The Queensland Bulls have registered the highest ever run chase in Australian Domestic Cricket history, chasing down the equally impressive Tasmanian Tigers total of 1/398 with 16 balls to spare at North Sydney Oval on Saturday afternoon.
Ben Dunk scored the first ever double century in Australian domestic history, finishing with 229 not out at the completion of 50 overs. Dunk’s innings included a staggering 14 boundaries and 15 sixes, coming off only 157 balls at a strike rate of 145.86.
Dunk was provided the perfect support for his monster innings by opening parter Tim Paine who scored an excellent 125 from 127 balls only to be caught after hitting out against Bulls paceman Peter George. On a tough day for the bowlers, George finished with a humbling 1/101 from 10 overs.
The Tasmanian innings was the third highest total in the competitions history, and the Tigers could be forgiven for thinking that it was enough to win the match. This was not the case however, as Queensland openers Usman Khawaja and Chris Hartley took to the Tasmanian Tigers bowling attack.
Khawaja hit 166 from 110 balls, including 18 fours and 7 sixes at a whopping strike rate of 150.91. Hartley chimed in with a century of his own (142 from 120 balls) in a combined first wicket total of 280 for the pair.
Three of the five highest scores in the Australian domestic competition were recorded on a wicket and ground that begs to be hit, with short boundaries and even, pacey wickets.
Queensland Bulls team-mate Cameron Boyce tweeted a picture of the openers using the hash tag #neverindoubt. While the ground produces high-scoring matches, the efforts of the batsmen will no doubt be noticed by Australian selectors for the upcoming Summer season.
With the crowds favouring Test Cricket and the financially bombarded Big Bash League, the One Day Domestic Cup has felt the impact of dwindling crowd numbers. More games at smaller grounds have produced some spectacular results in the hope that crowds may invest more interest in what is now more of a ‘pre-season’ competition.
The final of the Matador Cup will be played on the 26th of October and will be available on free-to-air channels.
