Paul Wilson's Postcards

WEDNESDAY 22 November 2000
Heartbreak and excitement: Paul Wilson on the Redbacks' rarely dull start to the seasonn

Well it sure has been an interesting 6 weeks since I spoke to you last. Following our narrow loss to the Bulls in Brisbane we continued the tight finishes with a heart-stopping win over the Tigers in Adelaide, again at the last ball of the required overs in this rain-shortened match. This time we snatched victory from the jaws of defeat after some inspired batting from Ricky Ponting and Michael DiVenuto had threatened to take the game away from us for most of the Tigers' innings. Fortunately for us, the departure of Ponting and some good bowling at the "death" by Greg Blewett and Jason Gillespie ensured that they fell short.

Across the board it was a great team effort and gave us considerable confidence going into the next match in Perth against the Warriors, the defending Mercantile Mutual Cup champions. Once again rain played a part in this match with the overs reduced to forty-three per side. After losing the toss, the Redbacks had the job of fielding first in damp conditions. We made great work of things early by keeping the Perth boys to under three runs an over until the wet ball played a part towards the end when Mike Hussey and Murray Goodwin took full advantage with some great batting to post one hundred runs off the last ten overs.

Our turn at the crease saw some superb fielding put us under pressure early but our inspirational captain, Darren Lehmann, Jeff Vaughan and Chris Davies steadied things and got us close once again. But running with the recent script, this game came down to ten runs off the final over and, you guessed it, the match was decided on the final ball with Brad Young holing out to Tom Moody to fall three runs short, Lehmann remained 91 not out - superb!

After three MMC games we sat at one win and two losses with combined margins of ten runs, all decided on final deliveries and not a TV camera in sight. The fans that came to these games were not disappointed. Our coach, Greg Chappell, was heard to say after the Perth game, "If you blokes keep playing games like this, I'm going to be in hospital with a heart attack by Christmas!!"

Even though we had fallen short on two occasions the boys were quietly confident things would turn around and the Pura Cup game at home against the Warriors would be a good start. However, 'Boof' lost the toss and we bowled first on a typical opening day wicket at Adelaide Oval - early movement but a nice batting track when settled in. Jason Gillespie was straight into form with unsettling spells during the day and there were encouraging signs for Peter McIntyre, Brad Young and myself. At the end of day one, WA were only four wickets down but had scored at around 2.5 runs an over which was a plus for us, and when we captured the wicket of Tom Moody early on day two, we thought that restricting them to a score of 350 was possible.

Enter Adam Gilchrist, the Warriors and Australian vice-captain. Within ninety minutes he singlehandedly changed the game with clean hitting and, at times, breathtaking strokeplay. His batting partner, Damien Martyn, was on 70 when he came to the wicket but 'Gilly' ended up 100 not out at lunch (a century in a session) with Martyn still yet to register three figures!

Once the Warriors had declared just after lunch the big run chase was on. Unfortunately, a mini collapse before stumps saw the Redbacks in a spot of bother but the unlikely pairing of Jason Gillespie and Ben Johnson batted through the first session of day three with both registering half centuries.

However, we could not avoid the follow-on and at stumps the Warriors needed just seven wickets to wrap up six points. Day four belonged to Jeff Vaughan. Following a first innings duck, 'Ricky' batted all day for an unbeaten century full of determination and courage. Ably supported by Ben Johnson, Darren Lehmann and Brad Young he led us to a draw in the match, the best result under the circumstances for us.

We were back in the 'Reds' for our next MMC match against the Bushrangers at Punt Road on Nov 12 and surprise, surprise it was raining again reducing the game to thirty-seven overs each. After winning the toss and bowling, we had the Vics in trouble early and they never quite recovered to be 141 after their allotted time. Once again it was an even bowling and fielding performance from our boys with Jason Gillespie, Brett Swain and Ryan Harris being standouts.

Our batsmen did a fantastic job in not only helping the side to a win but a handy bonus point as well when it came our turn to bat. After a couple of early wickets from Paul Reiffel, man of the match Chris Davies and Darren Lehmann saw the boys home for an emphatic victory.

Next port of call for the Redbacks was Bankstown Oval for our Pura Cup match with NSW. Unfortunately all we did was watch rain fall down from Monday through to Thursday with the match being officially abandoned with two days still to play. Anybody who has to stay out at Bankstown for any length of time with nothing to do should call the Redbacks for advice about activities around the Bankstown area because we did it all - watch out for our upcoming tourist guide!

Darren Lehmann was in superb form against the Blues © AllSport & ACB

In serious news, we did play some cricket finally at beautiful North Sydney Oval and fifty overs each just for good measure. Our poor old captain lost the toss again and the Reds were batting first on a sticky wicket and longish outfield. What the spectators and television viewers were fortunate to see for the next three hours was a masterful, class innings from Darren Lehmann, something we Redbacks boys are lucky to see quite often. His 115 not out was as good as it gets and helped our young side to one of THE great wins. With all Australian reps available for both sides, the youngsters of the Reds showed the way in the field and their hunger and enthusiasm was infectious throughout the rest of the side.

With the bowling group sticking to a game plan and the fielders backing them up, we could not have hoped for a better result. This now leaves us only one point behind the Blues at the top of the MMC table after five games.

On a sad note, tragedy struck our camp on the Friday of the washed out game in Sydney when Brad Young tore his cruciate ligament in his left knee while taking part in some warm up games at the SCG indoor facility. This has lead to reconstructive surgery for Youngy and a rehab program to follow during the rest of the summer. All of his teammates were devastated for him, and knowing what each other goes through to get to this level alone it was a cruel blow - head up great man! They say one door closes while another opens, and I am sure this will be the case for Brad, even if he can't go surfing for a couple of months!

Further injury problems have hit other Redbacks just recently, with Jeff Vaughan out with a hand injury suffered in Melbourne. As I write this my great mate Jason Gillespie has been ruled out of the First Test in Brisbane with a hamstring strain - hopefully only a glitch in what will truly be a wonderful few years to come.

Birthdays were prevalent over the past six weeks with Greg Blewett and Chris Davies both turning a year older and wedding bells will be in the air for squad member Shane Maraun who ties the knot on Saturday the 25th of November.

Well, with three Pura Cup games and one MMC game to go before Christmas, the Redbacks will be aiming for more success to keep the momentum going forward. Thanks for keeping up to date with the Redbacks and I will see you soon.

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More Postcards SATURDAY 14 October 2000 Paul Wilson sees signs of good things ahead from the Redbacks' opening to the season