Green Gold & Red
|coach = Tim Coyle
|captain = George Bailey
|founded = 1851
|ground = Bellerive Oval
|capacity = 16,000
|fcdebutvs = Victoria
|fcdebutyr = 1851
|fcdebutvenue = Launceston
|title1 = Sheffield Shield
|title1wins = 1
|title2 = Ford Ranger Cup
|title2wins = 4
|title3 = KFC Twenty20 Big Bash
|title3wins = 0
|website = Tasmanian Tigers
}}
The Tasmanian Tigers represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and the domestic Twenty20 competition known as the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash. Should they win the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash they would qualify for the international Twenty20 Champions League, but they have not yet done so.
The Tasmanian Tigers are administered and selected by the Tasmanian Cricket Association (TCA) which was founded in 1906. However Tasmania had representative sides prior to the establishment of the TCA. Tasmania played in the very first first-class cricket match in Australia against Victoria in 1851, which they won by three wickets. Despite winning their first match, and producing many fine cricketers in the late nineteenth century, Tasmania was overlooked when the participants in Australian first-class tournament known as the Sheffield Shield were chosen in 1892. For nearly eighty years the Tasmanian side played an average of only two or three first-class matches per year, usually against one of the mainland Australian teams, or warm-up matches against a touring international test team.
Tasmania were finally admitted to regular competitions when they became a founding member of the Gillette Cup domestic one day cricket tournament upon its inception in 1969. They have performed well in it, particularly recently, winning it four times, in 1978–79, 2004–05, 2007–08 and in 2009–10, making them current champions. They have also been runners-up twice, in 1977–78 and 1986–87. It took a further eight seasons before Tasmania were admitted into the Sheffield Shield in 1977–78, and it was initially on a reduced fixtures list, giving them little hope of competing on an even footing, or challenging for the title. By the 1979–80 season, they had become full participants, and slowly progressed towards competitiveness within the tournament. The Tigers won their long-awaited first Sheffield Shield in the 2006–07 season, after almost 30 years in the competition. They have also been runner-up three times, in 1993–94, 1997–98, and 2001–02. The Tigers were also runners-up in the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash in 2006–07, but have yet to win that tournament.
The Tasmanian Tigers play their limited overs cricket in a predominantly green uniform, with red and gold as their secondary colours, and have a Tasmanian Tiger as their team logo. They play home matches at Bellerive Oval, Clarence on Hobart's Eastern Shore, though matches are occasionally played at venues in Devonport and Launceston.
Home grounds
Tasmania have traditionally played cricket both in the state capital
Hobart, and
Launceston which is the largest city in the north of the state. Cricket was first played on open ground in Hobart, but soon dedicated fields began to be laid out. One such field was the
TCA Ground on the
Queens Domain. Although it wasn't officially opened until 1880, cricket had been played on the site prior to this. From the 1880s however, it became home to both the
Tasmanian Cricket Association and the state's first-class side. To ensure equal access to the population in the north, Tasmania would often also play home matches at the
NTCA Ground in Launceston, which had also hosted the first-ever first-class match in Australia, between Tasmania and Victoria in 1851.
When Tasmania was admitted to the Gillette Cup for the 1969–70 season, they began to spread the matches to a third venue, Devonport Oval in Devonport. The TCA Ground had remained the Tasmanian team's official home ground though.
During the re-branding process of the early 1990s, the TCA was faced with a dilemma about their ground. The TCA Ground had a reputation for poor soil and windy conditions, and games were often played in blustery condition with chilly winds blowing off nearby Mount Wellington. The decision was made to move both the offices of the Tasmanian Cricket Association, and the official home ground to Bellerive Oval in Clarence. The decision was a wise one, as it saw test cricket introduced to the state for the first time, and coincided with an improvement in results for the Tasmanian side.
Logos, colours and shirts
It is not known what colour caps the first first-class sides of Tasmania wore. Sometime towards the middle of the 19th century, the state had also adopted
dark green,
red, and
gold as the
states unofficial colours, and these have persisted in used by state representative sporting teams since then. has occasionally been used in the place of dark green.
The cricket team quickly adopted dark green as their cap colour, and although this is similar to the more iconic Baggy green cap worn by the national side, the use of it by Tasmania pre-dates the national side doing so. Soon after the development of the flag of Tasmania in 1876, the red lion-passant that is featured in the state badge upon the fly was also adopted to feature upon the cap badge.
This cap, in dark green with a red lion upon a white disk was in use throughout the late nineteenth, and most of the twentieth centuries. In 1991 the Tasmanian Cricket Association re-branded and modernised its business structure, at the same time taking on a new logo to publicly show the modernisation of its organisation. The new logo featured a thylacine, a well known symbol of the state in front of a red and dark green background, with three strips rising from its back, symbolic of three stumps in front of a large golden ball. This logo was used to replace the lion on the front of the cap that had served for 120 years.
In the 1995–96 season, all of the domestic sides in Australia re-branded with nicknamed monikers in the style of American sports franchises. It was a practice common in the countries football codes, but previously never done in cricket anywhere in the world. The Tasmanian cricket team naturally chose to adopt the Tasmanian Tiger as its animal representation, and changed the cap badge once again. The new logo featured a thylacine's face on a triangular logo, with three strips across one of the ears.
Squad
Players with international caps are listed in
bold.
Source(s):
Cricinfo ,
Cricket Tasmania
History
Introduction of cricket to Tasmania
Cricket almost certainly has been played in
Tasmania since the time of European settlement in 1803. It was a popular pastime among marines, who were responsible for security in the fledgling colony. The first recorded match is known to have taken place in 1806, although it is most likely that unrecorded matches were already being played at this time. According to the colony's chaplain, and famed diarist,
Robert Knopwood by 1814 the game had become very popular, especially around the festive season at
Christmas.
By the 1820s there had still not been any official club organisation, but matches were being played on a regular basis. Cricket is recorded as having been played in the settlements at Richmond, Clarence Plains, Kempton, Sorell, in the Macquarie Valley west of Campbell Town, Westbury, Evandale, Longford and Hadspen.
Many of these matches seem to have been organised between hotel licensees in order to create profits through the sale of food and beverages, and through betting on the outcome. One such match that was arranged in March 1826 by Joseph Bowden, the hotelier of the Lamb Inn on Brisbane Street was played for a winner's purse of 50 guineas between “Eleven Gentlemen from the Counties of Sussex and Kent against the choice of the whole Island of Van Diemen’s Land”.
There is no evidence to suggest an "official cricket season" during the first two decades of the colony, and many of these games initially seem to have been played around June and July, to coincide with the traditional English cricket season, rather than the Tasmanian summer. Accounts of such matches suggest games were often played in atrocious conditions due to winter rains and cold conditions. But by the 1830s, logic had prevailed and cricket seems to have reverted to the southern summer months. Club cricket had also become well-established by the 1830s. One of the earliest men responsible for organising cricket within the colony was John Marshall, who was established the Hobart Town Club soon after his arrival from England. Soon the Derwent Club had been formed, and in 1841, the Launceston Cricket Club was formed, making it the oldest surviving cricket club in Tasmania, and second oldest in Australia. Cricket had soon also spread into many regional settlements throughout the Colony of Tasmania, making it one of the most popular pastimes there. Some matches were played as part of district festivals, with large banquets following play. Charles Eady, and Edward Windsor, the first two of whom played test cricket for Australia. helped the TCA to convince mainland cricket authorities that Tasmanian cricket was nationally competitive.
National competitiveness
Simmons had proved an inspirational captain for Tasmania, and although the side only won one of the twelve first-class matches under his leadership, that had more to do with the quality of the homegrown players at the time. His
List A cricket record was more successful, leading Tasmania to six victories in eleven matches. He also assisted the TCA in modernising the administration of cricket in the state.
After making the Gillette Cup semi-finals in the 1974–75, and 75–76 seasons, Tasmania qualified for the final for the first time in the 1977–78 season, but lost to Western Australia at the WACA Ground by seven wickets. A surprise victory came the following year in the 1978–79 Gillette Cup domestic one-day competition, in a repeat of the previous year's final. The game was played at the TCA Ground in Hobart, and the home ground advantage proved decisive, with Tasmania beating Western Australia by 47 runs. Within a fortnight Tasmania had won their first Sheffield Shield match, again beating Western Australia, this time by four wickets in Devonport. The victory showed the mainland states Tasmania was capable of competing among the nation's best.
The presence of the Simmons, and the 1978–79 Gillette Cup victory had brought attention to Tasmanian cricket, and soon other international professionals joined the state for brief stints to both help out Tasmania's development, and gain further experience in Australian conditions. Michael Holding, Winston Davis, Patrick Patterson, Richard Hadlee and Denis Lillee were among the more notable players to represent Tasmania in the late 1970s and early '80s.
After finally being admitted to the Sheffield Shield permanently, the Tasmanian side initially struggled for success and consistency, and were the competition's whipping-boys throughout the 1980s and early '90s. The rise of a local hero in the form of David Boon, who by 1984 had achieved international fame, showed the country, and the world, that Tasmanian cricket was here to stay. Wicket-keeper Roger Woolley also briefly rose to prominence, representing Australia in two tests, and four One Day Internationals in 1983–84. The pair had become the first Tasmanians to represent Australia at test level since Charles Eady in 1910.
Despite their skills, the Tasmanian side struggled to win throughout this period. Regardless of the lack of competitive success, one exceptionally bright point came with the unearthing of a rare talent in Ricky Ponting, who would go on to become one of the world's best batsmen.
Tasmanian Tigers era
A reshuffle in the administration and organisation of the TCA in 1991 did not have an immediate effect, but the mid 1990s brought a more professional approach, and the state's side re-branded as the Tasmanian Tigers, and with a new headquarters in the renovated
Bellerive Oval, the state finally started to achieve more regular success. The side surged to the final for the first time in 1993–94, only to lose to New South Wales, but showed they were capable of successes at first class level. The 1997–98 season saw the Tiger's qualify for the final off the back off a remarkable six straight victories, and they were desperately unlucky not to win the competition after such dominance.
In the late 1990s Tasmania continued to produce top level cricketers. Players such as Jamie Cox, Dene Hills, Shaun Young and Michael Di Venuto became stars of the state side, and can all be considered unlucky not to have found a place in the Australian side.
Recent successes
The Tigers continue to remain competitive in all forms of the Australian domestic game, and in 2006–07 were successful in claiming their first ever
Sheffield Shield title. The Tigers have also qualified for the final on three occasions in 1993–94, 1997–98, and 2001–02, but at the time were unable to win the title.
The Tigers have fared better in the Ford Ranger Cup, winning it four times in 1978–79, 2004–05, 2007–08, and in 2009–10, making them the current champions. They have also been runners-up twice in 1977–78, and 1986–87. The Tigers were also unlucky to finish as runners-up in the second season of the Australian domestic Twenty20 KFC Twenty20 Big Bash competition in 2006–07.
Tasmania's recent successes at domestic level have been reflected in selection for the Australian national cricket team. Spinner Jason Krejza played two tests on the back of solid performances for the state, but failed to impress at international level. Brett Geeves was selected in the One Day International squad for 2008, and has since gone on to also play in the Indian Premier League. Fast-bowler Ben Hilfenhaus was included in the national squad for the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 and a tour of India, before making his test cricket debut in South Africa in 2009. During the 2009 Ashes series, wicket-keeper Tim Paine was called into the squad as a late replacement for injured reserve wicket-keeper Graham Manou.
Cricket Australia encouraged the state sides to recruit a foreign star for the 2009/10 season, in order to boost the appeal of the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash internationally. Tasmania pulled off one of the biggest coups in this recruitment programme, when they signed Sri Lankan star Lasith Malinga. Disappointingly for the Tigers, Malinga was forced to withdraw due to a change in international commitments for the Sri Lankan side. On 16 November 2009, Cricket Tasmania announced that Dimitri Mascarenhas would replace Malinga as Tasmania's overseas player for the 2009/10 KFC Twenty20 Big Bash.
Notable players
Tasmanian Captains
All former players
Other notable former players
Keith Bradshaw
Kenneth Burn
Greg Campbell
Troy Cooley
Joe Darling
Winston Davis
Charles Eady
Richard Hadlee
John Hampshire
Neil Hawke
Michael Holding
David Hughes
Khalid Ibadulla
Tom Kendall
Alan Knott
Peter Lever
Dennis Lillee
Scott Mason
Rod McCurdy
George Palmer
Patrick Patterson
Mark Ridgway
Gavin Robertson
Franklyn Stephenson
Shane Watson
Dirk Wellham
Neil Williams
Tasmanian Hall of Fame
Jack Simmons (1972–1979)
Roger Woolley (1977–1988)
David Boon (1978–1999)
Brian Davison (1979–1988)
Peter Clough (1980–1984)
Danny Buckingham (1983–1992)
Jamie Cox (1987–2006)
Rod Tucker (1989–1996)
Dene Hills (1991–2001)
Shaun Young (1991–2001)
Colin Miller (1992–2000)
Ricky Ponting (1992–)
Michael Di Venuto (1992–2008)
(1978–79)
(2006–07)
Daniel Marsh (1996–)
Coaches
Greg Shipperd
Brian McFadyen (2002–2005)
Tim Coyle (2005 – present)
Records
Team Records
Honours
References
External links
Official website for The Tasmanian Tigers
Cricket Archive Tasmania (First-class)
Cricket Archive Tasmania (List A)
Cricket Archive Tasmania (Twenty20)
Further reading
R Page, A history of Tasmanian cricket, Hobart, [1957]
R Finlay, Island Summers, Hobart, 1992.
Category:Sporting clubs in Tasmania
Category:Cricket in Tasmania
