Picking our Marsh Cup best XI for the season caused plenty of debate and there's one glaring omission – no spinner
Cricket.com.au's 2023-24 Marsh Cup Team of the Tournament
1. Daniel Hughes (NSW)
Matches: 7 | Runs: 428 | Ave: 61.14 | SR: 83.43 | 100s/50s: 1/4 | HS: 119
The competition's standout batter in recent times, Daniel Hughes yet again set the standard with more runs than anyone in the Marsh Cup this season. His match-winning hundred against Victoria at North Sydney Oval put the Blues into the decider, following on from a consistent campaign in which he reeled off scores of 58, 69, 59, 48, 23, 52 and 119. The left-hander will be the key wicket for Western Australia in Sunday's final.
2. Tom Rogers (Victoria)
Matches: 7 | Runs: 406 | Ave: 58.00 | SR: 101.75 | 100s/50s: 1/1 | HS: 196
Something of a breakout season for the Victorian opener who had to make his way into domestic cricket through standout performances in club cricket. Rogers finished his campaign with a bang, blazing a remarkable 196 from 142 balls, including 15 sixes, against NSW at North Sydney. The sour note was that it was not enough to put the Vics into the final having looked set to make it for most of the season.
3. Caleb Jewell (wk) (Tasmania)
Matches: 7 | Runs: 327 | Ave: 46.71 | SR: 107.21 | 100s/50s: 1/2 | HS: 137 | Ct/St: 2/1
The highly-rated Tiger takes the gloves in this side having had a strong 50-over season highlighted by a run-a-ball 137 against Queensland in Hobart in October. Jewell's high strike-rate allowed Tasmania to consistently make strong starts, having also pumped South Australia for a 52-ball 90 in a match overshadowed by Jake Fraser-McGurk's world record 29-ball ton.
4. Sam Whiteman (Western Australia)
Matches: 7 | Runs: 416 | Ave: 83.20 | SR: 101.71 | 100s/50s: 1/2 | HS: 137no
One of the first picked in this side, Sam Whiteman is emerging as one of the most consistent batters in domestic cricket. On Sunday he will attempt to lead Western Australia to a third straight Marsh Cup title. Equally impressive as his leadership since regular captain Ashton Turner got injured has been his middle-order batting, having been dismissed for fewer than 40 just once in seven innings this summer. His 137no against the Redbacks from No.4, a position he's come into his own for in 50-over cricket despite thriving as an opener in the Sheffield Shield, was his best knock.
5. Moises Henriques (c) (NSW)
Matches: 7 | Runs: 332 | Ave: 83.00 | SR: 104.73 | 100s/50s: 1/2 | HS: 103no
An ever-steady presence for the Blues, Moises Henriques has led his side into another Marsh Cup final with strong leadership and important knocks with the bat. An unbeaten 73 against the Vics in their final group match helped his side into the decider, while another red-inker against South Australia (103no from only 72 balls) was the difference in their win at Adelaide Oval in October.
6. Nathan McSweeney (South Australia)
Matches: 6 | Runs: 307 | Ave: 51.16 | SR: 82.52 | 50s: 4 | HS: 62 | Wickets: 3 | Econ: 5.05
Still only 24 years old, the South Australian right-hander continues to make his mark as a player of the future with an ultra-consistent campaign at No.3 for the Redbacks. His six innings in the Marsh Cup this season yielded six scores between 40 and 62, but he'll have to slot in at six in this side such is the depth of top-order batting talent. Also an emerging leader in Australian cricket as the skipper of the men's 'A' side, McSweeney took over the captaincy of the Redbacks' 50-over side after the Big Bash break, where he led the Brisbane Heat to their second KFC BBL championship.
7. Beau Webster (Tasmania)
Matches: 7 | Runs: 315 | Ave: 52.50 | SR: 93.47 | 50s: 2 | HS: 83 | Wickets: 7 | Econ: 5.22
A career-best Marsh Cup campaign with both bat and ball for the dashing Tasmanian right-hander who continues to put himself in contention for higher honours, earning selection for the Prime Minister's XI in their clash against Pakistan in December. A dependable all-round option for skipper Jordan Silk across both the formats, his 83 and 2-17 against Victoria in their season opener was his best this Marsh Cup season.
8. Jack Edwards (NSW)
Matches: 5 | Runs: 117 | Ave: 23.40 | SR: 107.33 | 50s: 1 | HS: 92 | Wickets: 13 | Econ: 3.76 | BBI: 4-38
A breakout summer for the tall, powerful New South Welshman who has established himself as a first-choice bowling option for the Blues (and Sydney Sixers in the BBL). He can also hit a cricket ball a long way, as Tasmania found out the hard way when he bludgeoned four sixes against them at the Junction Oval in his 63-ball 92 back in September. He also claimed two wickets in that match to highlight his all-round prowess, his best with the ball 4-38 against Queensland in October on his way to a Marsh Cup season-high 13 wickets.
9. Will Sutherland (Victoria)
Matches: 7 | Wickets: 13 | Econ: 4.95 | Ave: 22.69 | BBI: 3-39 | Runs: 65 | SR: 101.56 | HS: 29no
A career-best 50-over season with the ball propelled the Victorian allrounder to a maiden international call-up against the West Indies earlier this month, collecting 2-28 and contributing a vital 18 on ODI debut at the SCG to help Australia secure a series-clinching victory. Another leader on the rise having been named skipper of Victoria's Sheffield Shield side and captaining Australia A in three one-day matches against New Zealand A in September, Sutherland was the best of an ultra-consistent Vics bowling attack with Sam Elliott (13 wickets at 23.61) and Fergus O’Neill (12 wickets at 22) also finishing towards the top of the season's tally.
10. Jordan Buckingham (South Australia)
Matches: 3 | Wickets: 9 | Econ: 4.23 | Ave: 13.88 | BBI: 6-41
The fiery right-armer has been making waves for the Redbacks and Australia A of late and no more so than his 6-41 to spearhead a five-wicket demolition of Queensland in their final game of the Marsh Cup season. While he had only collected three wickets in his two previous matches of the campaign, his economy rate was exceptional and his average the second best behind Jack Edwards of those to have played more than one match this season.
11. Will Salzmann (NSW)
Matches: 4 | Wickets: 12 | Econ: 5.57 | Ave: 14.16 | BBI: 4-48
The 20-year-old speedster could well have been the competition's leading wicket-taker had he played a full season, but he made the most of his opportunity after earning selection for the Blues' fourth game of the Marsh Cup season. The former Australian under-19 quick made his NSW debut last summer, impressing with three wickets in his return earlier this season, followed by a career-best 4-48 to help down reigning champions WA in the only other men's List A fixture at Cricket Central in Sydney prior to this weekend's season finale.
Unlucky omissions
Andrew Tye (Western Australia)
Matches: 7 | Wickets: 13 | Econ: 6.01 | Ave: 24.30 | BBI: 3-14
The veteran right-armer went past Kade Harvey (113) this Marsh Cup season to become Western Australia's all-time leading One-Day Cup wicket-taker with 120 scalps. While he was edged out of this team due to a higher economy rate and average compared to the other quicks, Tye always steps up to bowl the tough death overs for his side, finishing the regular season with an equal-leading 13 wickets for the campaign. And with seamers occupying 11 of the top 12 wicket taking spots in the 2023-24 Marsh Cup, it proves just how tough it was to fit them all into our Team of the Tournament that doesn't even feature a spinner.
Ben McDermott (Queensland)
Matches: 6 | Runs: 316 | Ave: 52.66 | SR: 98.75 | 100s/50s: 1/2 | HS: 143
The destructive right-hander fitted straight back in at his native Queensland after crossing from Tasmania during the off-season, with scores of 52, 25, 86 and 143 in his first four List A outings back with the Bulls. Proved he is still on the radar of national selectors with a call up to the Australia ODI squad for the third match against the West Indies in Canberra, narrowly missing selection in our best XI for the season with just 25 runs separating the fourth to eighth top run-getters.
Marsh Cup 2023-24 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | Bat | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
NSW
|
7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.33 | 0 | 2 | 22 |
|
2
WA
|
7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.543 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
|
3
VIC
|
7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.232 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
|
4
TAS
|
7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | -0.201 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
|
5
QLD
|
7 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | -0.735 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
|
6
SA
|
7 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | -0.327 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
PTS: Total points