Excited, pumped and nervous are all words which could describe the feeling of those Tasmanians who made the journey to Brisbane to watch the Tigers try and achieve something never done by a Tasmanian team. Win a Pura Cup Final!!

The Tigers were returning to the 'Gabba where, last time around, they were humiliated by a rampaging Bulls unit which was not stopping for anyone. There's no need to give statistics or the times in which they were bowled out and defeated: everyone knows them.

After that game, the Tigers' players knew that there was going to be change amongst the team and squad. But no one would have guessed what was to come.

Three long time and well respected players in the team were axed, and the Tasmanian Cricket Association Board made the decision to advertise the job of Head Coach which came as a massive shock to everyone.

All Tasmanian cricket followers would have been thinking that it was effectively the end of the Tigers' season. The Tigers' squad and coaching staff grew stronger from all the media hype surrounding the failure of the team which had turned it into back and front page news.

At the time of the head coaching job being advertised it would have been understandable if the team had dropped their heads and really struggled to finish off the season in a positive manner.

Greg Shipperd has been coach of the state for 13 years and, in that time, Greg would have felt like the Tigers team was his family. He has coached players of the calibre of David Boon, Ricky Ponting and newcomer Shane Watson with great success and, with plenty of young talent around the state, there is no doubt Greg still has the ability to coach at the highest level.

Greg and the coaching staff showed their professionalism by not letting things get on top of them and, in their work with the squad, made their way through to the Pura Cup Final - an achievement which seemed impossible before Christmas. It was an outstanding effort from all involved in Tasmanian cricket.

For me, this amazing turnaround in form gives me hope for my own future in the game. Playing with guys who I know will tough it out in any circumstance and will work with each other and play for each other. That is what team sport is all about. A team of champions will never beat a champion team and, to me, this Tasmanian side is a champion team, and one that I can hopefully break into during upcoming seasons.

The future looks bright for Tassie cricket; there is certainly no lack of young talent in the state. Xavier Doherty is definitely a player of the future, having added into his armoury the ball that spins. I have played in three junior carnivals with Xavier and he has shown that he has a good cricketing brain and is more than useful with the bat. His presence, along with left arm chinaman Shannon Tubb, ensures that the spin department will be strong for a long time.

Another guy who is an underrated spinner in the state is Scott French. Scott attended the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy as a leg spinner and, with some hard work in the off season, would be capable of playing at first-class level.

George Bailey is another name of the future. A key part of Australia's successful Under 19 World Cup team, he showed that he had all the shots of a first-class batsman and, in his ING Cup debut, made another classy 33 runs. I would describe him as a 'freak' in the field with the ability to throw with both hands. His reflexes are so good I think he would be able to catch a low flying sparrow.

Without doubt, Tasmanian cricket can only go up. The improvement over the last three to four years has been rapid, and it will continue to rise with good pace. If we can keep the same bunch of guys - both players and coaches - it won't be long until we see Jamie Cox standing on a podium holding a massive cheque and, more importantly, the Pura Cup trophy.

Brett Geeves, 19, is a Tasmanian contracted fast bowler and lower order batsman who played six Mercantile Mutual Cup matches for the state in 2000-01. He contracted osteitis pubis in mid-2001 and was forced to miss the 2001-02 interstate season. A former state and national under-19 player, he returned to grade ranks late in the summer and remains one of Tasmania's most exciting prospects.

© 2002 CricInfo Ltd