Report

Victoria finish the best in draw with Western Australia

The two Matthews - Mott and Inness - proved largely responsible for the dominance of Victoria over Western Australia in the two-day match contested between the teams at Perth's Creswell Park

David Bebb
27-Sep-2000
The two Matthews - Mott and Inness - proved largely responsible for the dominance of Victoria over Western Australia in the two-day match contested between the teams at Perth's Creswell Park.
Mott's match top score of 78 on the first day and an accurate three-wicket spell from Inness (3/21) twenty-four hours later secured the bragging rights in a game that was always headed for a draw.
Victorian captain Paul Reiffel's correct call at the toss on day one laid the platform for a solid six hours of batting, at the end of which the visitors finished at a score of 6/318. Before finally succumbing to the bowling of Stuart Karppinen (2/53) twenty minutes before tea, Mott was the dominant player, accumulating runs cleverly and featuring in one fine partnership of sixty-two runs for the fourth wicket with youngster Michael Klinger (47). Klinger also played well and it was only an excellent intercept - by Marcus North at deep backward square leg - of a firmly struck hook shot that denied him what would have been a deserved half century. Ben Oliver (51*) then added some impressive finishing touches before an overnight declaration duly came.
For the Western Australians, Karppinen was probably the best of the bowlers, an impression underlined by his return of two wickets. Chris Mason (1/16) was another who performed well - he was not only responsible for removing Klinger but also bowled his ten overs economically.
On the second day, it was Inness who made the biggest impression. His pace and movement accounted for the aggressive Ryan Campbell (0) almost immediately, and he continued to bowl well throughout. Making particular use of the fast outfield through point and extra cover, Murray Goodwin (66) was meanwhile the Warriors' most effective contributor. Before being caught at a widish third slip by Shawn Craig off Inness again, the experienced right hander played a well controlled innings.
Veteran Brad Hogg (48) was another to do well for the home team, the only six of the innings being included in his fine knock. North (34), Mike Hussey (27) and Scott Meuleman (26) all started well but failed to go on with the job. Complementing Inness' left arm pace, Mick Lewis (2/52) and Simon Dart (2/7) also bowled well for the Victorians. As it had become more than obvious by then that no result could be achieved, stumps were drawn half an hour before the scheduled finishing time
Although the outfield was a little lush in places, the pitch was in fantastic condition throughout the match. Western Australian coach Wayne Clark provided confirmation of this when he revealed that his team was delighted with the way in which the ball had come on to the bat. All credit must go to the ground staff for this outcome, especially when one considers that they were given notice only a week before the match that they needed to alter it from a hockey field to a cricket ground!
While the fact that both sides were missing some high profile players (Victoria surrendered spinners Shane Warne and Colin Miller to injury while the Western Australians were without the Kenya-bound Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn) detracted from its profile, this was nonetheless an entertaining and hard-fought match.