Win gives SA belief we can do anything: Head

The spark for South Australia's record-breaking victory on Monday came not during their remarkable run chase, but just after midday on a sweltering public holiday Monday in Sydney's south.

The young Redbacks side had gone wicketless in more than two hours of toil at Hurstville Oval as Western Australia's Shaun Marsh and Cameron Bancroft combined for a monster opening stand of 216.

At the time, the decision of rookie SA captain Travis Head to send the Warriors in appeared to be a regrettable one, at least on paper.

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But the 21-year-old, who would later smash the fastest double century in List A cricket and steer his side to an incredible win, had remained calm throughout the glut of boundaries.

"We knew coming in that that was going to happen," Head said the morning after one of the most remarkable performances in the 46-year history of Australian domestic one-day cricket.

"There were going to be stages with the small field (that a lot of runs would be scored) and we'd practiced a lot in these scenarios.

"We knew what we were in for. Our batters have been fantastic in those (training) scenarios so we knew that our batting was going to be great.

"It was just critical in the last 10 overs that we restricted them as much as possible."

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Given the Warriors still had all ten wickets in hand with 15 overs remaining, and the likes of Mitchell Marsh, Michael Klinger and Adam Voges waiting for their chance to pummel the short boundaries, a total of 400 was not out of the question.

As it was, the Warriors managed 'just' 350. The Redbacks would require the second-greatest comeback in the history of Australian one-day domestic cricket to snatch the win, but Head said his side was willing to believe.

"It all started with about 15 overs to go, in the drinks break," he said.

"We mentioned it was a big moment in the game if we could restrict them in the last 10. And I think our bowlers were fantastic.

"We still went at about 10 an over (in the last 10), but I thought that was really good and got us in the game.

"We thought at the start of the day that 350 might be just a bit over par. We thought it would be tough but with wickets in hand and on a (small) ground, plus we have some batters in great form at the moment.

"We thought we just needed to give ourselves an opportunity and try to take it as deep as possible."

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Not only did the Redbacks go deep in the chase, they blew it out of the water.

Head's 120-ball innings of 202 and Callum Ferguson's unbeaten 112 steered them to the target with 21 balls to spare and six wickets in hand.

It was Head's first ever century for his state, ending a painful drought of 41 matches without three figures across first-class and one-day cricket.

His tally of 202 runs, which featured 20 fours and 12 sixes, surpassed the 200 runs he'd scored in his previous nine one-day matches for the Redbacks.

And the left-hander says the manner of the win has given his young side the belief that they can defy expectations in the three-week tournament.

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The Redbacks squad, boasting just two players with international experience, were expected to struggle in Sydney this month against powerful state rivals who have been boosted by the return of their Test stars.

Adding to the scepticism about SA's chances was their recent record; they'd won just two matches in their past two seasons of 50-over cricket, coupled with a last-place finish in five of the past six Sheffield Shield campaigns.

But Head says the momentum and confidence gained from Monday's win will make them hard to beat as they look to repeat their triumphant campaign of 2011-12.

"It's great to get off to the start that we have," Head said. "It gives us great belief that we can chase anything.

"We've worked really hard in the pre-season. Blokes have put up unbelievable numbers fitness wise from where we've been. (Beating WA) gets us off to a great start and gives us the confidence that what we've been doing pre-season has worked a little bit.

"In this tournament situation, if we can get momentum now and take it into Thursday (against NSW), we can do anything."

Head echoed the recent comments of Ferguson and wicketkeeper Tim Ludeman, who have both praised the off-season recruitment of former AFL player Stephen Schwerdt as the team's Strength and Conditioning coach.

Head says Schwerdt, who played 25 games with the Adelaide Crows in the 1990s before becoming the club's fitness coach, has taken SA's fitness program to a new professional level that in turn has instilled a greater sense of belief in the playing group.

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And the addition of new coach Jamie Siddons, who captained the Redbacks in their most recent Shield triumph 20 years ago, has provided a fresh approach following seasons of disappointment.

"The blokes are in great nick at the moment. We have a lot of belief and Schwerdty has brought that to the group," he said.

"Jamie has brought that belief and aggression and (willingness) to play as positively as we can, and I think we showed that yesterday in the way we played.

"And that's how we want to play our cricket throughout the season. It's not going to work every time but if we can play that sort of brand, hopefully we'll win more often than not."

A true test of the Redbacks will come on Thursday against NSW, who fielded a side featuring 10 international players in their 279-run thumping of the CA XI on Monday.

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The Blues could well be boosted by the inclusions of Shane Watson and Doug Bollinger for the clash at North Sydney Oval, but Head says their powerful side is simply another obstacle for the unfancied Redbacks to overcome.

"It's a great challenge for us. It's a time that you want to get runs and get wickets so I think our boys are really looking forward to the chance of playing against a strong outfit," he said.

"To win this tournament we're going to have to beat the best sides.

"So we'll go in the game the same way we went into this game (against WA). It'll be no different. We'll try and play the same way and take the game on and hopefully get the result.

"It'd be great to get the momentum of two wins on the board. They had a very strong win (on Monday) as well and we've got some blokes in form so it's going to be a great game."