QSL vs VAC Match Preview
The Victorian team played its last game in the Sheffield Shield against Western Australia in Pert. The understudy bowling attack used by Western Australians beat them by an innings and fifty-three runs. This big defeat would have taken a dent in the confidence level of Victorian players. This game was a rematch of the last two finals of the Sheffield Trophy. The Western Australians displayed that they knew how to beat Victorians once again. It was a lackluster performance by Victoria. Their bowlers went wicketless on day one and never recovered.
But there was one positive to have come out of the game for Victoria. It was the return of Will Pucovski to their ranks from a long absence. Another good thing to have emerged from the game for Victoria was the gritty batting from Mitch Perry on the last day of the game. He commented that they were getting sick of losing to Western Australians and it was motivation enough to keep batting as long as he could. He scored 43 runs from 173 balls. The second innings for Victoria ended just after lunch with both Perry and the skipper Will Sutherland kept continually blocking rather than trying to look for runs before getting out.
The Queensland team played their last game against New South Wales. But injuries to Jack Edwards and Hayden Kerr left the NSW bowling attack without teeth on the last day of their game against Queensland. The Queensland batters succeeded in taking a hard-fought draw on the last day of the game. Back-to-back hundreds from Jimmy Peirson and Michael Neser helped the Queenslanders reach 417 for 7 on 4th day of the competition earning a draw. Queenslanders were off to an awful start to the game conceding a 270-run first-innings lead to the NSW.
However, they were defiant in their second innings at the venue of Cricket Central at the Sydney Olympic Park. Pierson and Neser were involved in a gritty rearguard action putting together 200 runs for the 6th wickets. This was followed by Gurinder Sandhu and Jack Wildermuth seeing out the last session with an unbeaten stand of 52 runs. Usman Khawaja, the skipper of Queensland agreed later that they had to fight out for a draw. They were not in contention for a victory but they put up one heck of a fight to register a draw.
Weather Report
The weather in MacKay is likely to be nice and sunny throughout the 4 days of the contest.
Pitch Report
The last game played at the Great Barrier Reef was an unofficial test match between the New Zealand A team and the Australia A team. This game was the 2nd match of the series and was played last month. It was a low-scoring game and Australia A was set a medium-sized target of scoring 302 runs for winning the game. However, they were bowled out for a score of 233 runs. Any skipper winning the toss will opt to bat first in the game and will look to score close to 350 runs in the inning.
The wicket on offer at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in MacKay will be conducive for stroke play and batters are likely to enjoy the conditions. Seamers will not get too much lateral movement on this ground. But they must try and get a good bounce and carry. The good fast bowlers can enjoy these conditions and trouble the new batsmen at the crease. After the batters have settled, they can score big on this track.
Notable stats
Michael Neser has a great record with both bat and ball for Queensland.
Michael Neser has scored 514 runs from his last 12 innings and he has also picked up 40 wickets in the period.
The right-handed batter Peter Handscomb has a good batting average in recent games.
Peter Handscomb has scored 525 runs in his last 10 appearances with an average of 58.33.
Team News
There will be some changes in the sides that played the first game of the competition for both outfits. Usman Khawaja will miss this game and so will Will Pucovski. There are some other injury concerns are there that will need to be addressed for both teams. But they will be hoping to get these problems sorted out before the start of this contest.
QSL vs VAC Probable 11
QSL Playing 11
- Bryce Street
- Matt Renshaw
- Joe Burns
- Ben McDermott
- Jack Clayton
- Jimmy Peirson (C)
- Michael Neser
- Jack David Wildermuth
- Gurinder Sandhu
- Mark Steketee
- Mitchell Swepson
VAC Playing 11
- Travis Dean
- Matthew Short
- Campbell Kellaway
- Peter Handscomb
- Jonathan Merlo
- Will Sutherland (C)
- Sam Harper (Wk)
- Mitchell Perry
- Fergus O Neill
- Todd Murphy
- Scott Boland
Dream11 Prediction
In the last 5 contests between Queensland and Victoria, Victoria has succeeded in winning two games while Queensland has succeeded in winning one. The remaining couple of games ended in draws. Both these sides have assembled well-balanced sides in the season. But Victoria appears to have a better team man-to-man and so, has a stronger unit between the two teams. The Queensland bowling attack doesn’t appear to be threatening and can cost them dearly on a flat wicket. However, Queensland did a better job in their last matches by getting a draw. We will bet with Queensland to win this contest and improve their position in the points table.
Top Picks
Michael Neser: Michael Neser has a great all-round record for Queensland with 514 runs and 40 wickets from his last 12 matches for them.
Matthew Short: Short has scored 608 runs from his last 14 matches with an average of 46.76 for Victoria.
Peter Handscomb: Handscomb has scored 525 runs from his last 10 appearances for Victoria with an average of 58.33.
Will Sutherland: The medium-fast bowler for Victoria has picked up a haul of 40 wickets from his last 17 innings with an average of 19.60.
QSL vs VAC Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: P Handscomb
Batters: M Harris, T Dean
All-rounders: M Neser (C), M Renshaw (VC), J Wildermuth, W Sutherland
Bowlers: G Sandhu, S Boland, M Swepson, M Perry
