Tasmanian Tigers to go Bull hunting in Adelaide in Sheffield Shield opener

Tasmania’s opening match of the Sheffield Shield season has a new venue due to concerns around mystery Covid cases in Queensland. LATEST >>

TASMANIA will make more Covid-inspired cricket history when it plays its Sheffield Shield opener against Queensland in Adelaide instead of Brisbane.

The Tigers were “evacuated” from Brisbane on Tuesday when several Covid-19 cases were revealed and numerous hot spots named.

Two Tigers visited one of the hot spots and were put into isolation on returning to Tasmania while they awaited the results of Covid tests.

Cricket Tasmania said it could not reveal which players were caught up in the Covid scare for privacy reasons.

Cricket Tasmania high performance manager Simon Insley said while the decision to bring the squad home was not popular with everyone, it was the right call.

Cricket Tasmania high performance manager Simon Insley. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

“We were originally scheduled to go to Western Australia after our time in Queensland, which would have been fine if there had not been those few cases of community transmission in Brisbane,” Insley said.

“Returning the squad to Tasmania was, in large part, to keep our options open.

“What it has meant is that we can now enter WA after being out of Queensland for a fortnight, so on October 13 we can fly in for the Marsh One-Day Cup match and the Sheffield Shield match.

“In the week prior to that, the Tigers and the Queensland Bulls can play their postponed Shield match in South Australia without it impacting any onward travel.

“Borders are tricky, and making the fixture fit together is like a big game of Tetris, but everyone is absolutely committed to ensuring as much cricket is played as possible in the 2021-22 season across all formats of the game.”

The Bulls arrived in South Australia on Friday, with the Tigers to join them on Saturday.

Tassie Shield squad returns home over Covid fears

Cricket Tasmania will send the Tasmanian Tigers Mash Sheffield Shield and One-Day squads back home on day one of the season due to concern around mystery Covid cases in Queensland.

The Tasmanian Tigers were due to go head to head against Queensland at Ian Healy Oval today, but due to the latest cases to come out of the state this morning the call has been made to postpone the match.

“This is not a decision that was taken lightly.” said a spokesperson.

“While the situation in Queensland hasn’t prevent the match from commencing today, a cautious and considered approach is being taken and it is our strong opinion that we are better having our players and staff home as we build a better understanding of the current landscape.”

“We look forward to playing the Queensland Bulls at the first opportunity. We thank Queensland Cricket and Cricket Australia for their understanding and flexibility with this match postponement, and we hope that this preventative measure will, with hindsight, not have been required.”

Sheffield Shield season: TAS v QLD

THE absence of injured pacemen Jackson Bird and Riley Meredith, and IPL debutant Nathan Ellis, will not damage the Tasmanian Tigers chances of opening the Sheffield Shield season strongly against Queensland at Ian Healy Oval starting on Tuesday.

Tigers skipper Matthew Wade is confident the team can acquit itself well in the early rounds of the competition, despite also being without Test captain Tim Paine and key batter Jake Doran.

“It’s disappointing to lose ‘Birdy’, who’s had to fly home and rest his Achilles. That’s unfortunate after he’s put in a hell of a lot of work over the preseason,” Wade said.

“Riley is coming back from the injury he got playing for Australia, and it’s nice to see Ellis get his opportunity to play in the IPL.

Tim Paine of the Tasmanian Tigers chats to Peter Siddle of the Tasmanian Tigers during day two of the Sheffield Shield match between Queensland and Tasmania at Park 25 on October 11, 2020 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

“It’s an opportunity for other guys to come in. As we’ve seen over the past couple of years, if you are going to go deep into a Sheffield Shield season, you need to call on five, six, or seven bowlers at times.”

Peter Siddle will be the most experienced Tiger with the ball, while Sam Rainbird and Lawrence Neil-Smith make up the pace trio.

“Neil-Smith will take Jackson’s spot, and Rainbird has been really impressive in the preseason and we’re hoping he can push on from the way he finished last season,” Wade said.

“We’ve obviously got Beau Webster and another spinner Jarrod Freeman, who played the last three or four games of last year as well and really changed the make-up of our team so we are really impressed with him as well.”

Former Australian fast bowler now Tasmanian Tigers player, Peter Siddle ahead of the Sheffield Shield season. Picture: Zak Simmonds

The Tigers arrived in Queensland on Tuesday of last week and had three days of training on the Gold Coast before relocating to Brisbane on Saturday, when they were joined by Wade.

“Our preparation has been really good. With the marquee we’ve got at Bellerive means the boys have been on turf for a long time now,” Wade said.

“The batters have had plenty of opportunity to hit on turf and a couple of centre wickets when we got to Queensland.

“The guys are really excited to get into the season.”

Matthew Wade (c), Gabe Bell, Jarrod Freeman, Caleb Jewell, Ben McDermott, Lawrence Neil-Smith, Sam Rainbird, Peter Siddle, Jordan Silk, Charlie Wakim, Tim Ward, Beau Webster, Macalister Wright.