On the resumption of the Sheffield Shield season final month, an inexperienced Victoria did not set outlandish objectives or plot a barnstorming title run.
Boasting only one win from their first six matches, Victoria had been content material with backing youth in a bid to mould collectively a gifted core who may assist construct a basis for sustained success.
“When we came back after the BBL we spoke about how we’re on a journey. We didn’t talk about playing in the Shield final,” Victoria coach Chris Rogers stated.
They gained 4 straight matches to leapfrog into second-place and ebook a spot within the last in opposition to defending champions Western Australia.
Rather than be battle-scarred, they’re hoping to take heed of the adversity skilled amid the cauldron as Victoria goals to chip away at WA’s stranglehold of the home competitors.
“The challenge is to reach the top of the mountain and get past WA. That’s the challenge for everyone,” Rogers stated. “With a bit more experience…[we] might have been able to hang in a bit longer. It’s a young group and I think they’ll learn a lot out of it.”
“I spent a good 45 minutes with him, talking about these experiences,” Rogers stated. “He’s figuring out answers to questions. He tried too hard this game. He was fighting so hard that he wasn’t giving himself a chance to score. He’s going to be a really important player for us for a number of years.”
It was a rearguard that polarised the general public however made extra meritorious with Chandrasinghe, in his Shield debut season, solely making the line-up after veteran opener Travis Dean suffered an harm on the day earlier than the match.
Chandrasinghe obtained little help from his extra senior gamers and likewise copped mocking applause from the sometimes rowdy WACA trustworthy. But he remained unruffled to supply an indefatigable batting effort that he can construct on within the low season.
“There’s room for improvement in his game,” Rogers stated. “He doesn’t want to play that style of cricket, he wants to be scoring runs.
“It’s a measure of the person that he can bat an entire day. It’s a rare effort and he is obtained attributes to construct on. That dedication and to by no means stop is one thing in-built. I’m so happy with him.”
“It nonetheless bloody hurts we misplaced one other last. I do not need that to be a behavior however we’re on course,” Rogers said. “To win 5 video games on the bounce is sort of distinctive. They’ve performed with self-discipline past their years they usually had a variety of enjoyable doing it. We are going to get higher.”