South Australia make three changes in quest to break title drought as Victoria welcome back Scott Boland
Star quicks return for one-day finalists as Vics bowl first
One-Day Cup finalists South Australia and Victoria have both welcomed back their first-choice quicks as they seek to become the first state to lift the Dean Jones Trophy.
Victoria has named Test quick Scott Boland for just his second 50-over match of the season as skipper Will Sutherland opted to bowl after winning the toss in the day-night encounter at Adelaide Oval.
Boland was rested for the Vics thumping win over NSW last Sunday, which secured their spot in today's one-day decider, after claiming 10 wickets in the preceding Sheffield Shield match.
South Australia XI: Mackenzie Harvey, Harry Nielsen (wk), Daniel Drew, Nathan McSweeney (c), Jason Sangha, Jake Lehmann, Liam Scott, Nathan McAndrew, Henry Thornton, Brendan Doggett, Lloyd Pope. 12th: Ben Manenti
Ins: Nathan McAndrew, Brendan Doggett, Liam Scott. Outs: Ben Manenti, Wes Agar, Jordan Buckingham
Victoria XI: Campbell Kellaway, Harry Dixon, Marcus Harris, Peter Handscomb, Tom Rogers, Sam Harper (wk), Will Sutherland (c), Fergus O'Neill, Todd Murphy, Peter Siddle, Scott Boland. 12th: Sam Elliott
In: Scott Boland. Out: Sam Elliott
The 35-year-old right-armer comes in at the expense of Sam Elliott, who is unlucky to miss out on a spot in the final given he's taken the equal most wickets for Victoria in the competition this season with 14 alongside veteran Peter Siddle.
Boland will partner fellow quicks Siddle, Sutherland and Fergus O'Neill and off-spinner Todd Muphy as they attempt to deny South Australia their first men's silverware since 2011-12 when they last won the one-day competition.
Victoria also batted second in their previous match where a century to Campbell Kellaway (117no) and rollicking knocks by opener Harry Dixon (57 off 37 balls) and Peter Handscomb (91no off 52) saw them overhaul NSW's 310 with more than 12 overs to spare.
South Australia put up 9-329 batting first in their previous match only to be beaten by BBL|14 Final hero Mitch Owen's whirlwind 69-ball 149 that helped Tasmania to victory.
Both Victoria and SA secured a spot in the decider with four wins during the round-robin phase, with SA earning hosting rights after securing three bonus-point victories.
The home side have welcomed back star quicks Nathan McAndrew and Brendan Doggett for the final after they were also rested following the last Sheffield Shield round.
One-Day Cup player of the year Liam Scott also returns with Ben Manenti, Wes Agar and Jordan Buckingham making way.
Wicketkeeper Harry Nielsen retains his place at the top of the batting line up alongside the season's leading run-scorer Mackenzie Harvey, who is coming off a century in their loss to Tasmania.
SA captain Nathan McSweeney said former Victorian Harvey had been "elite" this season.
"He is batting beautifully, knows the bowlers really well being from Victoria – hopefully he has got another good knock in him," McSweeney said on match eve.
"We all know that it has been a long time since we have been able to win something.
"So it would be special if we could do it.
"Our preparation this week has been elite so hopefully it translates to some good performances."
The trophy awarded to the winners of the One-Day Cup was re-named in honour of the late Dean Jones this season after the revolutionary batting legend who died in 2020.
The player of the final will also be awarded the Michael Bevan Medal for the first time.
"Dean Jones obviously played a lot for Victoria and did so much for Victorian cricket," Sutherland told reporters on Friday.
"It is sad that Dean has passed away but I am sure a lot of the boys, and I, had a little bit to do with him – a superstar.
"And it just makes it extra special that it is named after him."
One-Day Cup standings 2024-25
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | Bat | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
SA
|
7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.25 | 0 | 3 | 21 |
|
2
VIC
|
7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | -0.162 | 0 | 2 | 18 |
|
3
NSW
|
7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.099 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
|
4
QLD
|
7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.244 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
|
5
TAS
|
7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.134 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
|
6
WA
|
7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.481 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
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