Victoria has added incentive to beat South Australia in domestic One-Day Cup final

With the Dean Jones Trophy up for grabs for the first time, Victoria has extra reason to win Saturday’s domestic One-Day Cup final.

The chance to lift the inaugural Dean Jones Trophy has given Victoria extra incentive to win Saturday’s domestic One-Day Cup final against South Australia at Adelaide Oval.

In December, it was announced that going forward, the prize for winning Australian cricket’s top annual limited-overs tournament would be named after Victorian great Jones, a batting pioneer of one-day cricket who dominated attacks with swashbuckling innings for his state and Australia in the 1980s and 1990s.

Jones died from a stroke in 2020 aged 59, but his spirit lives on among the Victorian team.

“The man himself Dean Jones, he played a lot for Victoria and did so much for Victorian cricket,” the state team’s captain Will Sutherland said on Friday.

“It’s sad that Dean has passed away, but for a lot of the boys and I that had a little bit to do with him, he was a superstar, and it just makes it extra special that (the trophy) was named after him.

“Past players in general, we’re trying to connect with them as much as we can, and keep that link strong between past players for Victoria.”

Finals time 🥳

The WNCL and (for the first-time ever) the Dean Jones Trophy will be contested over the weekend in finals seeing Queensland take on NSW and South Australia host Victoria! pic.twitter.com/5k9qK1v8Zg

— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) February 28, 2025

Sutherland was happy for the Victorians to be the underdogs against a South Australian side that topped the ladder with 21 points from seven games.

Victoria finished with 18 points, securing second spot and a place in the final with an eight-wicket win over NSW last Sunday.

“The way the season has gone, SA are clearly on top and doing well in the (Sheffield) Shield stuff as well,” Sutherland said.

“We needed a result to go our way last game as well, which was nice.

“We got stitched up a little bit last season. The opposite thing happened to us, so we feel like we have earnt this opportunity, but we’re happy to admit we’re probably the underdogs as well.”

South Australia’s captain Nathan McSweeney said his side was intent on ending the state team’s silverware drought that dated back to the 2012 One-Day Cup competition.

“We all know that it’s been a long time since we were able to win something, so it would be special if we could do it,” McSweeney said.

“Our preparation this week has been elite, so hopefully it translates to some good performances (on Saturday).

“This year the positive thing about our side is everyone has stood up at certain points. We haven’t quite perfected the perfect game yet so hopefully it’s to come (against Victoria).”

Originally published as Victoria has added incentive to beat South Australia in domestic One-Day Cup final