Ryobi Cup

Two more games were played in the domestic one day series over the weekend with Queensland and South Australia both continuing in the winning habit.

At Mackay, Queensland prevailed by five runs over Tasmania in a game that wasn't as close as it seemed. The bottom half of the Tigers order kept fighting but were always going to be a handful of runs short, despite last minute hitting from Jason Krejza and good hands from Gulbis, Johnston and Faulkner. Alister McDermott caused the real damage at the startof the innings removing George Bailey and Mark Cosgrove.

Earlier, Ryan Broad and Nathan Reardon had been the main contributors, with the middle order man Reardon remaining not out as he kept Queensland going forward despite the valuable loss of four wickets in as many overs at the two thirds mark. Peter Forest had also looked in good touch making 35 as acting captain.

At the Adelaide Oval, it was an game of oddities. Spin bowlers opened the bowling (Michael Beer for WA and Nathan Lyon for SA) in what must have been a weekend craze, for Jason Krejza did the same for Tasmania. Two batsmen scored centuries in batting lineups that otherwise failed.

The Sandgropers batted first at Michael Klinger's request and even though the Lyon experiment went off without a roar, Putland, Christian and Bailey were all over them like flies on a stockman's hat. At 7-123, the innings was in tatters with 14 overs left. Luke Ronchi then launched an amazing counter attack, supported by ex Qlder Nathan Rimmington who certainly not the worst of tailenders. Ronchi's century was in stark contrast with the heavy weights that had gone before as Marcus North, Adam Vogues and Travis Burt all failed. The 8th wicket pair added 110 in 80 balls to give South Australia something to chase.

Beer struck dividends with the first ball of the South Australian innings, trapping Daniel Harris lbw but Klinger and Callum Ferguson steadied things adding 62. Cameron Borgus added a further 52 with Ferguson for the 4th wicket but the Redbacks were wearing the wobbly boot at 8-170 after Beer again put the skids under the innings with two wickets in four deliveries. In a match which had swung this way and that, Western Australia should have won it from there but didn't because of the class of Ferguson and some adventurous hitting from the No 10, Nathan Lyon, including a big six from Rimmington to win the game after a partnership of 65. Ferguson, who batted for all but one ball of the innings, played a superb knock, proof that one day cricket can produce innings of class.