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Matador Cup: All You Need To Know Guide

Your one-stop shop for the upcoming Matador BBQs One-Day Cup, the domestic 50-over tournament

What and when?

For the fourth year running the domestic one-day competition will be played in a tournament format to kick off the summer of cricket, between this Saturday, October 1 until Sunday November 23. While matches were held exclusively in New South Wales for last year’s tournament, this year games will be played in Perth and Brisbane as well. Sydney’s Hurstville, Drummoyne and North Sydney Ovals will again stage the majority of matches (15 of 23, including the elimination final and the final), with the WACA in Perth and Allan Border Field in Brisbane hosting eight matches between them in the early part of the competition. The seven sides play each other once, with the top-ranked side after their six games progressing to the final, while the second and third-placed sides play an elimination final for the right to play in the decider.

Matador BBQs One-Day Cup: Full Schedule

Can I go to the games?

Absolutely. There are four games with free entry while for the rest of the matches, adults are $10, concessions $5 and children under 15 are free.

The four matches with free entry are:

  • Tasmania v Cricket Australia XI match on October 5 at Allan Border Field, Brisbane.
  • CA XI v South Australia on October 15 at Hurstville Oval, Sydney.
  • CA XI v Western Australia on October 17 at Hurstville Oval, Sydney.
  • South Australia v Tasmania on October 19 at Hurstville Oval, Sydney.

Squads:


Cricket Australia XI: Full squad preview

William Bosisto (c, WA), Matthew Short (vc, Vic), James Bazley (Qld), Jake Carder (WA), Brendan Doggett (Qld), Ryan Gibson (NSW), David Grant (SA), Sam Grimwade (Vic), Sam Harper (Vic), Liam Hatcher (NSW), Josh Inglis (WA), Ryan Lees (Tas), Arjun Nair (NSW), Thomas O'Donnell (Vic). Coach: Brad Hodge.

NSW Blues: Full squad preview

Moises Henriques (c), Doug Bollinger, Ryan Carters, Harry Conway, Ed Cowan, Ben Dwarshuis, Chris Green, Daniel Hughes, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Peter Nevill, Steve O’Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Gurinder Sandhu. Coach: Trent Johnston.

my FootDr Queensland Bulls: Full squad preview

Jason Floros (c), Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, Luke Feldman, Cameron Gannon, Peter George, Charlie Hemphrey, Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Nathan Reardon, Matthew Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson. Coach: Phil Jaques.

West End Redbacks: Full squad preview

Callum Ferguson (c), Wes Agar, Tom Andrews, Nicholas Benton, Alex Carey, Tom Cooper, Michael Cormack, Alex Gregory, Jake Lehmann, Tim Ludeman, Kane Richardson, Alex Ross, Cameron Valente, Jake Weatherald. Coach: Jamie Siddons.

Tasmanian Tigers: Full squad preview

Tim Paine (c), Xavier Doherty (vc), Ben Dunk, Dominic Michael, Alex Doolan, Jake Doran, Ben McDermott, Beau Webster, Simon Milenko, Hamish Kingston, Cameron Stevenson, Jackson Bird, Andrew Fekete, Cameron Boyce. Coach: Dan Marsh.

Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers: Full squad preview

Peter Handscomb (c), Fawad Ahmed, Aaron Ayre, Michael Beer, Dan Christian, Jackson Coleman, Matt Doric, Marcus Harris, Ian Holland, Jon Holland, Glenn Maxwell, Rob Quiney, Marcus Stoinis, Cameron White. Coach: Andrew McDonald.  

Alcohol.Think Again Western Warriors: Full squad preview

Adam Voges (c), Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Hilton Cartwright, Michael Klinger, Shaun Marsh, David Moody, Josh Nicholas, Joel Paris, Nathan Rimmington, D'Arcy Short, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Jonathan Wells, Sam Whiteman. Coach: Justin Langer.

What’s the ‘Cricket Australia XI’?

In addition to the six states, a Cricket Australia XI will feature for the second year running. The team, made up of the best young players in the country who missed selection for their state squads, will be coached by former Australia batsman Brad Hodge. Despite their inexperience, the CA XI managed to notch a victory in last year’s tournament when they defeated Tasmania in a thriller.

What happened in last year’s Matador Cup?

The cancellation of Australia’s tour of Bangladesh meant the tournament featured a host of Test stars playing for their states. NSW pair Mitch Starc, with 26 wickets in six matches, and Steve Smith, 435 runs in six matches, led a strong Blues outfit to the title, defeating a gallant South Australia in the final.

Who are the players to watch?

Despite Australia’s one-day international squad being in South Africa for their upcoming five-match series, this year’s tournament sees a number of high-profile players aiming to win their national spots back, as well as a few young guns hoping to make a name for themselves.Here’s some of the players you should look out for.

Victoria: Glenn Maxwell

Magic Maxi blasts away doubters with epic ton

How Maxwell fares is certain to be one of the tournament’s major talking points. The allrounder was a shock omission from Australia’s ODI squad to face Sri Lanka last month, and again missed selection for their tour of South Africa. Watch out for some serious fireworks if one of the most feared limited-overs batsmen in the world can get going.

Tasmania: Cameron Boyce

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After the rise of fellow leg-spinner Mitch Swepson largely confined him to Queensland’s Toyota Futures League side last summer, Boyce was snapped up by Tasmania over the off-season. He’ll be itching to show his old state were wrong to dump him when the Tigers begin their Matador campaign against the Bulls on October 3.

Queensland: Joe Burns

Burns impresses with 78 for Australia A

Burns was dropped for the third Test of the recent tour of Sri Lanka and watched on as his replacement, Shaun Marsh, posted a fine century. But having notched three centuries during the last Test summer, the 27-year-old will be keen to remind national selectors of his quality in the Matador Cup and early rounds of the Sheffield Shield.

Western Australia: Jason Behrendorff

Behrendorff bags five in final

Behrendorff is set to play his first competitive game in more than eight months, having been on the sidelines since late January due to a lower-back stress fracture. The left-arm quick has blossomed into one of the most promising fast bowlers on the domestic circuit and will surely be in national contention if he can stay injury-free.

South Australia: Callum Ferguson

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Returning from a lengthy layoff after requiring a knee reconstruction, Ferguson is captaining the Redbacks in place of Australia ODI squad member Travis Head. The stylish right-hander, who’s represented Australia 33 times in limited-overs games, will hope a weight of runs can earn him a recall to national colours.

New South Wales: Nic Maddinson

Maddinson entertains with fluent 81

A destructive opener, Maddinson will form a key plank at the top of the order for the Blues. The left-hander recently brought up a blistering hundred for Australia A in Mackay against a strong India A attack and looks in good touch. 

Cricket Australia XI: Arjun Nair

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Australia has never been much of a breeding ground for mystery spinners but NSW looked to have unearthed one when Nair was selected for their final two Sheffield Shield matches last season. The 18-year-old impressed for the National Performance Squad in the winter ‘A’ series and could be the CA XI’s trump card.

How can I watch?

The Matador Cup is here!

For fans in Australia, 15 of the 23 games will be shown live on free-to-air television. All broadcast matches will be shown live and free on GEM, except for the final, which will be shown live and free on Channel Nine. Matches broadcast on the Nine Network can also be live streamed on cricket.com.au and the CA Live App with a CA Live Pass.