Victoria v Tasmania, FR Cup final 2009-10

Victoria will be without four of their best players for the FR Cup decider on Sunday, when they will try to break their final hoodoo having finished runners-up for the past three years. The Bushrangers are without their captain Cameron White, David Hussey, Dirk Nannes and Clint McKay, all of whom are with the Australia squad in New Zealand, while Tasmania are also missing Travis Birt for the same reason.

It has left Andrew McDonald to captain Victoria, who are hosting the final at the MCG for the third time in four seasons. The Bushrangers lost to Queensland in 2006-07 and also last summer, and they went down to Tasmania at Bellerive Oval in 2008-09.

They are likely to regain Rob Quiney, who will have a fitness test but is thought to have recovered from an adductor strain and has been added to the squad of 12 that beat Queensland last week. Victoria are chasing their first title since 1998-99 and are hoping to keep alive their chances of winning all three finals this summer, having already won the Twenty20 title and qualified for the Sheffield Shield decider.

The Tigers have eased the burden of losing Birt, their second-top run scorer this summer, by calling on the allrounder Luke Butterworth, who is back from injury. The batsman John Rogers has also been included in Tasmania's 13-man squad after he was left out of the group that beat Western Australia recently.

Victoria squad Chris Rogers, Aiden Blizzard, Brad Hodge, Aaron Finch, Rob Quiney, Andrew McDonald (capt), Michael Hill, Matthew Wade (wk), John Hastings, Damien Wright, Glenn Maxwell, Bryce McGain, Darren Pattinson.

Tasmania squad Tim Paine (wk), Ed Cowan, Michael Dighton, Rhett Lockyear, George Bailey (capt), Daniel Marsh, John Rogers, Luke Butterworth, Jason Krejza, James Faulkner, Xavier Doherty, Brendan Drew, Gerard Denton.

http://www.cricinfo.com/australia/content/story/450026.html

Pumped for the game! Should be going to it.

We are missing heaps of stars which is a massive downer but I still reckon we have the depth to cover it.

Carn Vics!

Tassie are well and truly on top at the moment.

They scored 6/304. Tim Paine was the hero with a century, but the man who got the Tigers going early on was Michael Dighton. He's had a shocker of a season, but his 80 odd today was a crucial knock.

Gerard Denton ripped through the Victorian batting line up, at one stage they were 3/30 odd.

The Vics are currently 4/94, they still require 200+ runs.

i got my binoculars out trying to find the crowd

ch...ch..ch..ch..CHOKE

0/4 well done there Victoria

Tassie come from nowhere to take it good on yas

Harwood, McKay and White have barely for you played all season

not having White didn't hurt you last week against Qld and you have ur hero Hastings, Hodge and Wright and McGain who are strong bowlers as well as McDonald

i don't want to hear any Victorian excuses... 1 change since last week and they couldn't do the job, for the 4th year in a row

Tim paine what a gun. Denton played well did he get man of the match ?

Please tell me it's normal to get points taken away for slow over rates ...

To be honest, not surprised by the result at all. Tasmania's team is perfectly set up for the Ford Ranger Cup, and also the Twenty20 as well, they've come from last with one match to go, to winning the Ford Ranger Cup which goes to show the quality of the teams this season.

Not only happy for the Tigers, but my man Michael Dighton as well. Was dropped twice, on 9 and 42, and he made the Victorians pay with a brilliant 80 off 91 balls which really set the win up for the Tigers. Not only that, he's had a shocking year with the bat, so this knock has probably saved his career for at least another year.

I just feel sorry for Travis Birt, as he was in New Zealand playing the Twenty20 game where he didn't bat as well, and he was the one who got the Tigers to the Final with that performance against the Warriors.

Victoria losing in a final again .