Tasmania 270 for 5 (Jewell 105, Owen 48, Wakim 44*, Sutherland 2-45) beat Victoria 266 for 9 (Rogers 68, Harper 50, Elliott 46*, Webster 2-41) by five wickets
Mitchell Owen unleashed some more fireworks and Caleb Jewell cracked a sparkling century to lead Tasmania to a five-wicket One-Day Cup win over Victoria at Bellerive Oval.
In reply to Victoria’s 266 for 9, Tasmania chased down the victory target with a whopping 57 balls to spare in Thursday’s match.
Owen made headlines when he smashed 108 off 42 balls to lead Hobart Hurricanes to victory in the BBL final against Sydney Thunder in January. The 23-year-old was at it again on Thursday, thumping 48 off 19 balls to get Tasmania’s run chase off to a flyer.
Fellow opener Jewell picked up where Owen left off, finishing unbeaten on 105 off 115 balls. Jewell brought up his ton with a six off Sam Elliott over midwicket, with his innings featuring eight fours and three sixes.
Victoria would have surged into second spot with victory over Tasmania, but instead dropped to fourth with only one round remaining before the March 1 final. The Bushrangers (13 points) are three points behind second-placed NSW (16 points), while Tasmania (11 points) are fifth.
NSW host Victoria in the final round in what shapes as effectively an elimination final.
Sam Harper (50 off 57 balls) got Victoria off to a solid start, but his dismissal sparked a mini slump as the visitors staggered to 130 for 5 in the 30th over. Marcus Harris (2), Peter Handscomb (23) and Harry Dixon (24) were all back in the sheds by that stage.
But a quickfire innings from Thomas Rogers (68 off 70 balls) and handy knocks from Will Sutherland (30 off 34 balls) and Elliott (46 not out off 43 balls) lifted Victoria to a respectable total.
Beau Webster finished with 2 for 41 from nine overs, while Raf MacMillan (2 for 39) was the only other multiple wicket-taker.
Owen began Tasmania’s run chase powerfully, with the home side none for 67 in the sixth over before he skied a catch to Harris.
Charlie Wakim (44), Jordan Silk (29) and Tim Ward (22) posted handy runs, but Jewell inflicted the bulk of the damage. He unleashed a series of beautiful drives en route his half-century, and upped the tempo with some big heaves to lift his team to victory.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo
