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Review by John Polack
Given that their ranks were replete with a former international opening
batsman, a former international opening bowler, and a current fringe
international all-rounder, there was probably always a strong likelihood
that Victoria would bring to this year's Australian first class season a
talented and well balanced side. And that they most certainly did, for the
Bushrangers generally enjoyed an excellent, if slightly unfulfilling, summer.
Whilst they failed to reproduce the same form in the one-day arena that led them to the Mercantile Mutual Cup last season, the Victorians made a strong start in their first class commitments and never really looked back. Almost immediately from the time that evergreen fast bowler Paul Reiffel was appointed as captain shortly before their first appearance, the players portrayed a sense of enthusiasm, determination and confidence in one another that was unmistakable. There was the odd murmur of discontent among those who felt that either Shane Warne or Darren Berry should have been anointed but any lingering sense of annoyance was quelled as soon as Reiffel began to embark on a brilliant personal crusade with the ball and started to lead the team in a manner encompassing the laid back, modest qualities which have endeared him to so many of his fellow players over the years.
By his own admission, Reiffel was the type of skipper who preferred to guide his charges more by example than by means of any formal covenant. To the imposition of such a philosophy, he was perfectly suited; he was the dominant bowler of the Australian domestic season with fifty-nine wickets at a cost of less than seventeen runs apiece. As usual, his line and length was impeccable and he was a model of consistency throughout; there were only six innings in the entire first class season in which he did not capture at least three wickets and yet he seized five wickets in an innings only once. Around him, the Victorians - and, in particular, the team's bowlers - grew immeasurably in stature. Alongside the former Australian paceman, Mathew Inness underscored his rapidly burgeoning promise as a left arm new ball bowler with thirty-one very handy wickets. One of the high points of the entire season in fact came when Inness spectacularly stole the limelight by including a hat-trick in his best ever match haul of eleven wickets against New South Wales in early March. Cast in a role as a new ball and first change bowler at different times, medium pacer Ian Harvey highlighted how well the Bushrangers' attack worked in a collective sense this year with thirty-seven wickets of his own - many from the subtle changes of pace for which he is renowned in Australian circles. It was a measure of how effectively the side's players had learnt to work together and overcome problems that might have severely hindered them in previous years that even a serious injury to the squad's other main pacer, David Saker (one which necessitated him to miss three games), did not appear to seriously undermine their stocks to the extent that it once may have done. The most obvious weakness in Victorian cricket remains the lack of a genuinely successful spinner; Jon Davison and Shawn Craig sadly underachieved in the role again this year when far more was expected of them. Although there is a possibility he might still be dissuaded by the trials and tribulations he encountered in attempting to move across from Tasmania at the beginning of this one, Colin Miller's impending recruitment will certainly be a most welcome development for Victorian fans next summer.
With the bat, former Australian player Matthew Elliott enjoyed another stellar season. He was one of only three batsmen across the country to surpass the thousand run mark for the first class summer and the quality of both his vertical and horizontal bat shots told of his ever increasing maturity as a player. Elliott spoke passionately off the field about feeling more comfortable both mentally and physically this year; his tally of runs on it issued a complementary tale. Although his productivity slowed toward the end of the campaign, surprise packet Jason Arnberger afforded his fellow opener great support at the top of the order with a forceful 869 runs of his own. The beefy Arnberger is not the greatest stylist it has to be said, but sophistication hardly matters when a player can average in excess of seventy through the opening eleven first class innings of the season. The few who were there at Punt Road in November to watch the pair accumulate a massive 353 in partnership against Tasmania will certainly not forget either's play in a hurry. Slightly lower down the list, the State also reaped a solid harvest from another player who, like Arnberger, had made his way interstate to secure a game with the Bushrangers. While he was no taller on elegance than his teammate, Matthew Mott indeed enjoyed a great season, and his 841 runs at number three in the order helped to minimise any adverse ramifications that might have ensued from another disappointing season from Bradley Hodge one slot further down. And illustrating the greater level of poise and composure that has come from considerable hard work over the last few years, Harvey also had probably his best ever season with the bat - a century and four fifties in the space of eleven innings complementing his bowling achievements beautifully.
The Victorians' summer ultimately ended in anticlimax and dejection with a tame draw against Queensland in a Pura Milk Cup Final that they needed to win in order to take the title. But that small matter still could not completely overshadow a season in which they built impressively upon the solid foundations that had been established over the preceding twelve months. Four wins flowed from their first five matches, and the pace of their assault rarely slowed; they ended with six victories in a performance which was bettered only by Queensland - one which, in fact, would have had them sitting at the head of the interstate rankings in other years. Even if their aspirations of winning their first title in first class cricket since 1990-91 remained unfulfilled, that the Victorians made it as far as an appearance in the Final for the first time in those nine long summers was a deserved reward for substantial application and purposeful commitment, and it served as a glowing tribute to the capacities of the triumvirate of Reiffel, coach John Scholes and director of cricket, Shaun Graf, in particular. In a sense, the most patent criticism that can really be made of the Bushrangers this season was that they possibly suffered at times from the affliction of simply trying a little too hard; this certainly seemed the case anyway when (otherwise rarely shown) frustration spilled to the surface at stages of each of their three competition-deciding encounters with the Bulls. In no way can that be regarded as a lamentable sin though. Indeed, thoughts need be cast back no further than the rancorous summer of 1997-98 to remember that there were occasions in the recent past when Victorian cricketers were accused of indulging in the very opposite practice. Most things carried a substantially happier look this time around.
Site: Victoria
Key Player: Paul Reiffel
Rising Star: Matthew Inness
Pura Milk Cup: Runners-up
Mercantile Mutual Cup: 5th
ACB Cup: 2nd (Group A)
Under-19s Championships: 1st (Joint)
Under-17s Championships: 1st
Statistics:
First-class
Pura Milk Cup
Mercantile Mutual Cup