da esoccer bet： Dominic Thornely is in charge of a young New South Wales that will this season defend their first-class title without their top batsman and their leading bowler
Brydon Coverdale05-Oct-2008
Dominic Thornely will be one of few older, wiser heads in a youthful New South Wales squad © Getty Images
It’s only natural for the previous season’s champions to start the next SheffieldShield campaign as favourites. But what happens when that team loses itsleading run scorer and its top wicket taker? New South Wales are about tofind out as they aim to go back to back in 2008-09 with a side short on experiencebut long on talent.Last summer they relied heavily on Simon Katich, whose record tally of 1506Pura Cup runs was nearly three times greater than that of any of his team-mates.Doug Bollinger carried the attack with 45 wickets and headed the competitionlist despite missing four games. Both men are in India with the Test squad- along with another six Blues – and there is every chance Australian commitmentswill keep them away from the state scene for much of the season.In the absence of the usual on-field leaders, Katich and Brad Haddin, theacting captain is Dominic Thornely. An indication of the fresh group he willbe guiding came with the Blues’ announcement of their squad for the firstone-day match of the season: eight of the 12 men have played fewer than tenFR Cup games. It will be a similar story in the first-class competition.”We’ve addressed the fact that we’ve lost someone who’s made 1000 runs forus,” Thornely said of Katich’s impending absence. “We lost Phil Jaques lastyear, with every loss of a player there’s an opportunity for another.”It still may well be a case of the baby Blues go back to back. For us todo that these younger guys are going to have to step up. If we can get 20to 30% more from some of these guys that could be enough.”Among Thornely’s “baby Blues” are the opener Phillip Hughes, 19, who madea century in last season’s Pura Cup final, and the top-order batsman PeterForrest, 22, who like Hughes toured India with Australia A last month. Thereis also Steven Smith, 19, an allrounder who combines top-order batting andlegspin, and Moises Henriques, 21, who spent time with the Australia squadin Darwin this year.While the Sheffield Shield – the traditional name is back after a decadeas the Pura Cup – is the major prize, New South Wales are also desperateto improve their limited-overs efforts. Last season they finished on thebottom of the table as Tasmania claimed the FR Cup and shrinking the gulfbetween the Blues’ four-day and one-day form is one of Thornely’s goals.Consistent Victoria want to step upVictoria head into the domestic season with a strong record over the past couple of years but little to show for it. Last summer they reached the final in all three competitions but for the second year running emerged only with the Twenty20 title, having also lost the FR Cup decider in 2006-07.Replicating last season’s consistency will be a fraction harder with the potential for more Victorians to spend time in the Australia setup. Cameron White and Peter Siddle are in India with the Test squad and David Hussey is becoming a one-day regular.”All in all it was a very, very good season as opposed to a great season,” the coach Greg Shipperd told the . “Our challenge is to take that one step further, complicated perhaps by the fact that we will now be experiencing some Australian player loss from our squad.”Which is the other side of the coin but one which we are really happy to accept. It provides churn in your squad which gives opportunity to emerging young players as well.”Part of their one-day plan will include a heavy focus on spin. Three slowbowlers were named in their first FR Cup squad – Smith, Nathan Hauritz andSteve O’Keefe – and with Beau Casson also keen to push for further international opportunities, there could soon be a return to the days of spinners dominatingat the SCG. That’s without even considering Stuart MacGill, who is yetto announce whether he will be available for state selection having retiredfrom international cricket.”This year you’ll see a lot of spin bowling done by New South Wales,” Thornelysaid. “We’ve just played some practice games where I used four spin bowlers.Five spinners in a one-day match is not unrealistic this year. Spin bowlingis where it is at for us at the moment.”Thornely has filled in as the state’s captain before, although this seasonit will be almost a full-time role if Katich keeps making Test runs.He describes himself as the kind of leader who will freely allow his mento play their natural games. It is a method that looks brilliant when itworks but can also backfire spectacularly. In his first match asthe stand-in skipper, Thornely presided over New South Wales’ all-timelowest Pura Cup total of 53 against Tasmania.”I was told ten minutes before the match that I was captain, Simon [Katich]pulled out with a broken thumb,” Thornely said. “Our wicketkeeper was alsoin doubt with an injury and wasn’t even at the ground yet, so I was literallywalking out with a team sheet of ten players.”I looked at Simon after the innings and said ‘I think you can have the captaincyback’. But he predicted I’d get a hundred in the second innings and we’dgive them a challenge and that’s what happened. I look back on that gameand it gave me a lot of belief as a captain.”In that 2006-07 season, Tasmania went on to win the title. Thornely expectsthe major challengers this summer to be Victoria, who reached the finalsin all three formats last season. He also believes Queensland will bounceback following a rare bad year in 2007-08, when they finished last in thePura Cup. Both the Bushrangers and the Bulls have gainedimportant players during the off-season.The domestic summer kicks off on Wednesday with a one-daygame between Western Australia and New South Wales at the WACA. The SheffieldShield campaign begins on Friday when the Warriors host the Blues andTasmania travel to Queensland. Thornely knows that this season more thanany other, finding form quickly will be critical.”We play 75% of our season by Christmas,” he said. “We need to get on a rolland get into some good form. If we don’t hit the ground running then comeNovember-December, half our season is over and there’ll be some real catchingup to do.”