Redbacks v. Bushrangers - ING Cup

[Donny]

This is a day/nighter at Adelaide. Starts 3 pm.

ING Ladder

Team - Played - Pts - Quotient

WA Warriors 7 27 +0.96

Vic Bushrangers 7 19 +0.04

Qld Bulls 7 18 +0.31

NSW Blues 7 14 -0.13

SA Redbacks 7 13 -0.37

Tas Tigers 7 0 -0.78

[Donny]

Lehmann vows to bat on

By Michael McGuire - Fox

LONG admired by cricket lovers for its aesthetic beauty, it seems the Adelaide Oval may have charms deeper than mere appearance.

Consider the case of Darren Lehmann: a man so deep in grief last Friday that he couldn't answer the question of whether he still wanted to play for Australia.

But at training on Wednesday, the day after he had buried his friend and mentor David Hookes, Lehmann took a look around the Adelaide Oval and decided that despite the events of a traumatic week he still loved cricket.

He still wanted to make runs and still wanted to play for Australia.

Only a few days before Lehmann, hiding behind dark sunglasses, had fronted the media distraught and grieving for the friend he had lost in violent circumstances and could barely contemplate his cricketing future. Yesterday, in the same conference room in the shadow of the Bradman Stand at the Adelaide Oval, a different Lehmann emerged.

Shorn of the sunglasses, much more relaxed, smiling and confident. How did he feel was the obvious question.

"A lot better now than a couple of days ago," was the answer.

"We have all lost someone we dearly love, but the simple thing is that I still love the game," he said.

"It was yesterday it hit home to me, when I was out there training, that it was a beautiful place to train and play and get the enjoyment back. Obviously it's been an emotional roller coaster over the last week and and a half, but a lot better now, and looking forward to playing some cricket and getting out there and enjoying playing cricket again."

Lehmann today, in a day-night encounter against Victoria at the Adelaide Oval, will take to the field for the first time since Hookes died after an alleged assault by a bouncer outside a St Kilda hotel.

It was after the same two teams met in Melbourne last week that Hookes, the Victorian coach, died.

He had been out celebrating Victoria's success with a few quiet drinks with old South Australian team-mates Lehmann and Wayne Phillips when the trouble started.

With a bouncer charged with manslaughter for Hookes' death, Lehmann cannot speak about the night itself but yesterday spoke of himself and his future.

Lehmann has received public support this week from Australia's coach John Buchanan, who said he would like the South Australian to be included in the touring party to Sri Lanka next month.

"He is a proven player of spin and is a good general in the side," Buchanan said.

Lehmann's job, starting today, is to score enough runs to make sure he is picked.

"There's no guarantees and neither there should be," he said.

"It's a case of me coming back from injury. I'm feeling fully fit now, so just getting back to play and playing well for South Australia and win some games there and hopefully get on the tour."

Lehmann will bat at No.5 in today's day game but will revert to his traditional No.4 slot when the Pura Cup game starts on Sunday at the same venue.

That game also sees the first contest for the David Hookes Memorial Trophy.

Lehmann is also promising a more relaxed version of himself on the field. The events of the past week, he says, have given him a new perspective on life and cricket.

"It just means I won't be as grumpy when we lose as probably as I have been in the past," he said.

"I may not be as stressed on the cricket field as a captain, but I'll still be trying as hard as I possibly can to get a result to go our way."

With South Australia's season on the line this weekend in both the one and four-day versions of the game, Lehmann said he had even glimpsed a tiny positive in the tragedy of Hookes's death.

"Everyone is raring to go, and it's probably even through circumstances we can't control ... a little refreshing break for the blokes, a reality check to play cricket the way it should be played, enjoyment, play positively, and get back to playing the way we know we can play."

[El_Draus]

Go Vics!!

[Donny]

The Bushies won the toss and batter and, after 24 overs, are 2/104 with Hodge on 39 n.o. and Hussey, 33 n.o.
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After 34 overs, The Bushies are cruising along on 2/186. Hussey is a run-a-ball 76 n.o. and Hodge is 75 n.o.

[Donny]

David Hussey goes to 100 from 96 balls as The Bushies push on to a big total.

Hodge and Hussey have added 202 at 6.06 r.p.o. They are 2/231 with 10 overs to come. 300+ is certainly on the cards.

Hodge goes to 100 from 109 balls.

[Donny]

The Bushies totalled 7/293 with Hussey making 113 from 108 balls and Hodge, 114 from 122.

[Donny]

The Redbacks are off to a good start with 2/115 in the 17th.
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2 wickets in one over to Mick Lewis has brough The Redbacks' run rate back down to below 6 r.p.o.

They are 4/135 after 23 overs. Ferguson scored a quick 58.
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Miller and Lehmann have addad 71 valuable runs leaving The Redbacks 98 runs to win from 91 balls. Game on.
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Boof run out for 39. Blewett in. They need 8 r.p.o.
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They now need 33 from 23 balls as Moss gets Blewett.
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Cleary hits 2 twos and is out !! Moss gets another. They need 24 from 16.

[Donny]

They need 12 from 5 balls from Lewis.

Single. Two. Single. 8 needed from 2 balls. Must get a boundary. Single. Vics must win. Dot.

Bushrangers win again !!

Moss took 3/54 and Lewis's spell of 2/35 from 10 overs was the difference.

David Hussey was named Man of the Match

[Donny]

Vics win first post-Hookes match

Fox

A MATCH-TURNING spell of tight, aggressive pace from Victoria's Mick Lewis prevented South Australia from chasing down a record total in a thrilling day-night ING Cup cricket match at Adelaide Oval tonight.

Chasing Victoria's 7-293, SA made 8-287 in reply to give the Bushrangers a six-run win in their first match without late coach David Hookes and entrench them in second place on the cup table.

In a game dominated by batsmen, Lewis' bowling figures of 2-35 from 10 overs stood out like a beacon.

The other heroes for the Bushrangers were Brad Hodge and David Hussey, who put on a 226-run stand for the third wicket – the highest partnership for any wicket by a Victorian pair.

Hodge's 114 was his third century in seven innings for the season and took his season average to 98.2.

Hussey scored 113, his first limited overs century, to earn man of the match honours.

Victoria's total was their highest ever in the limited overs competition, but SA looked on track to chase it down when they were 2-124 after 18 overs and scoring at almost seven per over.

Teenager Callum Ferguson (58 from 50 balls) and Mark Higgs (16 from 13 balls) were scoring freely.

Ferguson hit Victorian left-armer Allan Wise for a six over long-on in the 15th over which hit an ING sign to earn him $50,000 and also bring up the home side's 100.

But Lewis, introduced to the attack for the first time in the 20th over, took the wickets of Ferguson and Higgs in his first four balls to turn the match, making the score 4-125.

SA skipper Darren Lehmann (39 from 53 balls) and all-rounder Mick Miller (44 from 66 balls) put on a 72-run fifth-wicket stand.

But Victoria's two batting stars then made vital fielding contributions, with Lehmann run out by Hussey from cover in the 36th over.

Hodge then pulled off a brilliant diving save at mid-wicket to run out Miller in the 42nd over, leaving SA at 6-233.

Greg Blewett, demoted to No.7 because he was suffering from a back injury, fired off 26 runs from 31 balls late in the innings.

But all-rounder Jonathan Moss bowled Blewett and Mark Cleary (four) in the space of four balls in the 47th over to make it 8-265.

SA needed 12 runs off the last over to achieve what would have been their biggest ever successful run-chase, but Lewis was able to restrict them to just five to ensure a Victorian victory.

Hussey gave credit to Hodge for guiding him through the big partnership. "Hodgey played fantastically well, he's been doing it all year," he said.

"He's made three hundreds and two fifties, he's been exceptional for us all year in both forms, Pura Cup and ING Cup."

Lehmann said SA had given up any chance of making the ING Cup final with tonight's loss.

"We can't make it," he said.

"We've lost by six runs in our last two games, they've been exciting games, we're certainly learning how to play good one-day cricket but we just need to get on the other side of the result.

[Johnson#26]

Go Vics!! Great way to end a terrible last 2 weeks.