The Victoria, runners-up of the domestic Twenty20 competition last season, will represent Australia in the 12-team T20 Champions League from October 8 to 23.
It’s not surprising state team is enthusiastic about the event, which features a staggering first prize of $US2.5 million ($A3.0 million).
Victoria players are very focused on this tournament for the financial rewards and also for the opportunity to put themselves in the shop window for a possible IPL contract.
Team Composition:
Victoria has a strong squad led by Cameron White, although they’ll be without left-arm quick Dirk Nannes who has been purchased by his IPL team the Delhi Daredevils for the transfer fee of $US200,000.
Cameron White is a very good striker o fthe ball, though he has yet to produce an innings of substance at the international level. He has a reputation of big hitter. Brad Hodge who has the most runs by any player in this format with 2288 runs under his belt is the Vice-captain of the side, has played 68 T20 matches which is also the highest number of matches by any player in this format.
They also have a very good bowling lineup with Bryce McGain leads the spin bowling. He will be very handy is the slow wickets of India. Peter siddle who is playing in Champions Trophy got accalades from all quaters for his superlative performance.
Victorians are starting Champions League as one of the favourites for the trophy.They are certainly dynamites to watch out for in this explosive Twenty20 format of the game.
Victoria has won 16 matches out of 20 matched they had played so far.
Victoria Squad:
Cameron White (capt), Brad Hodge, Peter Siddle, David Hussey, Andrew McDonald, Jon Holland, Clint McKay, Rob Quiney, Matthew Wade, Aiden Blizzard, Aaron Finch, Shane Harwood, John Hastings, Damien Wright, Bryce McGain.
Players’ Profile:
Cameron White:
Cameron White is Nagging legspinner, and aggressive middle-order batman. Indeed White is a peculiarly legspinner, tall and robust, relying on changes of pace and a handy wrong’un rather than prodigious turn or flight. He can even start a spell with an offspinner or quicker ball.
Major teams: Australia, Australia A, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Somerset, Victoria
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Legbreak googly
Aaron Finch:
He is a solidly-built, aggressive batsman. Aaron Finch made his first-class debut against the touring Indians in December 2007. In 2008-09 he made five FR Cup and five Twenty20 appearances with little impact but his powerful striking earned him a place in Victoria’s Champions League Twenty20 squad.
Major teams: Australia Under-19s, Victoria, Victoria Under-15s, Victoria Under-17s, Victoria Under-19s
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Left-arm medium
John Hastings:
He is a tall allrounder who combines right-arm fast-medium bowling with strong lower-order batting. John Hastings has made a solid start to his state career over the past two seasons. Hastings impressed with the ball in his first one-day games and grabbed three wickets in six deliveries on debut in 2007-08.
Major teams: New South Wales Second XI, New South Wales Under-17s, New South Wales Under-19s, Victoria
Playing role: All-rounder
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
Jon Holland:
He is a left-arm orthodox spinner. He made his initial appearances for Victoria early in 2008-09 when Bryce McGain was injured and Cameron White was in India with the Test squad. A former sports science student, he was upgraded to a full Victoria contract for 2009-10 after three years on the rookie list.
Major teams: Australia A, Australia Under-19s, Australian Institute of Sports, Carlton, Victoria, Victoria Second XI
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox
Andrew McDonald:
Andrew McDonald is a useful allrounder. McDonald does not have the star quality of Flintoff, Symonds or Watson, but he showed Ricky Ponting he could be an important role player with the ball. He started at the SCG batting at No. 6 and quickly lost his helmet – but not his head – after receiving a Morne Morkel bouncer.
Major teams: Australia, Delhi Daredevils, Victoria
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
Clint McKay:
Clint McKay was one of the key members of Victoria’s triumphant Sheffield Shield side. McKay’s 33 wickets at 21.42 meant he was sixth on the competition tally, which was a strong performance in an attack boasting impressive pace depth. McKay picked up his maiden five-wicket haul and collected 3 for 35 in the final, while also grabbing 12 FR Cup wickets at 34.58.
Major teams: Australia A, Victoria, Victoria Second XI
Playing role: Bowler
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
Peter Siddle:
Peter Siddle made a lasting mark in 2008-09 as he stepped up from promising domestic bowler to a speedster who could be part of Australia’s attack for years. Picked for the tour of India, he made his debut in Mohali and hit Gautam Gambhir in the head with his first ball.
Major teams: Australia, Australia A, Victoria
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
Damien Wright:
Wright’s originally from New South Wales, he moved to Tasmania in 1997-98 and has also played for Scotland in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy, made eight Australia A appearances and had stints with two counties. His 2004-05 home summer was excellent – he picked up 39 wickets at 31.35 and 534 runs in the Pura Cup – and he then headed to Northamptonshire, where he combined 53 wickets with 609 runs. However, the extra workload hurt his back and he sat out most of 2005-06 and the start of 2006-07. He signed with Glamorgan for 2007; on the understanding he would not be overworked.
Major teams: Scotland, Glamorgan, Northamptonshire, Sussex, Tasmania, Victoria
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
Aiden Blizzard:
In his Twenty20 debut, Blizzard thumped 89 from 38 balls – his half-century took 23 deliveries – as he cleared the Adelaide Oval ropes eight times. He had made his FR Cup debut in 2005-06 and added five more games the next season, earning a senior contract for 2007-08.
Major teams: Victoria
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Left-arm medium
Shane Harwood:
Following an eventful 2006-07 during which he made his Twenty20 international debut, and a quieter and less productive summer in 2007-08, Shane Harwood was back to strong form in 2008-09. He managed only five Sheffield Shield games for 13 wickets – and he played in Victoria’s successful final – but he was the leading wicket taker in the FR Cup with 24 at 16.25 and again was a dangerous Twenty20 bowler. That form earned him a surprise limited-overs call-up for Australia in South Africa, where he added two Twenty20s to his resume and at 35 became Australia’s third oldest ODI debutant.
Major teams: Australia, Rajasthan Royals, Victoria
Playing role: Bowler
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
Brad Hodge:
In 2006-07 he smashed 765 Pura Cup runs at 85.00 to force himself into the one-day side when Ricky Ponting rested, but two failures put him in danger of immediate demotion until Andrew Symonds suffered an arm injury. His unfortunate streak remained only in that he was stranded on 99 not out when he hit the winning runs against New Zealand and was then one hefty shot out of reach when he posted an unbeaten 97 in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.
Major teams: Australia, Durham, Kolkata Knight Riders, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Victoria
Playing role: Higher middle order batsman
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak
David Hussey:
David Hussey has copied his sibling’s talent for ridiculous scoring in the English county competition. It took his first 1000-run season in 2007-08 before he was finally chosen for a tour, the ODI series in the West Indies in 2008, and earned his first Cricket Australia contract. Earlier in that summer he made his Twenty20 international debut against India.
Major teams: Australia, Australia A, Kolkata Knight Riders, Nottinghamshire, Sussex Cricket Board, Victoria
Playing role: Lower middle order batsman
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak
Bryce McGain:
At 36 he became Australia’s oldest Test debutant since Bob Holland, McGain struggled to find the right length and was treated harshly to finish with match figures of 0 for 149, and his hopes of further international action had faded. The previous season McGain was the leading Pura Cup spinner, with 38 wickets at 34.15, and the equal highest FR Cup wicket-taker.
Major teams: Australia, Denmark, Victoria
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Legbreak googly
Rob Quiney:
A talented left-hand batsman, Rob Quiney broke through for his maiden first-class century in 2008-09, when he made 127 against Queensland in the second match of the season. It was a productive summer for Quiney, who scored 503 Sheffield Shield runs at 38.69, along with 428 runs in the FR Cup at 38.90 and 185 in the Twenty20 competition, and he played in all three finals.
Major teams: Rajasthan Royals, Victoria
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
Matthew Wade:
Matthew Wade walked straight into Victoria’s Pura Cup team after transferring from Tasmania in the 2007 off-season and immediately made an impact, scoring 83 and pouching six catches in his first-class debut.
Major teams: Clarence, Tasmania, Tasmania Institute of Sport, Tasmania Under-19s, Tasmania Under-19s, Victoria
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Fielding position: Wicketkeeper
Author: Mona Gupta, New Delhi
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