Documenting my game as NSW on a 2-day trial of Cricket Coach 2011 (Because I'm way too cheap to pay for it).
Squad:
SA Abbott
TJ Armstrong
DE Bollinger
NW Bracken
MA Cameron
B Casson
SR Clark
MJ Clarke
BT ****ley
T Copeland
SJ Coyte
L Doran
PJ Forest
BJ Haddin
NM Hauritz
JR Hazelwood
MC Henriques
JM Holland
PJ Hughes
PA Jaques
SM Katich
UT Khawaja
B Lee
NM Maddinson
JM Mennie
PM Nevill
SNJ O'Keefe
KA Pollard (T/20 Only)
BJ Rohrer
DLR Smith
SPD Smith
MA Starc
DA Warner
SR Watson
A Zampa
T van der Gugten
Match One: NSW vs Queensland - Ryobi 50 Over Cup
Line-Up: Hughes, Maddinson, Khawaja, Smith, Warner, O'Keefe, Nevill, Copeland, Holland, Starc, Hazelwood.
New South Wales 9/222 (50 overs, O'Keefe 95, Hughes 65, Cutting 4-48) def. Queensland 221 All Out (48 overs, Symonds 68, O'Keefe 5-45) by 1 run.
Squad:
SA Abbott
TJ Armstrong
DE Bollinger
NW Bracken
MA Cameron
B Casson
SR Clark
MJ Clarke
BT ****ley
T Copeland
SJ Coyte
L Doran
PJ Forest
BJ Haddin
NM Hauritz
JR Hazelwood
MC Henriques
JM Holland
PJ Hughes
PA Jaques
SM Katich
UT Khawaja
B Lee
NM Maddinson
JM Mennie
PM Nevill
SNJ O'Keefe
KA Pollard (T/20 Only)
BJ Rohrer
DLR Smith
SPD Smith
MA Starc
DA Warner
SR Watson
A Zampa
T van der Gugten
Match One: NSW vs Queensland - Ryobi 50 Over Cup
Line-Up: Hughes, Maddinson, Khawaja, Smith, Warner, O'Keefe, Nevill, Copeland, Holland, Starc, Hazelwood.
Skipper O'Keefe won the toss and elected to bat in the first match of Season 2010/11. The great start from the skipper was backed up by Hughesy, belting 8 off Ben Cutting's first over. Debutant Nic Maddinson had no such luck, however, being trapped LBW by Cutting in the fourth over of the match to leave the Blues at 1-12. The ball hit Maddinson on the knee roll and appeared to be clearing the top of off stump, so the young man from the South can feel hard done by. In walked Usman Khawaja, fresh off an Ashes tour. He fell, like Maddinson, for 1, caught by Chris Simpson running back from mid off in what was a spectacular catch. Cutting had 2 even though he was bowling his usual rubbish.
Steven Smith was next to go, falling for 4 at the end of the same over, skying the ball to Carseldine at cover-point. O'Keefe pulled rank and promoted himself ahead of Dave Warner, notching up a 50 partnership with Hughes by the 18th over. In the 21st, Hughes brought up his 50 with a typical off-side smash through the cover-point region, reaching the milestone off 59 balls in 71 minutes. O'Keefe quickly caught up, simultaneously reaching his half-ton and the century partnership in the 28th over. His 51 came off 57 balls faced.
With the spinners Boyce, Symonds and Simpson bowling, the rate lifted higher. That was, until the young leggie caught Hughes in front for 85 with a well-disguised wrong'un. Pitching on leg, the ball turned back to hit him in front of middle and off. Hughes resigned himself to the dismissal, knowing it was plumb and nodding his head at the spinner. He was gone for 65, with the score at 4-132 off 30.2.
Out walked the danger man, David Warner. The crowd rose, expecting big things, and they were sorely disappointed. First ball he attempted a wild slog over cow corner and ended up with off stump pegged back, leaving Peter Nevill to face Boyce's hat-trick ball. A tight leave later, the immediate threat of 3 in 3 was gone. Both men appeared comfortable throughout the next few overs, until a Laughlin ball nipped back off the seam and rattled Nevill's stumps. O'Keefe made it all the way to 95 until an average LBW decision made him Cutting's third victim, with the bowler not even bothering to appeal. Ben Dunk made enough noise, however, to convince the umpire to end the skipper's 2 hour vigil, leaving NSW reeling at 7/207. By the end of the 50 overs, 9/222 seemed to be a defendable score, given the dramatic opening overs.
After the lunch break, Trent Copeland walked out fired up, knocking over Queensland's new recruit Michael Dighton on his third delivery. However, Hartley and Symonds notched up a quick 50 partnership to solidify their position, until Jon Holland, playing his first game for the Blues, bowled Chris Hartley for 27. Roy asserted his dominance past 50, until he holed out to Josh Hazelwood at cover off the bowling of Mitchell Starc. Reardon continued in Symonds' vain, belting his runs at better than a run a ball before he was caught behind off O'Keefe for 48, coming off 40 balls. The asking rate slowly dropped as Copeland and Hazelwood bowled out unsuccessfully, leaving O'Keefe and Starc to close the innings. Carseldine was caught at extra cover just short of his 50, with 8 runs required off 4 overs. With Ben Dunk having real problems with the spin and Simpson new at the crease, NSW still had some slim semblance of hope left. Starc quickly knocked over the skipper, before getting Ben Cutting LBW the next ball.
It was almost karma, with Starc barely appealing and the keeper being the one to ask the umpire, in what was almost a carbon copy of O'Keefe's dismissal earlier. The pressure was back on Queensland, in particular, Alistair McDermott. With just 2 runs required O'Keefe ended Dunk's misery, leaving the two youngest members of the team, McDermott and Boyce, the job of finding 2 runs. The pressure got to Boyce, charging and swiping at his 2nd ball in List A cricket to be comfortably stumped by Nevill. 1 wicket, 2 runs, 15 balls...
Dot ball. Edge just wide of Nevill, still no run. LBW SHOUT! AND GIVEN!!!
O'Keefe trapped Laughlin leg before with his final ball to give New South Wales the win by a single run. At 5-215 Queensland looked to have the match in the bag, but with O'Keefe taking 3-0 with his final over, the Blues walk out with the points.
Man of the Match deservedly goes to Steve O'Keefe. 95 with the bat, 5-45 with the ball and some brilliant captaincy as well. What a game to start the season.
New South Wales 9/222 (50 overs, O'Keefe 95, Hughes 65, Cutting 4-48) def. Queensland 221 All Out (48 overs, Symonds 68, O'Keefe 5-45) by 1 run.