Alrighty then. With winter almost upon us in the land down under, domestic teams have been doing the business in preparation for the summer ahead. Defending champions Tasmania must surely fancy their chances of defending their title, as states wrestle with one another in order to secure the services of our next generation of stars. Upon a quick inspection of the state contract lists, there doesn't seem to be the player movement we saw last year, so this would suggest that this years comp could well be as close as it was last year.
New South Wales squad; Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger, Michael Clarke (Cricket Australia contract), Trent Copeland, Pat Cummins (CA), Brad Haddin (CA), Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Scott Henry, Daniel Hughes, Nathan Lyon (CA), Nic Maddinson, Peter Nevill, Steve O'Keefe, Josh Lalor, Kurtis Patterson, Ben Rohrer, Gurinder Sandhu, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc (CA), Chris Tremain, David Warner (CA), Shane Watson (CA). Rookies Nic Bills, Ryan Carters, Harry Conway, Ben Dwarshuis, Jay Lenton.
New South Wales always have the best looking squad on paper, yet somehow find ways to mess it up on the field. The have an embarrassment of riches in the bowling department, and could easily field two sides that would be more than competitive. I'm guessing that Ben Rohrer will get the arm band, or possibly Steve Smith. It was Brad Haddin last season, but he's back in the Test fold. I think this will be a break out year for some of the youngsters in this squad, especially Nic Maddinson. Nathan Lyon returns to his home state.
Queensland squad Cameron Boyce, Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, Luke Feldman, Jason Floros, Peter Forrest, Matthew Gale, Cameron Gannon, Ryan Harris (Cricket Australia contract), Chris Hartley, Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, Alex Kemp, Usman Khawaja, Chris Lynn, Alister McDermott, Greg Moller, Michael Neser, Luke Pomersbach, Nathan Reardon. Rookies Nicholas Buchanan, Ben McDermott, Ronan McDonald, James Peirson, Nicholas Stevens.
The banana benders had a pretty good season last year, and will look to do so again. They've given a rookie contract to Billy's other kid, a wicket-keeper batsman. What makes this team solid is that they have no players in the Test side currently. In Pommersbach, Khawaja, Burns and Forrest, they have a pretty good top order for a domestic team.
South Australia Johan Botha, Tom Cooper, Callum Ferguson, Peter George, Travis Head, Phillip Hughes (Cricket Australia contract), Michael Klinger, Tim Ludeman, Andrew McDonald, Joe Mennie, Gary Putland, Kane Richardson, Chadd Sayers, Daniel Worrall, Adam Zampa. Rookies Alex Carey, Elliot Opie, Alex Ross, Nick Winter.
The Sozzies surprised a few folks last year, especially the Bushies whom they beat outright twice! They've swapped Dan Christian with Andrew McDonald. On paper, they look to have a promising team. I've heard some big things about Kane Richardson, who'll be keen to get back into the Oz ODI side.
Tasmania squad Harry Allanby, George Bailey (Cricket Australia contract), Jackson Bird, Aiden Blizzard, Luke Butterworth, Steve Cazzulino, Mark Cosgrove, Ed Cowan (CA), Xavier Doherty (CA), Alex Doolan, Ben Dunk, James Faulkner (CA), Andrew Fekete, Evan Gulbis, Ben Hilfenhaus (CA), Ben Laughlin, Adam Maher, Tim Paine, Clive Rose, Jordan Silk, Timm van der Gugten, Jonathan Wells. Rookies Gabe Bell, Ryan Lees, Sam Rainbird, Beau Webster, Sean Willis.
Tassie are the team to beat IMHO. They have it all, and will have more if Ed Cowan gets dropped from the Test team. Ben Hilfenhaus will obviously lead the bowling, since his Test career is basically over. No Ricky Ponting, which is a shame.
Victoria squad; Fawad Ahmed, Scott Boland, Daniel Christian, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, John Hastings, Jayde Herrick, Michael Hill, Jon Holland, David Hussey, Alex Keath, Glenn Maxwell (Cricket Australia contract), Clint McKay (CA), James Muirhead, James Pattinson (CA), Rob Quiney, Chris Rogers, Will Sheridan, Peter Siddle (CA), Ryan Sidebottom, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (CA), Cameron White. Rookies Louis Cameron, Ian Holland, Matt Short, Guy Walker.
The Bushies will no doubt be there abouts again, and might just find a way to pull it off. With Matthew Wade seemingly back in the ranks, the Vics will push Tassie all the way... if only we can find a way to beat the Redbacks!
Western Australia haven't announced their squad just yet, as they are waiting on Michael Hussey. Justin Langer is keen for him to play, but Hussey is still thinking about it. With Hussey in their ranks, the Wuzzies will be a serious condender for the first time since the Colonial period.
1 - Victoria
2 - New South Wales
3 - Tasmania
4 - Queensland
5 - South Australia
6 - Western Australia
"Hey, doll. Could you scare up another round for our table over here? And tell the cook this is low grade dog food. I've had better food at the ballgame, you know? This steak still has marks from where the jockey was hitting it." Al Czervik, aka Rodney Dangerfield in "Caddyshack" (1980)
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