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The Tasmania Tigers will be the last team to be previewed in this One Day Cup preview series for 2014.
In 2013, the Tigers finished in fourth position, just one position and one win out of the final three.
After a very shaky start to the season they eventually hit form to win three from their last four.
The Tigers have to be an odds-on chance to make the top three and play in the finals at the end of the competition. However, they do lose what are probably their four best players to the Australian tour of Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates. George Bailey, James Faulkner, Alex Doolan and Ben Hilfenhaus will all be away on national duty.
This will undoubtedly create major headaches for the boys from Tasmania. However, they do have a reasonable amount of depth and will more than likely still be a very strong side throughout the season.
Probable Best XI
1. Ben Dunk
2. Jordan Silk
3. Ed Cowan
4. Tim Paine (c) (wk)
5. Jon Wells
6. Evan Gulbis
7. Luke Butterworth
8. Sam Rainbird
9. Andrew Fekete
10. Jackson Bird
11. Xavier Doherty
Players to watch
Ben Dunk: Relatively unheard of before last year’s 20/20 big bash, Dunk burst onto the scene with a flurry of runs and boundaries as he scored a truckload of runs for the Hurricanes.
While he didn’t do much with limited opportunity in last year’s one-day season, expect him to play a massive role for the Tigers this year. If they are to go a long way expect him to play a major part at the top of the order.
Sam Rainbird: Rainbird, like Dunk, was relatively unheard of before last year’s season but he took a massive amount of wickets in the Sheffield Shield and will play a large role with the ball for the Tigers. With the likes of Faulkner and Hilfenhaus on international duty, Rainbird will become more important.
Major Strength
Their pace attack and overall bowling options. The Tigers have a lot of depth in their bowling attack. In the probable best XI listed above alone there are six bowling options with the possible option of using Wells or Dunk as a part timer.
If a bowler is having an off day there is no shortage of players who could potentially step up and take over.
Major Weakness
Top-order batting. Cowan and Silk are not known as the most aggressive batters going around meaning Dunk may have to carry the top order for the Tigers to get off to a good start. It could then in turn create massive pressure on the middle order if they were to get off to a slow start or they were to lose Dunk early.
Full Fixture List
Game 1: Tasmania vs Victoria 8th October @ Allan Border Field (Start time 9:30am)
Game 2: Western Australia vs Tasmania 11th October @ The Gabba (Start time 9:30am)
Game 3: Tasmania vs Western Australia 13th October @ North Sydney (Start time 10:00am)
Game 4: South Australia vs Tasmania 15th October @ Bankstown Oval (Start time 10:00am)
Game 5: Queensland vs Tasmania 18th October @ North Sydney (Start time 10:00am)
Game 6: New South Wales vs Tasmania 20th October @ Drummoyne (Start time 2:00pm)
Game 7: Tasmania vs South Australia 22nd October @ North Sydney (Start time 10:00am)
Series Prediction
It will be interesting to see exactly how the Tigers perform this season because there are a lot of variables. They are certainly capable however of being in the top three and playing in the finals series.
Well that raps up my One Day Cup preview series. It should be a great competition. Throughout the tournament I’ll be back with reviews on most matches and I have an eye to blog some of the games. So, remember to keep checking back here on The Roar’s cricket section for the best coverage of the Australian domestic season.