Having had to wait an extra week to start their bid for another Sheffield Shield title, the Queensland Bulls are set to make an early charge against Tasmania.
If the Queensland Bulls needed any extra incentive to make a strong start to their Sheffield Shield title defence, it has been provided to them by Tasmania.
The teams were supposed to meet in Brisbane last week but after the first’s day play was postponed due to four Covid-19 cases in Queensland, the Tasmanians made the decision to fly home rather than stay put for the likelihood of the match starting the following day.
It led to the game being abandoned and rescheduled to this week at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide.
To say that the Bulls are eager for the start of the game on Thursday would be an understatement.
“We were ready to play cricket last week and we should have played cricket last week,” Queensland coach Wade Seccombe said.
“The Queensland government has shown the way when it comes to holding sport events during the pandemic.
“An NRL grand final was played at Suncorp Stadium in front of almost 40,000 people on Sunday night.
“There’s plenty of nervous energy in this group that we want to get out of us – we’re ready for it.”
Seccombe hopes to settle on his 11 by Wednesday, with the Bulls having brought a 16-man squad to Adelaide, where they will also play South Australia next week.
Captained by Usman Khawaja, the squad includes Test star Marnus Labuschagne, fellow key batsmen Joe Burns and Matt Renshaw, as well as the best bowler yet to play Test cricket for Australia, Michael Neser.
“He’s a leader in our group,” Seccombe said of Neser.
“He commands so much respect from everyone, and he’s one of the most humble guys you will ever meet.”
Despite the strength of Queensland’s squad, Seccombe said the Bulls would “have to get better” to successfully defend their Shield crown.
“We need to strengthen in all areas,” he said.
Bulls squad: Usman Khawaja (c), James Bazley, Joe Burns, Blake Edwards, Sam Heazlett, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Lachlan Pfeffer, Matthew Renshaw, Gurinder Sandhu, Mark Steketee, Bryce Street, Connor Sully, Jack Wildermuth.
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