Guide: Matador One-Day Cup

Matador One-Day Cup fixture: Click here

Winter is over, the days are getting longer and there’s no more footy, so you must be wondering ‘when does the cricket start?’

Fantastic question. The answer is this Saturday, October 4 when the myFootDr Queensland Bulls host the Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers at the Gabba in the Matador One-Day Cup.

Here’s all you need to know...

OK, slow down, start again.

The Matador One-Day Cup is the domestic one-day competition that’s been around for ages. You might remember the Mercantile Mutual Cup, the ING Cup, the Ford Ranger Cup, and even last year’s Ryobi One-Day Cup. All the same thing. Last year it was held tournament-style in Sydney and this season it’s pretty much the same, athough this time the matches are split between Brisbane and Sydney, with the final to be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground on October 26.

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Who’s playing?

All six state sides are competing, just like they have since 2000-01 when the ACT Comets were omitted from the competition (who thinks they should be brought back? I’m with you). Each state plays seven matches with the team on top at the end of the regular season (21 matches) going straight through to the final, while second and third square off in a preliminary final. It’s a big deal as the comp is the last chance domestic players have to impress the National Selection Panel before the 15-man World Cup squad is selected early next year.

West End Redbacks: Johan Botha (c), Mark Cosgrove, Tom Cooper, Callum Ferguson, Travis Head, Trent Lawford, Jake Lehmann, Tim Ludeman, Gary Putland, Alex Ross, Chadd Sayers, Shaun Tait, Nick Winter, Adam Zampa.

Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers: Matthew Wade (c), Fawad Ahmed, Scott Boland, Dan Christian, Jake Haberfield, Peter Handscomb, Jon Holland, Dave Hussey, Alexander Keath, Clint McKay, Rob Quiney, Ryan Sidebottom, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Tremain, Cameron White.

NSW Blues: Moises Henriques (c), Ryan Carters, Trent Copeland, Chris Green, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Henry, Josh Lalor, Nic Maddinson, Peter Nevill, Kurtis Patterson, Ben Rohrer, Gurinder Sandhu.

Alcohol.Think Again Western Warriors: Adam Voges (c), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Michael Beer, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Marcus Harris, Michael Klinger, Simon Mackin, Joel Paris, Nathan Rimmington, Craig Simmons, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Sam Whiteman.

myFootDr Queensland Bulls: James Hopes (c), Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, Luke Feldman, Peter Forrest, Jason Floros, Peter George, Chris Hartley, Usman Khawaja, Simon Milenko, Michael Neser, Nathan Reardon, Mark Steketee.

Tasmanian Tigers: Xavier Doherty (C), Jordan Silk (VC), Ben Dunk, Ed Cowan, Andrew Fekete, Evan Gulbis, Michael Hill, Hamish Kingston, Dominic Michael, Tim Paine, Sam Rainbird, Clive Rose, Jon Wells.

They said what? 

"It's going to be an exciting tournament because of that fact, because there's a World Cup. There's so many players that are vying for probably only one or two spots in a 15-man squad," - QLD captain James Hopes.

"You've got approach cricket to win games, that's the only approach I take. If you're performing well for your state and you're doing well and your team's winning, then at least you're doing all the right things," - NSW captain Moises Henriques.

"Consistent performances in this style of tournament where it is all played in the space of four-five weeks it can show that you can back up and be consistent, and that’s a big thing the selectors will be looking for," - SA batsman Callum Ferguson.

Rules?

Yeah, of course there are rules. The whole point of the tournament setup is to prepare Australia’s cricketers for the upcoming World Cup, which means the rules mirror the current one-day international guidelines. Expect two new balls, powerplays, fielding restrictions and free hits. There will be no DRS. However, there is a slight change to the wide rule. From now on if a batsman moves around his crease and the ball is delivered way, way wide, the umpire won't penalise the bowler if he deems the batsman could hit it from his new position (unless it's bowled off the pitch, so in that case it's a HUGE wide). Also, if a batsman attempts a reverse sweep or switch hit, a wide down their original leg-side shall not be called, unless again it's well wide.

I have a short attention span, tell me five players to watch in 140 characters or less.

I’ll do you one better.

Gurinder Sandhu – NSW

Tall, strong, fast bowler who does a bit in the air and off the deck. Hates a pool party.

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Usman Khawaja – QLD

Scored a ton in the final last year. Classy player. Bulk runs around the corner.

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Shaun Tait – SA

The Wild Thing is back! Probably the fastest bowler in the comp. Expect fireworks.

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Sam Whiteman – WA

Killed it for Australia A. Talented young keeper-batsman. Has ‘future Test star’ written all over him.

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Sam Rainbird – TAS

The chairman of selectors rates him. That can’t be a bad thing. Uber-talented left-arm fast bowler.

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Matthew Wade – VIC

The forgotten man behind the stumps. Serious batsman. Has a point to prove. Watch out.

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Right, count me in. Where can I watch it?

GEM, the Nine Network’s digital channel, will show 15 matches of the competition in live, glorious high definition. Those matches will also be streamed FREE on cricket.com.au and Cricket Australia Live: The Official App, and for the matches that aren’t broadcast you can follow the live scores on cricket.com.au and on Twitter by following @CricketAus and #MatadorCup. If you're near a venue, why not go? Tickets for all Matador One-Day Cup matches are available for purchase at the gate only for cash. Adults $10.00, concession $5.00, children (15 and under) are free. Full fixtures here.

The games that are shown on GEM are shown in the below table. 

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So, who’s going to win?

That’s a tough one. No idea. Everyone looks strong, but let’s go with the Queensland to go back-to-back-to-back.

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