About the Match
South Australia registered an emphatic win by 6 wickets against Queensland to garner a total of 39.1 points and reach the 2nd position on the table; they will play against New South Wales, who are placed 4th with 34.15, on 7th March at Sydney. NSW has drawn the last two matches against Tasmania and Queensland, and are desperate for a win here; they have earlier lost against South Australia by 2 wickets, and will be determined to avenge that defeat here next week. South Australia on the other hand seems to be a tough side that will post a stiff challenge to keep the lead.
New South Wales
Ed Cowan, Moises Henriques and Peter Nevill have been in good form, scoring the big runs and helping the team post stiff targets with the bat. While Henriques posted a gigantic 265 against Queensland recently to help them declare at 603, Nevill’s unbeaten 143 and good knocks by Patterson and Larkin, shows the depth in their batting line-up. Cowan’s 115 off 205 at a time when no other batsman could stand firmly and build steady partnerships, took them to a respectable 253 against Tasmania, and they went on to draw the match in the end.
A good show by spinner Somerville, who took 8 wickets in the first innings against Queensland, helped them defend 603. Others like Arjun Nair, speedsters Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger and Copeland contained the opponents but they could only finish in a draw. Against Tasmania too Somerville put up a tremendous show, taking 5 wickets at an economy of just above 3 runs per over; Bollinger contributed well with 3 wickets while Conway and Henriques provided one breakthrough each to help draw the match.
Overall, they have a good mix of experienced batsmen and bowlers, who can try to put up a more challenging total against South Australia this time around.
South Australia
Spinner Adam Zampa was the lead wicket-taker against Queensland in the recent match, taking a total of 10 wickets and restricting the opposition to 200+ runs in both innings and getting them all-out. He has been in superb form and could prove to be deadly here in the upcoming match too. Medium pacer Chadd Sayers also supported with 4 wickets while Worrall, speedster Kane Richardson and all-rounder Travis Head add variety to the attack.
Cooper, who scored an unbeaten 119 against Queensland in the 2nd innings, and Lehmann, who scored a well-made half-century in the first innings, kept the runs flowing with the bat and helped win the match by 6 wickets. Against Victoria however, they faltered during the chase for 313 runs in the 2nd innings and were all-out for just 188 runs; they lost the match by a massive 124 runs after players like Head, Lehmann, Weatherald, Cooper and Ferguson failed to impress with the bat.
The bowlers had found great success against the NSW batsmen previously with Sayers being the lead wicket-taker with 8 wickets while Richardson finished with 6; with Zampa adding precision to the attack, South Australia surely can prove to be a formidable force to reckon with here.
Our Prediction
South Australia players have received a morale boost with the recent win, making them even more determined to keep the momentum going; NSW on the other hand is fighting for survival. While the contest could swing either way, we feel that South Australia’s brutal in-form bowling makes it better placed to win again
