Whoever first said cricket is a funny game could have been South Australian.
The Redbacks have won a one-day title by not winning. Or losing. They tied.
SA also won their last Sheffield Shield by not winning. Or losing. They drew.
Not that SA captain Michael Klinger cares, as he cradles SA’s first one-day trophy in 25 years following Saturday night’s tie with Tasmania.
Both teams scored 285 runs in the Adelaide Oval final, but the Redbacks claimed the trophy because they topped the competition after the preliminary matches.
SA’s one-day cup follows the Redbacks taking the 2011 Twenty20 trophy – the last in a state-based format.
And Klinger couldn’t be happier for SA cricketers, long derided as a bunch of easy beats.
“We have copped a lot of crap, but we deserved it,” he said of the criticism.
SA remain short odds to take their third consecutive Sheffield Shield wooden spoon this season but Klinger said the one-day trophy would soften that blow.
“To lead a bunch of guys who put so much hard work in – they have copped a lot over the last couple of years since I have been captain, as I said, at times deservedly so,” Klinger said.
“But there are times when we have done some really good things.
“We have won two pieces of silverware as the Redbacks in the last two years, which I think many teams would die to do that.
“Yes, we need a lot of improvement in other things and we’re not hiding away from that.
“But two trophies in two seasons, and the first one-day trophy in 25 years, is fantastic for South Australian cricket.”
SA last collected the Sheffield Shield in 1995/96 when their final pair of batsmen survived for 40 minutes to draw against Western Australia.
Like their latest one-day trophy, the Redbacks claimed the Shield because they headed the table after the preliminary rounds.