Tasmania are second-guessing Queensland’s approach to Wednesday’s one-day match at Bellerive, which the Bulls need to win with a bonus point to make the competition’s final.
Victory for the Tigers (22 points) would ensure they face South Australia (23) on February 25, while they can afford a loss if Queensland (17) can’t pick up the extra point.
Tasmanian coach Tim Coyle said he expected the Bulls to do little more than stick to their natural game.
“I think if it was us, if we were in that position, we would probably play the game normally to start with and see how it unfolds,” he said.
“To get yourself into a position to win and then maybe push for a bonus point, you’d do that.”
With the match a virtual preliminary final, the Tigers are oozing confidence after one-day and Sheffield Shield victories over NSW last week.
Coyle has named an unchanged line-up to the one that beat the Blues by three wickets 10 days ago after Ben Hilfenhaus and Xavier Doherty were again included in the national squad.
“We’re in a good position,” Coyle said. “Our form’s good.
“They’ve obviously got a challenge to not only win but to win well.
“We know our game’s pretty solid at the moment, we’ve got to just improve another 10 per cent in each game we play in all three areas and I think we’ll be a team that will be hard to beat.”
A Tigers win could also mean they host the final if the Redbacks slip up against Victoria on Saturday.
That would see Coyle’s men into a third straight domestic one-day final and in with a chance of a third title in five seasons.
But the Sheffield Shield holders are not getting ahead of themselves.
“If we make another final it’s just continuing on,” Coyle said.
“We have got good one-day form and our record is pretty solid over the last few years.
“But all the stuff in the past is the past and we’re probably in a position now where we just want to try and consolidate both forms of the game.”
The Bulls will welcome back captain James Hopes, while leg-spinner Cameron Boyce and paceman Matthew Gale come into a side narrowly beaten by Western Australia on Saturday night.
Plenty of eyes will be on young quick Alister McDermott, the one-day competition’s leading wicket-taker with 15 at 18.4, after his stunning 7-24 in the Shield clash with the Warriors.
Tasmania: George Bailey (capt), Jackson Bird, Luke Butterworth, Mark Cosgrove, Ed Cowan, James Faulkner, Matt Johnston, Brady Jones, Jason Krejza, Ben Laughlin, Ashton May, Jon Wells (12th man to be named).
Queensland: Ryan Broad, Cameron Boyce, Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, Ben Dunk, Matthew Gale, Cameron Gannon, James Hopes (capt), Chris Lynn, Alister McDermott, Nathan Reardon, Andrew Robinson (12th man to be named).
