Matthew Short firmly reinforced his white-ball credentials with a polished half-century, while pace bowler Mitchell Perry delivered a devastating spell of seam bowling as Victoria secured a comprehensive 138-run bonus-point victory over Tasmania in their One-Day Cup encounter in Hobart.
Sent in to bat under overcast skies at Blundstone Arena, Victoria posted a competitive total of 304 for 7 from their full complement of 50 overs. However, intermittent rain during the innings break altered the complexion of the match. Tasmania’s run chase was interrupted and subsequently revised via the DLS method, leaving the hosts with a daunting target of 276 runs from 35 overs to secure an unlikely victory.
The revised target required a brisk scoring rate of nearly eight runs per over from the outset, a challenge that proved entirely beyond a struggling Tasmanian batting lineup. From the very first exchanges of the reply, Tasmania were never remotely in the hunt. They quickly slumped to a dismal 40 for 4, effectively ending any realistic prospect of a successful chase inside the first ten overs.
The architectural ruin of the Tasmanian innings was engineered by Victoria paceman Mitchell Perry, who produced a sensational exhibition of disciplined seam and swing bowling. Perry struck decisive early blows by removing two top-order batsmen for just six runs in his opening five-over spell, immediately dismantling the hosts’ top order. Returning later to wrap up the tail, the Player of the Match finished with astonishing figures of 4 for 9 from his six overs.
Tasmania were ultimately bundled out for just 137 runs in 25.2 overs. The lone resistance of any note came from opening batsman Caleb Jewell, who fought a lone battle at the other end while wickets tumbled rapidly around him. Jewell carried his bat through the innings, finishing unbeaten on 47, but found virtually no support from his teammates as Victoria’s bowling attack hunted in packs.
The fixture also marked a notable return for Australia T20 star Tim David, who made his first List A appearance for Tasmania since 2021. David has made clear his ambitions to force his way back into the Australian One-Day International setup ahead of next year’s 50-over World Cup. However, his comeback match unfolded under the worst possible circumstances.
Arriving at the crease after the rain break with the required run rate already skyrocketing past ten runs per over, David was thrust into a high-pressure situation on a hiding to nothing. His stay at the crease was short-lived as he was dismissed for just 13 runs, falling victim to debutant quick Matt Hennig, who celebrated his maiden List A wicket amidst the Tasmanian collapse.
Before the weather intervened, Victoria’s innings had been anchored expertly by Matthew Short at the top of the order. The 30-year-old top-scored with a fluent 70 runs from 91 deliveries, playing a mature knock that served as a timely reminder of his immense talents to the national selection panel. Short has endured a turbulent run of form in recent 50-over international fixtures for Australia. His international career has experienced a distinct rollercoaster phase recently, highlighted by a sequence of three consecutive ducks against Pakistan and Bangladesh, which immediately followed a productive patch where he notched three half-centuries in seven consecutive innings for his country.
Victoria’s innings had been given critical early impetus through a partnership at the top. Short combined with Thomas Rogers in an aggressive 92-run stand that came at better than a run-a-ball, laying a solid foundation for the visitors. That momentum was successfully maintained when Campbell Kellaway joined Short at the crease, with the pair forging a crucial 79-run partnership for the second wicket that kept the scoreboard ticking over at a healthy rate.
For the 23-year-old Kellaway, the innings represented an opportunity to find consistency and potentially serve as a turning point for his domestic season. Regarded by judges as a prospect with the potential to play Test cricket for Australia in the future, Kellaway has experienced difficulties turning his obvious technical ability into big scores in the Sheffield Shield competition. He managed just 70 runs across four innings in the early stages of the summer and a total of only two runs for Australia A in their matches against India A. Last summer, he accumulated 506 runs at an average of 26.78, including a solitary century.
Despite his recent struggles in longer-form domestic cricket, Kellaway’s pedigree is well-documented. He famously played an accomplished, unbeaten knock of 105 back in 2022 while representing a Cricket Australia XI against a formidable South Africa Test bowling attack that featured Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, and Anrich Nortje—an innings that offered a clear glimpse of the significant talent he possesses.
Against Tasmania, Kellaway contributed significantly to Victoria’s total, ably supported by veteran Peter Handscomb, who chipped in with a handy and brisk cameo lower down the order to push the total past the 300-run mark.
Armed with a formidable total of 304, Victoria’s bowling attack backed up their batsmen to the hilt, utilizing the helpful overhead conditions and scoreboard pressure to dismantle Tasmania’s top order before Perry and the rest of the bowling unit ruthlessly finished the job. The comprehensive bonus-point win moves Victoria into a strong position in the One-Day Cup standings, while Tasmania are left to regroup following a humbling defeat on home turf.
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