SHIELD DOOR TO OPEN FOR VINES
Hodge tips big future for Geelong gun
BRAD Hodge says the injection of Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell in Australia’s oneday team will almost certainly open the door for Geelong skipper Eamonn Vines to make his Sheffield Shield debut.
Hodge, who is the coach of Victoria’s Futures League team, believes Vines will be right in the mix for the Bushrangers’ Shield side when the T20I tri-series hits off in February.
Australia meets England and New Zealand in the sixmatch tournament, with the final in Auckland on February 21.
Victoria plays two Shield matches during that threeweek period — against South Australia and Queensland — keeping the door ajar for Vines, who was 12th man for the clash against NSW.
“We’ll probably see Finch and Maxwell disappear out of that side for one-day selection, so there’s going to be opportunities for him, no doubt,” Hodge said.
“You still want to be making runs when that opportunity comes around and I thought it was a really good selection, even just to make him 12th man and say ‘We’re happy with what you’re doing, keep it going, come in and sit around the group and see what it’s like’.
“He’s obviously well respected because he captains his club. I think that’s a big tick as well.”
Hodge said Vines, who has plundered 851 runs at 106.38 in 10 games, had a “bright future”.
“I was coaching the two games that he played and the thing that stood out is he made back-to-back big hundreds,” Hodge said.
“That’s something that Victoria hasn’t been able to put together regularly in recent times. We’re looking to someone who can bat five or six hours and it just hasn’t happened until Maxwell got two big scores.
“I know his future is bright. I know what the coaches have been saying about him and I was really impressed with his temperament and the amount of runs he’s making as well.
“Usually when you make runs consistently you are going to fail somewhere and I was expecting him to fail in the second game at Casey Fields and he didn’t, he walked away with 140. For me, that’s a really positive sign.
“He knows his game, he’s switched on to the simple things that he needed to achieve and he’s hungry for runs, which is the most important thing. As batsmen, we can never be short of being hungry for runs.”
Hodge likened left-hander Vines to former Australian captain and opening batsman Mark Taylor, who made 7525 Test runs.
“That’s a big compliment,” Hodge said. “Mark Taylor was a gun player. He (Vines) is very good at leaving the ball, he’s got a good cut shot and he’s good through the covers and very good square of the wicket.
“He’s good with the pull shot and the flick off the toes, that’s Mark Taylor down to a tee. And if he could have half the career of Mark Taylor he’s going pretty well.”