Matador Cup: best and worst of week one

After one week and 11 matches in this year’s Matador BBQs One-Day Cup, let’s take a look at some of the highlights of the tournament so far.

Best knock

The three-week tournament started with a bang when West End Redbacks skipper Travis Head plundered the Western Australian bowling attack to all parts of Hurstville Oval in an epic run chase.

Head’s incredible knock of 202 off 120 balls featured 20 fours and 12 sixes as his side chased down the target of 351 with 21 balls to spare.

Best spell

With 19 wickets to his name already in this tournament, Mitchell Starc has a few efforts that could easily slot into this category.

While they’re not his best figures so far, Starc’s 4-23 against the Alcohol.Think Again Western Warriors ripped through the defending champions and meant the Blues were never threatened in a rematch of last season’s final.

Best in the field

Sam Raphael hasn’t exactly set the competition alight with the bat – 26 runs in three innings – but his performance in the field against NSW at North Sydney Oval was top notch.

Raphael’s masterclass included a stunning catch to dismiss the in-form Nic Maddinson, as well as two direct-hit run outs from point.

Upset of the week

With consecutive record-breaking defeats in their opening two matches of the tournament, few gave the young Cricket Australia XI any hope of getting close to their more experienced rivals.

However, the group of young guns pulled out a performance out of the bag to upstage the Tasmanian Tigers in a thriller at Bankstown Oval and record their maiden victory in the competition.

How did they win that?

After fighting back from 2-0 in the first over of the day, the myFootDr Queensland Bulls didn’t look like losing as the Redbacks lost a steady stream of wickets in their pursuit of 280.

With one wicket in hand and seven balls remaining, South Australia still needed 16 runs for an unlikely victory.

Enter Alex Ross.

Heroes

Nine centuries have been scored in the tournament so far. Amazingly, seven of those occurred on the opening day.

These are the players to reach three figures: Cameron Bancroft, Shaun Marsh, Travis Head, Callum Ferguson, Nic Maddinson, Steve Smith, Ben Dunk, Ed Cowan, Nic Maddinson (again).

Zeroes

A somewhat peculiar aspect of the start of the tournament has been the high number of golden ducks. In just 11 matches this year, the number of players dismissed first ball already equals the number from 23 matches last year at 11.

The list of players: Matt Dixon, Joe Burns, Travis Head, Cameron Boyce, John Hastings, Sam Rainbird, Mitch Marsh, Joe Burns (again), Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Aaron Finch.

Didn’t see that coming

Not many would’ve been brave enough to predict three consecutive losses to start the season for the Western Warriors, particularly when they added four Test squad members to their line-up on the eve of the season.

While Justin Langer’s side is currently winless at the bottom of the table, they do have a reasonably favourable run home and could sneak into the finals with three wins and a bonus point or two along the way.

Team of the week

Nic Maddinson (NSW) – the left-hander has been in superb touch with two centuries and a 74 to start the season. He has combined his brutal hitting ability with a more mature approach to building an innings that has resulted in 312 runs from four innings so far.

Ed Cowan (NSW) – the former Test opener scored a vital century on a difficult Blacktown pitch to set up victory against Western Australia. He has formed a strong partnership alongside Maddinson at the top of the order, with the Blues averaging 83.5 for the opening stand.

Cameron Bancroft (WA) – the Test hopeful started the one-day tournament with a magnificent 176 that was eventually overshadowed by Head’s double century. Coach Justin Langer predicts a big future for the right-hander against both red ball and white.

Travis Head (SA) – The Redbacks skipper earns a spot on the back of the match-winning 202 alone. Head was on the receiving end of a Starc gem in his next innings and then picked out a man in the deep against Queensland. He’ll be pivotal over the next week if South Australia are to book their place in the finals.

Callum Ferguson (SA) – The right-hander entered the tournament with three consecutive centuries in grade cricket and carried that form into the Matador Cup with an unbeaten century alongside Head in the epic run chase against WA. Ferguson was another player to get ‘Starced’ in the following game, but bounced back with a half century against the Bulls at North Sydney.

Matthew Wade (VIC) – With seven dismissals, including two stumpings, Wade has been tidy behind the stumps. The Bushrangers skipper scored a gritty half century against Queensland and will welcome upcoming matches at Bankstown and North Sydney that will likely be more conducive to run scoring than the pitches at Blacktown.

James Faulkner (TAS) – the World Cup hero has shown signs of his all-round ability with a half-century against a strong NSW attack, as well as four wickets at a miserly 3.72 runs per over.

Mitchell Starc (NSW) – Nineteen wickets at an average of 6.00 and a scalp every 11.1 deliveries. Say no more.

James Pattinson (VIC) – He made an early statement with a serious spell of fast bowling against the CA XI and followed up with four more wickets against Queensland on a lifeless Blacktown deck to take his series tally to eight wickets.

Gurinder Sandhu (NSW) – The crafty seamer has just quietly been going about his business while Starc rips through batting line-ups, but Sandhu has claimed eight wickets of his own at an average of 10.00. He’s also conceding just 2.96 runs an over from four matches in the tournament.

Jon Holland (VIC) – the left-arm tweaker has been the best-performing spinner so far with seven wickets at 12.57. Arguably more impressive is Holland’s economy rate of just 3.66 runs an over.