'Lucky' Owen learning to embrace momentum in big knocks

Mitch Owen has termed Tasmania's win over table-toppers South Australia 'bittersweet' as the side failed to make it to the final of the One-Day Cup, but the swashbuckling opener believes the result will give them momentum going into the final rounds of the Sheffield Shield.

After becoming a Tasmanian hero with his whirlwind century that won the Hobart Hurricanes their maiden Big Bash crown last month, Owen has ended his white-ball season with a big ton for the Tigers in their final One-Day Cup game.

Owen's 149 off 69 was the backbone of Tasmania's thrilling chase of 329 on Sunday. He smashed 14 fours and 10 sixes, including one that landed on the second tier, as the crisp sound of his powerful hits echoed around the Adelaide Oval.

The opener, who got to his century in 48 deliveries, thought he struggled to get going initially.

"I tried to come out pretty hot and got lucky, munged a few into a few gaps and (had) a few edges that didn't carry," Owen said after the game.

"But once I sort of started getting my timing a little bit and a bit more confidence in myself, I felt like I could clear the fence pretty easily."

Owen's shots straight down the ground – where he hit three sixes and as many fours – were the testament of the rhythm he had got himself in, where he could dispatch anything and everything with ease.

"I have learnt to probably embrace it a little bit and just keep running with it," he said of the mental process that helps him channel the momentum.

"I feel like if I try and go against it and I get out playing negatively, that's when I come off and I'm cursing myself.

"So, when I've got it, I just try and run with that."

When Owen was dismissed in the 20th over, Tasmania still needed 133 runs to win.

While he was not pleased to leave his side to experience a few nervous moments, he was glad Will Prestwidge and Tom Rogers got the job done to secure a consolation win.

"I was pretty cooked to be fair," he said.

"You always want to see your team home, and everyone always says that the hardest runs to get are the winning runs, so it'd be nice to do that.

"But I'm not going to be upset at 149."

While his 39-ball century in the KFC BBL|14 Final was the joint fastest in the T20 league's history, the 48-ball ton on Sunday placed him second on the list of the quickest hundreds in the One-Day Cup.

Owen would be keen to transfer that form to red-ball cricket, having registered scores of 0 and 1 against the same opponent in the Sheffield Shield earlier in the week.

The bottom-placed Tasmanian side will next be taking on Queensland starting March 6.

One-Day Cup standings 2024-25

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Batting Bonus Bat	Total points PTS
1 South Australia Men SA	7	4	2	0	1	0.25	0	3	21
2 Victoria Men VIC	7	4	3	0	0	-0.162	0	2	18
3 NSW Men NSW	7	3	3	0	1	0.099	0	2	16
4 Queensland Bulls QLD	7	3	3	0	1	0.244	0	1	15
5 Tasmanian Tigers Men TAS	7	3	3	0	1	0.134	0	1	15
6 Western Australia Men WA	7	2	5	0	0	-0.481	0	1	9

Legend

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