BEYOND THE BOUNDARY
By day, Roger Oldridge is Ladbrokes Head of Media. By night, he roves the boundary for Network Ten’s Big Bash coverage.
Here, he takes you ‘Beyond the Boundary’ with an insiders perspective of how the teams are faring and his thoughts on which direction your hard earned might want to head.
THE WINNERS
SYDNEY THUNDER – First it was a maiden win over their cross town rival, the Sydney Sixers, then the perennial whipping boys of the competition did the job in thrilling style against the talent flushed Melbourne Stars.
Headed in to the new season it certainly appeared the Thunder had the talent to finally challenge for a post season berth and, at 2 from 2, they have already taken a big step toward that.
THE LOSERS
MELBOURNE STARS – Tough call on this one as the Hobart Hurricanes were simply awful against the Sixers on Sunday, but the Stars are 0 from 2 and, having been in strong positions in both their matches, they have quite simply blown a big chance to be on top and undefeated. Started horribly last season too and still made the semis, so certainly all is not lost for KP and co.
THE MOVERS
HOBART HURRICANES – Given only three teams have played twice and we haven’t even seen the reigning champs yet, I really have no choice but to say Hobart here. Unfortunately for the ‘Cane Train’ they are moving in the wrong direction and in danger of being derailed. I picked them to win the title and I am sticking with that for now, but the Hurricane was little more than a light north easterly on Sunday as they were simply embarrassed by the Sixers. George Bailey aside, of course.
THE HITS
USMAN KHAWAJA – A hit for not only the Thunder with what turned out be a match winning ton, but it was a win for Australian cricket as he showed he had not only recovered from his hamstring strain but also lost none of his touch. His innings of traditional and creative cricket shots was a joy to watch.
NATHAN LYON – Another big plus for Australian cricket. Has been strangely pigeonholed as a long form bowler at national level despite having initially made his name in the T20 format for South Australia. Surely that’s a thing of the past now? Put simply, he is Australia’s best spinner in all forms and his five wicket haul against Hobart proved that.
ANDRE RUSSELL – Or Dre Russ as he is known in music circles. Terrific with the ball in both Sydney Thunder’s wins and also showed glimpses of what he is capable of with the bat. Will be a crowd favourite everywhere within a couple of weeks, if he’s not already.
KEVIN PIETERSEN – In a losing side, the always entertaining Englishman/South African gave his Stars a sniff. And was arguably even better commentating his own innings for Channel 10.
THE MISSES
KUMAR SANGAKKARA – Was by no means the lone ranger in terms of Hurricanes disappointments but his first ball duck against the Sixers was such a meek dismissal for a cricketer of his experience and class. I fully expect him to make amends at the next opportunity.
TIM LUDEMAN – Tough call on Tim because he is a great bloke, an excellent bat and a fine keeper but his glove work on Friday night set a tone for the Strikers poor fielding. Was far better later in the innings but he certainly wouldn’t have been happy with his first up performance, especially after his efforts last season when he was super.
MICHAEL LUMB – Speaking of poor fielding, Lumb’s ‘effort’ in the opening game was as bad as it gets. I have no credibility when it comes to fielding after my awful drop while boundary riding a couple of season’s back but catches don’t get much easier than the one Lumb coughed up.
AARON FINCH – Dropped one only slightly tougher than Lumb’s which still should have been dead set swallowed by the Renegades skipper.
THE CRYSTAL (CRICKET) BALL
ALEX ROSS – Casual cricket observers might not have heard of Alex Ross but his innings on Friday night against the Stars was brilliant. Dubbed the ‘Sweepologist’ by Channel 10’s Damien Fleming, given his undying love of the sweep shot, Ross backed up his terrific domestic one day form with a great start to the Big Bash. Would not be surprised if he was wearing the green and gold in the white ball forms in the near future.
