Western Australia are through to Sunday’s Matador Cup final at the SCG, but the price of New South Wales’ recent blips is a knock-out encounter with Queensland in Blacktown on Friday

Daniel Brettig23-Oct-2014As Peter Nevill spoke about the declining form of New South Wales towards the end of the domestic one-day competition, the tournament’s benchmark team Western Australia trained jovially before him. The Warriors are already through to Sunday’s final at the SCG, but the price of the Blues’ recent blips is a knock-out encounter with Queensland in Blacktown on Friday.This season’s tournament has been a mottled affair, the juicy early morning conditions of Brisbane contrasting with North Sydney Oval’s run-fests and more staid affairs on the slower pitches and more voluminous outfields of Blacktown and Bankstown. Drummoyne Oval played its part in the drama by being unready for use.Some voices, notably that of the South Australia captain Johan Botha, have been critical of the east coast/early season format, and there is now the possibility of the competition being fundamentally changed in the future through the inclusion of a National Performance Squad team to showcase young talent. But at least the selection of Ben Dunk in Australia’s Twenty20 squad, ahead of a crack field of wicketkeepers, has underlined that the players have been watched intently by Cricket Australia’s selection panel.Shane Watson will return for the blues after ankle and calf problems ruled him out of Australian duty in the recent tri-series in Zimbabwe•Getty ImagesNevill said his side was relieved to now be playing in a match of great importance, after early successes pushed New South Wales to the brink of a final berth then gave way to a few sluggish displays, notably against Tasmania earlier this week. “We had our best form early in the tournament and we’ve stagnated a bit since,” he said. “The great thing about this now is we’re at the point where nothing either team has done in the preceding six or seven games counts for anything. You can read into momentum what you will, but this is just a must-win game.”Both the Blues and the Bulls have had injury troubles leading into the tournament’s pointy end. Nevill is captain because Moises Henriques suffered a calf tear serious enough to rule him out of the tournament, though he has now jettisoned crutches on the path to rehabilitation. Queensland’s one-run win over the Warriors in their final round robin match was sullied by a thumb fracture for Usman Khawaja.”Even a rusty Shane Watson is better than most,” Nevill said of the allrounder. “It’s fantastic to have him back, he’s got a lot of international experience and it’ll be great to have him around our team. I’ll be bouncing ideas of Watto quite a lot, I imagine we’ll have him in at first slip there so I’ll have good access to him.”Two players appearing in the stead of the wounded are notable names, but for varying reasons. Shane Watson is returning for New South Wales after ankle and calf problems ruled him out of Australian duty in Zimbabwe and the UAE, while Ben McDermott, son of Craig and brother of Alister, has been drafted in to cover for Khawaja’s absence from the Bulls’ XI.Another man likely to figure in key passages on Friday is Sean Abbott, who has become something of a poster-child for the NPS concept after success against Australia A in the top end series during winter vaulted him into Australia’s limited overs squads. On a tired, abrasive Blacktown surface, his natural command of reverse swing may prove highly useful.”It’s been great to see him do what he’s done in the past couple of seasons,” Nevill said of Abbott. “He had a real breakthrough year last year and ended up winning the Steve Waugh Medal, but his performances were fantastic in the quad series up north and that earned him selection for Australia.”Botha, meanwhile, has spoken for those left unfulfilled by the tournament format, particularly the four states unable to play even a single match at home. He also noted that in a World Cup season, the last 50-over cricket was being played before the start of November. “The ideal thing for me was when we played it around the shield games and played at all the grounds around Australia. That was a great format,” he said in Adelaide after South Australia’s players returned home from a largely barren campaign. “I prefer the all year-round and the final was at the end of the season.”For most players, they would rather want to play the one-dayers closer to the World Cup time so if they get called up or there are any injuries in the main Australian side. They are done with one-day cricket now already … for certain guys, and it’s not just in our state, their season is almost done now. Some guys just play one format and that is it.”Whatever the merits of the format, Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales have proven its masters this time around. By Sunday night, the season’s first trophy will be handed to the winner.