Matador Cup carnival heads west

Slowly but surely, the Matador Cup’s national footprint is expanding again. Its New South Wales-centric schedule has been a source of considerable angst among other teams since the tournament was moved to an early season carnival format three years ago, but a smattering of matches in Perth and Brisbane this year mean the Blues will not be the only team playing at home.

Last season’s competition was affected by the cancellation of Australia’s Bangladesh tour for security reasons, meaning it was contested by full strength teams across all six states. This time around the scenario is rather different: not only is the Australian ODI team on tour in South Africa, but numerous bowlers, notably Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, are absent injured or resting.

This means a knock-on effect for numerous states, most notably South Australia. The reward for emergent displays in both the Matador Cup and the Sheffield Shield last year mean than no fewer than four first-choice Rednecks – Travis Head, Adam Zampa, Daniel Worrall and Joe Mennie – are in South Africa. The coach Jamie Siddons has acknowledged the challenge ahead.

“We feel ready despite missing bowlers from last year’s attack and it’s going to be difficult without them,” Siddons said. “But we have a couple of young guys that have some tricks in their repertoire. It’s not going to be easy or the same, we have to find another way of doing it with different types of players and we’re ready and aiming for similar success.

“I think it’s really exciting watching the young guys play …

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