary, DJ Cullen, SW Tait, PC Rofe

Queensland - 8/286 (50.0) - Symonds 81, Kruger 43, Perren 37, Tait 3/58
South Australia - 260 (46.0) - Christian 87, Borgas 42, Cosgrove 30, Carseldine 4/46, Symonds 3/31

Queensland wins by 26 runs

State Cup Standings
1. New South Wales Blues - 20
2. Victoria Bushrangers - 20
3. Queensland Bulls - 13
4. Tasmania Tigers - 12
5. Southern Redbacks - 4
6. Western Warriors - 4

[Rawhide]

State Cup
Queensland Bulls v New South Wales Blues
The Gabba, Brisbane
January 4 2010

Martin Love is back, replacing Aaron Nye.

Bulls - ML Hayden, NJ Kruger, ML Love, A Symonds (captain), LA Carseldine, CT Perren, JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, P Connell, SA Brant

Blues - PJ Hughes, DA Warner, PJ Forrest, SNJ O'Keefe, DJ Thornely, SR Watson, PM Nevill, MC Henriques, NM Hauritz (captain), AC Bird, BT Cockley

New South Wales - 1/85 (10.4) (Forrest 43*, Warner 29*)
Queensland - did not bat

Match abandonded (inclement weather)
A one-day match can only be considered finished if both teams have batted for at least 15 overs. Queensland were set a target under the Duckworth Lewis system of 162 from only 21 overs, but never got the opportunity to start their innings. The Victoria-Tasmania match was also abandoned under similar circumstances.

State Cup Standings
1. New South Wales Blues - 22
2. Victoria Bushrangers - 22
3. Queensland Bulls - 15
4. Tasmania Tigers - 14
5. Southern Redbacks - 8
6. Western Warriors - 4

[Rawhide]

Twenty20 Tournament

The six teams are placed into two groups of three games. We are placed with the Blues and Tigers, and will need to top our pool to make the final.

(This part of the game doesn't reflect reality - the competition is now a proper league, with each team playing five games. This sucks, but oh well!)

New South Wales beat Tasmania in their first game, so a victory against us would assure them of a berth in the final. First of all, we need to take on the Tigers at the Gabba.

Match 1 - January 10 2010
Queensland Bulls v Tasmania Tigers

Bulls - ML Hayden, NJ Kruger, CT Perren, NJ Reardon, A Symonds (captain), JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, DJ Doran, P Connell, SA Brant

Tigers - MG Dighton, DG Dawson, AR Crook, DJ Anderson, TR Birt, GJ Bailey, DJ Marsh (captain), JJ Krejza, AR Griffith, GJ Denton, BW Hilfenhaus

An absolute slug-a-thon!

Tasmania Tigers 5/239 (20.0) - Dawson 106 (off 58), Dighton 43 (off 19), Birt 20 (off 5)
Queensland Bulls 4/242 (20.0) - Hayden 102 (off 40), Perren 48 (off 18), Kruger 43 (off 21)

Queensland won by 6 wickets
The match set a number of notable records:
- Rogers and Marsh set a record partnership of 192
- The match aggergate score of 481 for 9 wickets was the highest ever in history
- Queensland's score of 4/242 was the fifth highest ever
- Tasmania's score was the sixth highest
- Matthew Hayden's century off 38 balls was the second fastest of all time

So we then went on to Sydney for a must-win match against the Blues.

Twenty20 Cup
New South Wales Blues v Queensland Bulls
Sydney Cricket Ground
January 12 2010

Bulls - ML Hayden, NJ Kruger, CT Perren, NJ Reardon, A Symonds (captain), JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, DJ Doran, P Connell, SA Brant

Blues - PJ Hughes, DA Warner, PJ Forrest, SNJ O'Keefe, DJ Thornely, BK Rohrer, PM Nevill, MC Henriques, NM Hauritz, AC Bird, BT Cockley

New South Wales - 7/214 (20.0) - Thornely 54 (31), O'Keefe 42 (25), Henriques 43* (15), Brant 3/34, Noffke 3/47
Queensland 3/215 (15.5) - Hayden 99* (45), Perren 62 (26)

Yes! We've done it! Queensland wins by 7 wickets
We will play Victoria in the final on January 23

[Rawhide]

State Cup
Queensland Bulls v Western Warriors
The Gabba, Brisbane
January 15 2010

This is our second last game at the Gabba for 2009/10, with a Sheffield Shield match against the Tigers in February being our other game. We have six trips interstate to negotiate, including three trips to Melbourne to play the Bushrangers.

Bulls - ML Hayden, NJ Kruger, ML Love, CT Perren, A Symonds (captain), LA Carseldine, JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, P Connell, SA Brant

Match abandoned without a ball being bowled - oh, the joys of cricket!

State Cup Standings
1. Victoria Bushrangers - 26
2. New South Wales Blues - 22
3. Queensland Bulls - 17
4. Tasmania Tigers - 14
5. Southern Redbacks - 12
6. Western Warriors - 6

[Rawhide]

Sheffield Shield
Southern Redbacks v Queensland Bulls
Adelaide Oval
January 17-20 2010

Bulls - ML Hayden, NJ Kruger, ML Love, CT Perren, LA Carseldine, A Symonds (captain), JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, P Connell, SA Brant

Redbacks - JP Maher (captain), DJ Harris, MJ Cosgrove, N Jewell, DT Christian, CJ Borgas, GA Manou, MF Cleary, DJ Cullen, SW Tait, PC Rofe

Queensland (1st Innings) - 279 (Symonds 76, Carseldine 66, Hopes 39, Cullen 4/62, Cleary 3/69)
South Australia (1st Innings) - 240 (Cosgrove 76, Jewell 37, Harris 33, Noffke 4/61, Symonds 4/63) - The Bulls win first innings points
Queensland (2nd Innings) - 299 (Love 56, Hayden 55, Symonds 50, Tait 4/85, Cleary 3/71)
South Australia (2nd Innings) - 7/89 (Christian 24, Connell 4/37, Noffke 2/37)

Match Drawn

Sheffield Shield Standings
1. Victoria Bushrangers - 30
2. New South Wales Blues - 28
3. Queensland Bulls - 26
4. Southern Redbacks - 10
5. Western Warriors - 6
6. Tasmania Tigers - 2

[Rawhide]

Twenty20 Cup FINAL
Victoria Bushrangers v Queensland Bulls
Melbourne Cricket Ground
January 23 2010

We stick with the same side that won our previous two T20 games.

Bulls - ML Hayden, NJ Kruger, CT Perren, NJ Readon, A Symonds (captain), JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, DJ Doran, P Connell, SA Brant

Bushrangers - PA Jaques, CJL Rogers, EJM Cowan, BJ Hodge, DJ Hussey (captain), CL White, AJ Crosthwaite, BE McGain, SM Harwood, DP Nannes, PM Siddle

High farce in the match, as rain forces Queensland into completing only 3.3 overs (21 balls) of their innings. We score 1/42, which is mainly Hayden's work.

Under the Duckworth/Lewis system, Victoria are set a mighty feat of scoring 34 runs off their 12 allocated balls. They can only manage 6 runs, and the Bulls are crowned Twenty20 Domestic Champions, although it is somewhat of a hollow feeling! Unsurprisingly, the match is the lowest scoring of all time, with only 48 runs contributed!

Queensland - 1/42 (3.3) (Hayden 30 off 11)
Victoria - 1/6 (2.0) (Connell 1/2)

Queensland wins by 27 runs (D/L Method)
2009/10 Twenty20 Champions - Queensland Bulls

[Rawhide]

After celebrating winning the Twenty20 Cup, it's back to the grindstone against the Tigers, who welcome back Ricky Ponting.

State Cup
Tasmania Tigers v Queensland Bulls
Bellrieve Oval, Hobart
January 27 2010

Bulls - ML Hayden, NJ Kruger, ML Love, CT Perren, A Symonds (captain), LA Carseldine, JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, P Connell, SA Brant

Tigers - TD Paine, MG Dighton, RT Ponting (captain), AR Crook, AJ Doolan, TR Birt, DJ Marsh, JJ Krejza, AR Griffith, GJ Denton, BW Hilfenhaus

Queensland - 5/363 (50.0) - Love 141, Hayden 95, Kruger 46
Tasmania - 332 (49.1) - Ponting 99, Paine 90, Crook 58, Brant 6/39

Queensland won by 31 runs

1. Victoria Bushrangers - 30
2. New South Wales Blues - 26
3. Queensland Bulls - 21
4. Tasmania Tigers - 14
5. Southern Redbacks - 12
6. Western Warriors - 6

[Rawhide]

A very important game against the Blues in the Shield, which could see us progress past them on the ladder.

Bulls - ML Hayden, NJ Kruger, ML Love, CT Perren, LA Carseldine, A Symonds (captain), JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, P Connell, SA Brant

Blues - GJ Mail, DA Warner, PJ Forrest, SNJ O'Keefe, DJ Thornely, BK Rohrer, PM Nevill, MC Henriques, NM Hauritz, AC Bird, BT Cockley

New South Wales (1st Innings) - 210 (Henriques 45*, Mail 37, Warner 30, Symonds 4/57, Carseldine 2/0)
Queensland (1st Innings) - 357 (Hayden 130, Carseldine 58, Symonds 55*, Warner 3/79, Hauritz 3/85)
New South Wales (2nd Innings) - 134 (Warner 47, Mail 33, Symonds 3/23, Noffke 3/45)

Queensland wins by an innings and 13 runs in TWO DAYS!
A crushing win to the Bulls!

Sheffield Shield Standings
1. Victoria Bushrangers - 36
2. Queensland Bulls - 32
3. New South Wales Blues - 28
4. Western Warriors - 12
5. Southern Redbacks - 10
6. Tasmania Tigers - 2

[Rawhide]

Sheffield Shield
Queensland Bulls v Tasmania Tigers
The Gabba, Brisbane

Time to ramp up our assault on the Shield by beating the Tigers!

Love is gone again, we decide to blood a youngster by inserting Nathan Reardon (25 years old, only one previous Shield game) into the side.

Bulls - ML Hayden, NJ Kruger, CT Perren, LA Carseldine, NJ Reardon, A Symonds, JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, P Connell, SA Brant

Tigers - TD Paine, MG Dighton, AR Crook, AJ Doolan, TR Birt, GJ Bailey, DJ Marsh, JJ Krejza, AR Griffith, GJ Denton, BW Hilfenhaus

Queensland (1st Innings) - 535 (Kruger 104, Symonds 104, Perren 92, Carseldine 76, Hopes 44, Hilfenhaus 4/118)
Tasmania (1st Innings) - 384 (Birt 92, Crook 73, Bailey 71, Brant 4/51, Connell 3/104)
Tasmania (2nd Innings, following on*) - 292 (Bailey 72, Paine 61, Birt 55, Carseldine 3/26, Symonds 3/91)
Queensland (2nd Innings) - 1/142 (Hayden 75*, Kruger 39)

Queensland won by 9 wickets
* A side "follows on" in a first-class game if their first innings total is a certain number less than their opponents. In this case, the Tigers had to make at least 150 runs less than Queensland to avoid batting again. They made 151 less.

A massive upset in the Shield with South Australia beating Victoria. This means that we leap ahead of the Bushrangers - a great position to be in, with only one match to go! First place at the end of the Shield competition gets to host the final.

1. Queensland Bulls - 38
2. Victoria Bushrangers - 36
3. New South Wales Blues - 30
4. Southern Redbacks - 16
5. Western Warriors - 12
6. Tasmania Tigers - 2

[Rawhide]

We have one match left in each competition this year, and play the same opponent in each - Victoria, in both the Sheffield Shield and State Cup. While we need a lot of help to qualify for the State Cup final (currently third), the Shield match is potentially more alluring and is most probably a potential preview of the final.

State Cup
Victoria Bushrangers v Queensland Bulls
Melbourne Cricket Ground
February 21 2010

Bulls - ML Hayden, NJ Kruger, CT Perren, A Symonds (captain), LA Carseldine, NJ Reardon, JR Hopes, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, P Connell, SA Brant

Bushrangers - CJL Rogers, MTG Elliott (captain), EJM Cowan, BJ Hodge, MS Wade, AB McDonald, AJ Crosthwaite, SM Harwood, JM Holland, DP Hannes, PM Siddle

Victoria - 211 (47.1) - Wade 56*, Rogers 38, Carseldine 5/35, Noffke 3/37
Queensland - 6/213 (46.0) - Perren 81, Symonds 64, McDonald 3/53

Queensland wins by 4 wickets
Our victory knocks Victoria from top position, and the Blues will host the final.

State Cup Final Standings 2009/2010
1. New South Wales Blues - 30
2. Victoria Bushrangers - 30
3. Queensland Bulls - 25
4. Tasmania Tigers - 14
5. Southern Redbacks - 12
6. Western Warriors - 10

State Cup Final - February 28 2010
Victoria Bushrangers win by 6 wickets

[Rawhide]

Sheffield Shield
Victoria Bushrangers v Queensland Bulls
Melbourne Cricket Ground
March 4-7 2010

Our final game of the Shield season, and our plans are thrown into disarray with the news that Lee Carseldine is out for four weeks with a broken jaw!

The very next day, we have even more unexpected news - fantastic on one hand, and an absolute disaster on the other. Nick Kruger and Peter Connell have been selected to make their international debuts for Australia and Ireland respectively in the World Twenty20 Cup which is being played in the West Indies.

The Bulls now have to make three forced changes to what was a very successful and in-form team. Love is still on the sidelines too, being "rested" by the jerks at the ACB!

Bulls - ML Hayden, RA Broad, CT Perren, AJ Nye, A Symonds (captain), JR Hopes, NJ Reardon, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, DJ Doran, SA Brant

Bushrangers - PA Jaques, MTG Elliott, EJM Cowan, BJ Hodge, DJ hussey, CL White, AJ Crosthwaite, BE McGain, DG Wright, SM Harwood, PM Siddle

The match is all over within two days.

Queensland (1st Innings) - 164 (Symonds 47, Broad 34, White 6/23)
Victoria (1st Innings) - 258 (Elliott 96, Jacques 70, Symonds 4/54, Noffke 4/72)
Queensland (2nd Innings) - 159 (Hayden 80, White 6/22)
Victoria (2nd Innings) - 2/68 (Hodge 28*)

Victoria wins by 8 wickets

We survive, just, and get to face the Bushrangers again in the Sheffield Shield final.

Sheffield Shield Final Standings
1. Victoria Bushrangers - 42
2. Queensland Bulls - 38
3. New South Wales Blues - 36
4. Southern Redbacks - 16
5. Western Warriors - 14
6. Tasmania Tigers - 2

[Rawhide]

March 9 2010
Peter Connell's Ireland team lose to Bangladesh in the World Twenty20.

March 10 2010
The next day, the Indians eliminate Ireland in a 40 run victory. Connell's Twenty20 adventure is at an end, and he begins a long flight back to Brisbane.

March 11 2010
Australia topple Sri Lanka, with Reardon looking on in the grandstands.

March 13 2010
The West Indies upset Australia by 8 wickets, but Australia survives into the final eight of the tournament.

March 15 2010
Pakistan beat Australia in the first of the "Super Eight" games of the World Twenty20

March 17 2010
Australia beat India to stay alive in the second stage.

March 18 2010
New Zealand and Bangladesh are the surprise qualifiers from the opposite group in the second stage.

March 19 2010
South Africa end Australia's tournament, beating them to the fourth and final semi-final spot. Pakistan are the other qualifier.

March 21 2010
South Africa beat New Zealand at Port Of Spain in the first semi-final.

March 22 2010
Pakistan easily beat Bangladesh in the other semi-final at Kingston.

March 24 2010
Pakistan have repeated as the World Champions of Twenty20, having previously won the title in 2009. India won in 2007.

That leads us to the major match, at least in my eyes.

Sheffield Shield FINAL
Victoria Bushrangers v Queensland Bulls
Melbourne Cricket Ground
March 26-29 2010

Love and Kruger return to the squad for the most important game of the year, as does Dan Doran, with the expectation that the Melbourne Cricket Ground surface will suit his style of spin bowling.

Bulls - ML Hayden, NJ Kruger, ML Love, CT Perren, A Symonds (captain), JR Hopes, NJ Reardon, CD Hartley, AA Noffke, P Connell, SA Brant

Bushrangers - PA Jaques, CJL Rogers, EJM Cowan, BJ Hodge, CL White (captain), MS Wade, AJ Crosthwaite, BE McGain, SM Harwood, DP Nannes, PM Siddle

Under the conditions of the match, Victoria only need a draw to be crowned this season's champions.

Victoria (1st Innings) - 430 (Hodge 177, White 86, Jaques 58, Symonds 4/110, Brant 3/79)
Queensland (1st Innings) - 257 (Hopes 57, Kruger 56, Perren 43, Nannes 3/49, McGain 3/52)
Queensland (2nd Innings, following on) - 298 (Love 87, Hayden 72, Symonds 61, White 5/54)
Victoria (2nd Innings) - 3/126 (Rogers 70*, Hodge 40)

Victoria Bushrangers win the Sheffield Shield by 7 wickets.