Coach looking for pace and passion

TASMANIAN coach Adam Griffiths expects young gun Riley Meredith to bring power and passion to the Tigers’ bowling attack in their Sheffield Shield clash with Western Australia at Blundstone Arena starting today.

The Hurricanes quick will pick up where injured Test bowler Jackson Bird (hamstring) left off in the Tigers’ attack, along with Andrew Fekete, also brought in for his experience with the red ball.

The Warriors sit third on the ladder while the Tigers dropped to fifth after their loss to Queensland at the Gabba last weekend.

Griffith believes Meredith, who played in the Big Bash final against the Strikers in Adelaide, is a good all-round bowler who should excel with the red ball, with the English-made Dukes being used for the second half of the season.

“He’s just a good bowler, full stop,” Griffith said.

“Whether it’s white or red ball, he’s got good air speed — that’s one of his biggest strengths. He can bowl fast when he gets it right, and he can shape the ball as well.

“I’m looking forward to seeing him with the Dukes ball and seeing what he can do this weekend.”

The Warriors tamed the Tigers when they met at the WACA before Christmas.

“We didn’t play that well against them over there — we didn’t bat very well in the second innings at the WACA,” Griffith said.

“We’re looking forward to playing them here in our conditions. It will be completely different to what they are used to over there.

“They are a well-coached and drilled team so we are going to have to play well, get the fundamentals right. If we can do that we are in with a show.”

The loss to the Bulls cost Tasmania on the ladder.

Griffith said his batsmen made poor decisions, something they have worked on this week. “In the overall scheme of things it’s another opportunity for our players to get better,” Griffith said.

“I’ve said all along the end result, winning and losing and where we finish on the ladder, is not our main focus this year.

“It’s making sure that every single time we walk out on the field we continue to get better and we continue to learn from every experience we have.

“Our young batters are starting to understand their games a lot better and as a bowling group we’ve had some pretty good form throughout the season.

“We’ve got a couple of new faces in the line-up and it’s about them gelling into that batting group and doing their jobs really well.

“We want to win the game but as long as we are improving and getting better that’s the main thing for us.”