Debutant Stevenson bowls Redbacks out of tournament

Tasmania fast bowler Cameron Stevenson picked up five wickets on debut at Hurstville Oval to prevent South Australia from reaching the Matador Cup finals. Needing to win with a bonus point in order to reach the elimination final, the Redbacks were set a tall order with a target of 296 that would need to be reached inside 40 overs.

South Australia did their best to ensure their tempo was up to standard, opener and captain Travis Head racing to 35 from 18 balls and Tom Cooper making 63 off 65, and gave themselves a chance if they could keep enough wickets in hand.

But Stevenson claimed the wickets of Jake Weatherald and Jake Lehmann and then ran through the tail as the Redbacks were bowled out for 267 in the 39th over.

Earlier, contributions from Alex Doolan (79), Dom Michael (57), Tim Paine (44) and Ben McDermott (44) pushed the Tigers to 7 for 295 from their 50 overs.

Tasmania finished fifth on the tournament table and South Australia sixth, and the elimination final will now be played between New South Wales and Victoria for a place in the decider against Queensland.