After winning four out of the five T20 Big Bash titles Down Under, Victoria Bushrangers can easily be regarded as one of the toughest teams to beat.

By Joshua Nath

They completed a hat-trick of title victories between 2005/06 and 2007/08 and won in the last season after losing out to New South Wales Blues in 2008/09 in the final. Though Victoria started as one among the favourites to lift the ACLT20 title in 2009, they couldn't go past eventual winners NSW Blues at the semi-final stage.

The absence of their full-time skipper Cameron White, who is playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, might not hurt them big time as there is enough experience to fall back. Stand in captain David Hussey, a veteran of 127 T20 games, is one name that would provide Victoria a big relief.  Home favorites Warriors, Indian Premier League champions Chennai Super Kings, New Zealand champions Central Stags and Sri Lankan victors Wayamba Elevens are there in Victoria’s group A.

Strengths:

The Bushrangers are a team of T20 specialists - Be it David Hussey or the ever reliable Brad Hodge with the bat or left arm speedster Dirk Nannes with the ball. Hodge, who will play his 100th T20 game when Victoria take on Warriors in their ACLT20 opener at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth on September 13, and Hussey are the top two run-getters in the Twenty20 format and have the experience of playing in various conditions. Apart from playing for the Bushrangers, Hussey has also turned out for Nottinghamshire and Kolkata Knight Riders, while Hodge has provided his services to Leicestershire, Lancashire and the KKR.

Apart from Nannes, other Australia internationals, Clinton McKay and Peter Siddle would be hungry to make their presence felt. The recent form of Andrew McDonald and John Hastings will keep them in good stead for the T20 event.

Weaknesses:

The Bushrangers are not in the best of form leading up to Champions League T20 as they lost Top End Twenty20 challenge games in Darwin just days before the start of the most important T20 club competition in the world. Apart from Hodge, Hussey and young Aaron Finch, other batters were not really tested in the last T20 Big Bash, which might concern the Melbourne-based team. The spin bowling department too looks a little fragile with only 38-year-old veteran Bryce McGain playing as a specialist spinner in the team. Given the success of spinners in T20 format, if McGain does not fire, Victoria will have to fall back on part time off-spin of Hodge and skipper Hussey.

Key Players:

Brad Hodge: Hodge has been most prolific of the Victoria batsman season after season. Bare statistics are enough to show his pedigree in the shortest format of the game. He has second most number of runs in the game with 3077 in 99 matches and at an amazing average of 36.20 and a strike rate of 127.35 just gives the opposition enough idea that he is the man to get early on in the innings. Although retired from first class cricket, Hodge has nothing to lose and will aim to perform for Victoria and take them to title glory.

David Hussey: The highest run-getter in the T20 game, Hussey with 3219 runs in 126 matches, scores his runs at a consistent average of 32.51 and an amazing strike rate of 137.38. Not just the stats, but the flair in which he gets the runs is a put off for any opposition. Hussey proved his importance by plundering 60 not out in Victoria’s Big Bash semi-final victory over Queensland, when a loss would have meant missing out on the CLT20 this time around. The importance of his bowling for the Bushrangers cannot be understated. As well as having the unique ability to get through an over in barely over a minute, Hussey can also be relied upon to bowl his full quota if the team decides to go without a specialist spinner. With added responsibility of leading the side, Hussey might just keep his best for this lucrative tournament.

Dirk Nannes: Left-arm speedster Nannes is one of the most feared fast bowlers in the T20 game and his 27 wickets in just 16 international ties and 120 scalps in 87 domestic games, makes him the specialist in this format. He topped the wickets tally in West Indies during the World T20 with 14 wickets at an average of 14.07 at an economy rate of not much more than a run a ball. His ability to hit speeds of 145-150 kmph frequently also paid rich dividends to his IPL team Delhi Daredevils last year in the cash-rich League in South Africa when he picked up 15 wickets in 13 games. Nannes will undoubtedly lead Victoria’s bowling attack under helpful conditions in the Rainbow Nation this time around.

Watch out for:

Peter Siddle: Named the ICC Emerging Player in 2009, Siddle is a fast bowler who bustles in and hits the deck hard at fast speeds. He will be making a comeback of sorts after suffering an injury on the Indian tour in October last year and will be hungry to perform, as a ticket to Ashes this summer Down Under could be an ultimate incentive for him.

Aaron Finch: A right-handed batsman with tremendous potential. In the last Big Bash season, his consistency was rewarded with promotion to number three slot, which he justified by plundering 189 runs at an average of 47.25 - one run behind series top-scorer Kieron Pollard. Finch was an unused squad player for the Bushrangers at last year’s ACLT20 but is unlikely to be so idle this time around.

Matthew Wade: The hard-hitting wicketkeeper-opening batsman in the Adam Gilchrist mould, 22-year-old Wade has a total of 192 runs in 14 matches at an average of 32.41 in domestic Twenty20s. His duty in Bushrangers’ ranks will be to give them a quick-fire start to prepare the perfect platform for middle order stalwarts like Brad Hodge and David Hussey.

Victoria may be regarded as the toughest team to play the Champions League T20 from Down Under but only a triumph this year will establish them as giants of club-level T20s world over. Will we see that happen?

Let’s wait and watch.

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