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  Mercantile Mutual Cup, 1992/93  

Team Pts
VIC 7
NSW 7
QLD 6
WA 6
TAS 2
SA 2
With a new sponsor and a new format to recommend it, the 1992-93 domestic one-day season was one which signalled quite a changing of the guard at this level. Previously, there had been consistent calls for all the state teams to meet each other at least once in the competition's preliminary rounds. It was not until Mercantile Mutual's arrival as the Cup's major sponsor, though, that the revision was finally effected. Nonetheless, the change was not made without the accompaniment of some angst, particularly on the basis of scheduling. Questions were raised about a number of the aspects of the program, not the least of them Western Australia's completion of all five of its games inside the first three weeks of the season. As matters transpired, though, this actually worked to the Sandgropers' disadvantage: by the time they appeared in a semi-final against Victoria, they had not played in a one-day fixture for almost four months and performed accordingly.

New South Wales won for itself the honour of being the first team to claim a Mercantile Mutual Cup title, doing so after completing a hard-fought four wicket win over Victoria in Sydney. If a somewhat unspectacular game, the Final at least provided a fitting conclusion in the sense that it featured a continuation of a tale of disappointing batting in the main on a far from difficult pitch. The gritty Paul Nobes (41) and all-rounder Neil Maxwell (34) made handy contributions in the visitors' tally of 186 but bowlers Brad McNamara (3/27) and Gavin Robertson (2/35) made full use of a slowish surface and ensured that the Victorians' total was never likely to be challenging enough. While the home team did not have it all its own way in the afternoon session, Michael Bevan (64*) and Michael Slater (54) duly saw it safely across the line.

While a handful of batsmen were able to finish the competition with particularly impressive averages, many matches featured the dominance of ball over bat. In each of the first four games for instance, the sides which batted first were unable to accumulate anywhere near sufficient totals and were all on the end of comprehensive defeats as a result. It wasn't until Adelaide hosted fixtures for the first time for the season - and New South Wales compiled 3/293 and South Australia 6/249 to set up wins - that a break in the pattern finally came. Even then, it represented no more than a temporary shift; Matthew Hayden (with 121* against Western Australia) and Steve Waugh (131 against Queensland) the only players to score centuries during the remainder of the Cup program as bowling attacks continued to hold sway. In a pointer to the paucity of runs on offer, Waugh's 269-run tally represented the highest individual batting aggregate for the entire Cup season.

To a large extent, it was pacemen who instead stole the individual honours. Western Australia's Brendon Julian led the way with eleven wickets in six games - no return more impressive than his 3/31 in the Sandgropers' eight wicket win over New South Wales in Perth. Fellow fast bowlers Maxwell, Jamie Sutherland (both keys in guiding Victoria into the Final), Peter McPhee (from Tasmania) and Michael Kasprowicz (Queensland) similarly exerted a great deal of influence, each capturing significant hauls of wickets and bowling with good economy for the most part. Spinners Steve Storey (Queensland) and Tim May (South Australia) also enjoyed successful campaigns; May's return of five wickets from four games viewed in so distinguished a light, in fact, that it ultimately led to a recall to the national team.

Having complemented the new format with the offer of monetary jackpots to batsmen and viewers - a first at state level - in the event that any delivery be hit into either of two strategically placed signs on the straight boundaries at each of the grounds, Mercantile Mutual's introduction to so prized a place on the Australian cricket scene was generally interpreted as a success. Administrators, players and spectators all seemed to be content with the change in direction. Moreover, the developments of 1992-93 ultimately proved a springboard for further innovations, the season becoming the starting point of a long and very fruitful relationship between the insurer and the Australian Cricket Board.

Mercantile Mutual Cup
Top Run Scorers
Player Runs Average Strike Rate Team
SR Waugh 269 89.66 85.12 NSW
PC Nobes 253 36.14 57.23 VIC
ML Hayden 250 125.00 65.10 QLD
JL Langer 237 79.00 55.37 WA
MA Taylor 233 58.25 63.83 NSW
Mercantile Mutual Cup
Top Wicket Takers
Player Wickets Average Economy Rate Team
BP Julian 11 20.00 1.98 WA
ND Maxwell 9 15.22 2.12 VIC
JA Sutherland 9 19.33 1.77 VIC
MS Kasprowicz 8 21.75 1.86 QLD
PT McPhee 8 20.00 1.60 TAS




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