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The importance of protecting home-grown talent

Roar Guru
23rd December, 2014
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The Brisbane Bandits and Canberra Cavalry shared a hard fought series 2-2 last weekend, but only after the ABL upheld an appeal from the Bandits regarding a Cavalry rule breach in Friday night’s epic Game 1 encounter.

The Cavalry were accused of being in violation of ABL Rule 5 after winning the series opener 11-4 after a marathon 13 innings.

Rule 5 governs the number of home-grown players on the park, and states that there must be at least four Australian defensive players on the field at any one time.

The Cavalry breached this rule in the bottom of the eighth inning through to the end of the game, prompting the protest by Bandits manager Gary Nilsson.

On Sunday, the Bandits salvaged the series by winning the final game of their last homestand of 2014 thanks to an inspired hitting display by import player Maxx Tissenbaum. The Canadian catcher hit two home runs and three RBIs (with a batting average of 0.800) as the Bandits recorded a come-from-behind, 10-3 victory in oppressively hot conditions at Holloway Field.

After giving up three runs in the first innings, starting pitcher Jaspreet Shergill found his distinctive, shoulder-wiggling groove, and with the help of four relievers, kept the Cavalry’s big hitters scoreless for the remainder of the game.

Shergill’s quality this season is known across the league, and he was recognised as the recipient of the fans’ ‘Final Vote’ for the last spot on the World All-Star roster for last Wednesdays ABL All-Star game Melbourne. He joined ten of his Bandits teammates in the game, four of whom played for Team Australia in their 11-8 victory over the World All-Star Team.

Sunday’s result was key for the Bandits after they dropped both games of Saturday’s double-header. The men from the nation’s capital hit five home runs off Team Australia’s starting pitcher from the All-Star game, Ryan Searle, on their way to a 6-1 victory in the first of the games.

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After going ahead early in the second of Saturdays matches, the Bandits went down again, this time by a score of 8-2 after an impressive fourth and fifth innings brought in five runs.

Despite witnessing a thrilling series with plenty of action on the park, the main story to come out of the weekend was Canberra’s rule violation in Game 1.

On Tuesday morning, the ABL upheld the Bandit’s protest, awarding them the game by default. This meant the series was split, and the Bandits (16-12) consolidated second on the ladder, three games behind pacesetters, the Adelaide Bite (19-9) and two games ahead of the Cavalry (14-14).

It’s rarely popular for results to be settled by off-field administrators as opposed to on the field, as Australian Formula One fans can attest after Daniel Riccardo was denied a podium at Albert Park earlier this year. However, this is a case where it is important the rules are upheld.

If the game is to grow locally, local players need to know there is a route into the ABL (and beyond) that will not be obstructed by import players sent over for game time by their parent franchises. It’s also important that the growing number of fans have home-town heroes to root for.

Having to field four Australian players at all times is tough for ABL teams, who rely heavily on imported players to ensure the high quality of the league and roster depth.

As such, half of the Bandits’ 24-man roster is made up of overseas players, while 59 per cent of the Cavalry line up is listed as being imports.

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But as was proven in Wednesday’s All-Star game, Australia’s home grown players are certainly able to match the quality of the import players, so there should be no excuse for breaching these vital rules.

Despite the off-field controversy, there was plenty of on-field action to satisfy the healthy crowd, with huge power hitting, quality pitching, coaching blowups and even some calamitous errors.

Most fans of the ABL should also be appeased by the decision reached by the ABL regarding the rule breach, proving that the administrators have enough courage to uphold the rules that are specifically in place to protect the development of the league.

The ABL ladder remains evenly poised, and with matches over the Christmas/New Year break, there is plenty of action for fans to sink their teeth into.

On the 27th, ladder leaders Adelaide (19-9) will travel to third placed Canberra (14-14) while bottom side Melbourne (10-18) head west to reigning champions Perth (13-15). The Bandits (16-12) face cross-border rivals Sydney (12-16) on Boxing Day in Sydney.

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