12/11/2008 10:53 PM
An imperious century from Brad Hodge was not enough to deny defending champion Tasmania an entertaining 23-run victory in the Ford Ranger Cup match at the MCG on Wednesday.
On a wicket tailor-made for high-scoring one-day cricket, Tasmania amassed an imposing 8-290 then restricted a gallant Victoria to 267 to not only end the home side's unbeaten run in the competition but also climb to the top of the table.
Unheralded all-rounder Mark Divin, who claimed 4-56, was the unlikely hero for Tasmania, snaring the key wickets of David Hussey and Andrew McDonald before returning at the death to remove potential match-winner Adam Crosthwaite for 52.
"He's been a great player for us, especially on those sorts of wickets. He bowls with good control, nice and straight, creates a lot of pressure and gets some good wickets for us," said Tigers captain Dan Marsh.
That the Bushrangers were still a winning hope well into the final overs of the match was testament to the strokeplay of Hodge, who on Saturday will break Darren Berry's games record for Victoria, and Crosthwaite and a five-wicket haul from man of the match Shane Harwood.
Given a life on 14 by Brendan Drew and another on 94 by Michael Dighton, who had earlier starred for Tasmania with 95, Hodge made them pay by clubbing 103 off 108 balls.
He shared an 81-run stand with Chris Rogers then, after losing David Hussey, Andrew McDonald to rash shots and Aiden Blizzard, combined with the enterprising Adam Crosthwaite for a high-voltage 77-run partnership off only 63 balls.
Crosthwaite scored his 52 at better than a run a ball but, with the asking rate creeping above nine an over, walked down the wicket and was stumped in the 47th over, effectively ending Victoria's bid for victory.
"I would have been pretty disappointed if we had lost the game and we dropped a few catches and it wasn't our best fielding effort," Marsh said. "But we really showed some character at the end."
Earlier, the Tigers were denied a total in excess of 300 by the heroics of Harwood, who returned the impressive figures of 5-41 from his 10 overs despite cramping as temperatures soared into the mid 30s.
It took some lusty late hitting by Brendan Drew - who clubbed 26 off 12 balls, and 14 from the final three balls - to propel the Tigers to 8-290 after they had cruised to 2-186 in the 38th over.
The stars for the Tigers were Dighton, who made an entertaining 95 and shared in an important 97-run opening stand with Tim Paine, while Marsh made a valuable 61 off 81 balls.
Other than a twin strike from McDonald, it was all one-way traffic for the Tigers prior to Harwood's reintroduction into the attack in the 36th over.
The veteran paceman's final five overs yielded the figures of 5-22 as the Tigers struggled to combat his contrasting combination of venomous short-pitched bowling and wily variations in pace.
He bowled Dighton - who, with a ton at his mercy, curiously stepped away to the off-side only for his leg stump to be disturbed - then removed Bailey, Marsh, Geeves and Divin in quick succession.
Despite Harwood's wreckage, the Tigers still managed to plunder 56 runs from the final five overs, with McDonald and Clinton McKay coming in for stiff punishment.
"I was still pretty confident at half time but unfortunately we probably went for a few too many at the dying stage of their innings," Hussey said.
"Unfortunately they struck them a bit better at the end of their innings."