One-Day Cup Preview | Big boys return to play as New South Wales take on Western Australia in Round 3

Yesterday at 10:06 PM

A host of capped Australian players are set to return to the limited overs domestic circuit in the third round of the One-Day Cup, which sees New South Wales takes on Western Australia at the WACA in Perth. Both teams have won and lost a game each so far but the Blues hold the mental edge.

Sam Konstas is expected to feature for New South Wales in the One-Day Cup third round fixture against Western Australia

‌Western Australia have won 17 One-Day Cup titles in their cricketing history while their upcoming rivals New South Wales have 12, making for a combined 29 -- all other teams in the tournament's history combined have 27 titles to their name. Three of WA's titles came in consecutive years between 2022 and 2024, capping a run of seven titles in 11 years. Few could have then kept their surprise in check when a bid for the four-peat last year ended in the side finishing bottom of the pile, winning just two of their seven games. The Blues fared better with seven more points in their tally but missed the final by two point still, marking the first time since 2017/18 that both teams failed to finish in the top of either domestic competition in the country. Thier latest List A campaigns have begun on mixed notes too, with both NSW and WA thrashing South Australia but losing thrillers to Tasmania and Queensland respectively.

However, the third round of fixtures presents both teams an opportunity to kick their season into gear. After playing understrength teams through the first two rounds with several regulars on duty with Australia and Australia A, both teams are set to benefit from the return of a host of capped and national fringe players, headlined by Cooper Connolly and Sam Konstas. The Blues will hold a mental edge after trumping in the Shield fixture in the run-up where they bowled out Western for 156 chasing 230, and be optimistic of converting the momentum into a One-Day win too.

Form Guide

Both teams have started with a dominant win and a close loss each, but NSW have a significantly better net run rate of 1.274 compared to Western's 0.593. The Blues finished third last seson with three wins and as many losses while WA won two and last five, finishing sixth to end a record streak of three back-to-back titles across the Shield and One-Day Cup.

WA: W L W L L

NSW: W L L L W

WA vs NSW Head-to-Head in List A

Although Western Australia are record winners in the tournament, New South Wales have had the wood historically in head-to-head contests with seven more wins than their rivals. Even during their run of seven titles in 11 years, WA won seven and lost eight One-Day games against NSW, despite winning two finals in the time period (and losing one). When the two teams last clashed in the format, the Blues had eked out an eight-run victory on the back of Josh Phillipe's 119-ball 139.

NSW 37-30 WA

Pitch and Weather

The WACA remains one of Australia's bounciest wickets which makes run-scoring a real challenge at the venue. Last three seasons of the One Day Cup have produced an average first innings score of 207, including two sub-100 totals. The deck is particularly lethal early in the season as per the numbers, with the occasional boundary friendly track as was produced in the 2023 final where WA posted 387/7. Tellingly, nine of the last 10 One-Day Cup fixtures have seen the captain winning the toss opting to bowl first, a trend likely to continue come Wednesday.

Accuweather has forecast a slightly cloudy day in Perth with the sun peeking through throughout, while temperature is expected to hover in the mid-teens degrees celsius and gradually increases as the match progresses. There will be no rain and humidity levels should remain ideal.

Team News

Western Australia are set to welcome back Cooper Connolly albeit Cameron Green remains likely to be off-limits, given his recent return to all-round fitness. Corey Rocchiccioli is also available to be picked but may miss out with the two Ashtons handling spin bowling operations.

Sam Konstas, Josh Phillipe, and Jack Edwards will be back in action for the blues, the latter set to re-assume captaincy from Sean Abbott. With Kurtis Patterson off to a great start in the season, Oliver Davies is the batter likely to miss out on proceedings.

Western Australia Probable XI: Cooper Connolly, Joel Curtis (wk), Cameron Bancroft, Sam Whiteman, Ashton Turner (c), Hilton Cartwright, Ashton Agar, Joel Paris, Matthew Kelly, Bryce Jackson, Albert Esterhuysen

New South Wales Probable XI: Sam Konstas, Josh Phillipe, Kurtis Patterson, Matthew Gilkes (wk), Moises Henriques, Jack Edwards (c), Chris Green, Ben Dwarshius, Sean Abbott, Tanveer Sangha, Ryan Hadley