JLT Cup Finals : Top 3 to battle it out

The batting for West Australia has been solid all tournament setting high totals when batting first and steadily chasing lower totals. The one game they lost was chasing South Australias total of 330 and they still scored a very decent 325 so the batmen can hold their heads up this tournament. They even had the luxury of promoting a few middle order players while chasing a low CA XI total in their final game to give those players some time at the crease.

Sean Marsh is the standout consistency batsman with 4 scores of 50+ in just 5 innings, he has regularly set WA off to a good start while his opening partner Michael Klinger has been the biggest improver with scores of 0, 20, 45, 128 and 143 in his 5 innings with every one better than the previous. Two big centuries brings Klinger into the finals with outstanding form. The other standout is brother Mitchell Marsh who is batting at 4 but has been playing the finisher role with an average score of 129 due to being Not Out at the crease 3 times out of 5. With a strike rate of 115% he’s another to come into the finals with great form.

Michael Klinger with brothers Sean and Mitch Marsh have been dominant

Behrendorff and Coulter-Nile return from India in good form

2nd - South Australia

The inconsistent South Australians have shown that they can beat anyone on their day but they are a little prone to batting collapses which cost them the two games against bottom placed TAS and CA XI. The openers have been patchy but Callum Ferguson has played himself into form this tournament with improving scores of 5, 7, 19, 43, 73 and 169. So like Klinger from WA he is coming into the finals in very good shape. Tom Cooper and Alex Ross have provided plenty of support from the middle order with a century each but they have also had some bad failures. Those guys will need to fire if South Australia is going to compete in the finals series though they are expected to be boosted by the return of Travis Head from national duties.

Callum Ferguson will need support and he might get it from Travis Head

The bowling unit has been led well by spearhead Joe Mennie who has picked up 12 wickets in just 5 games. He has had good support from all-rounder Cameron Valente with 6 wickets who also scored a century in a losing side which suggests he could be a rising star to keep an eye on. Fast bowler Kane Richardson and frontline spinner Adam Zampa will return from the Australian team in a big boost to the SA bowling line up for the finals.

Mennie led the attack while Richardson and Zampa were in India

3rd – Victoria

The Victorians were very lucky to scrape into the finals this year, edging out both New South Wales and Queensland only by having a better Net Run Rate. Cameron White impressed early with a brutal 165 runs against Tasmania but went on to injure his ribs and miss the last 2 games for Victoria. He will be a significant loss if he doesn’t recover in time for the first final. Peter Handscomb has returned from India in good form with an average of 57 while the unheralded 1st drop Travis Dean is the only other Victorian batsman to make a century this tournament. The Victorians will be counting on Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and Dan Christian all returning from Australian duties to bolster their patchy batting line up.

White and Finch are two big hitters the Victorians will need at the crease

In contrast, the Victorian bowling attack has been strong all tournament. Fast bowler Chris Tremain has 12 wickets with frontline spinner Fawad Ahmed collecting 11. Evergreen Peter Siddle has also picked up 8 wickets but it has been his economy rate of just 3.35 which is most impressive in a tournament where a lot of smaller grounds with flat wickets have been used. These 3 bowlers are in great form with good variety and they will no doubt continue to form the core of the bowling attack for Victoria. They will be a strong force during the finals.

Siddle, Tremain and Ahmed should continue to do the job for Victoria

The elimination final is due to be played this Thursday in Hobart between South Australia and Victoria, with the winner of that game due to meet West Australia in the Grand Final this Saturday. There are a lot of players who will be looking to put themselves into contention for a national selection this summer and these finals may be the last chance to impress before the Ashes tour starts. With many of the Australian players returning from India for the JLT Cup Finals there is bound to be some good quality cricket on display.

You can see all the matches here at http://live.cricket.com.au/#/fixture

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