VAC vs QSL 19th Match Prediction

VAC vs QSL Team Previews

Victoria

For the 2022/23 season in the Sheffield Shield, Victoria currently has one win, two losses, and three draws, while sitting in fourth place on the ladder. The state ended 2022 with a strong 69-run win over NSW.

The biggest news is that 23-year-old allrounder, Will Sutherland, will be captaining the side in the absence of Handscomb. While Sutherland wasn’t too exciting for the Melbourne Renegades during the BBL season, he is solid in SS games, averaging 20.03 runs with the bat and has a 2.68 ER with the ball.

We know that the squad has a reliable batter with Marcus Harris (9,242 total runs in the SS), but we’re highly interested to see what more Sam Harper can do. He was great in the BBL for the Renegades, but also averaged 27.11 in the Sheffield Shield. Victoria will need talented batters like him to defeat a tough side such as Queensland.

Apart from Sutherland, the other bowler to watch is Fergus O’Neill, as despite only playing in seven SS innings, he’s already picked up 10 wickets and given up 330 runs (ER of 2.97). With Boland and Murphy out, it’ll be up to O’Neill to secure wickets and keep the Queensland batters from finding their shots at the MCG.

Queensland

The Queenslanders had a decent Sheffield Shield effoer by winning two games, losing one, and drawing three. The last game of the year was a draw with Western Australia and the state is second on the ladder.

The squad will be without several players due to the Oz Test commitments, including bowler Mitchell Swepson, and batters Matthew Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, and Marnus Labuschagne. Even without their usual star batters, QL has a roster full of great batsmen, with the likes of Joe Burns, Bryce Street, and Jimmy Peirson all capable of picking up a century in the Sheffield Shield.

Street is somewhat of an up-and-comer but there’s a lot of potential there. Burns has a proven record, as he’s made 9,252 runs in 259 SS innings so far. Peirson struggled a bit during the BBL, but he does average 33.85 in Sheffield Shield cricket.

QL is full of fantastic bowlers who all featured heavily in the BBL, like Mark Steketee and James Bazley. However, none will be more important than pacer Michael Neser, who was instrumental in helping the Brisbane Heat reach the BBL Final.

Neser finished with 26 wickets, including a great spell of 4/35 in one match. He already has 312 wickets in his Sheffield Shield career and he’s by far the deadliest bowler in Queensland.