Ex-teammates give Comets the Blues

Ex-Comets batsmen Mark Higgs and Brad Haddin returned to Canberra to give their former teammates a lesson as New South Wales won by 118 runs in a rain shortened Mercantile Mutual Cup match at Manuka Oval today.

Haddin, who last year scored 133 off 124 balls for the Comets against Victoria on the same ground, began in a similar aggressive mood and raced to 50 off 38 balls, the fastest half century in domestic one-day competition thus far this year. The innings was punctuated with a variety of superbly timed drives lofted safely in the area over mid off and mid on, and from front foot drives through cover and mid wicket.

Although former NSW paceman Anthony Stuart took 3-24 in a seven-over opening spell for the Comets, he lacked an effective partner from the other end, with the Comets minus injured regular bowlers Jason Voros and Lee Hansen. With the base provided by Haddin's blistering innings, man of the match Mark Higgs was able to take advantage of occasional loose deliveries by the rest of the attack and his 77 from 75 balls was risk free until he ran himself out at the end of the innings.

With half an hour lost to rain during the Blues innings of 9/252, the match was reduced to 47 overs per side and the Comets' target increased to 255 under the Duckworth/Lewis system. With the target a forbidding 5.42 runs per over, the accurate unchanged ten over spell of NSW opening bowler Don Nash yielded 3 wickets for 31 as the Comets batsman tried and failed to increase the run-rate. Only captain Rod Tucker was able to briefly lift the rate against NSW spinners Jamie Stewart (in his first match since transferring from Western Australia) and Gavin Robertson, and the Comets crashed to the worst defeat in their brief existence.

The inability to keep talented players such as Haddin, Higgs, and Michael Bevan will make this competition a continued struggle for the Comets. It is difficult to see how they can be competitive if players must leave to play the extended game and achieve their dream of playing Test Cricket.