Silk ready to deliver
TIGERS opener Jordan Silk is mired in a Sheffield Shield batting funk, but coach Jeff Vaughan is backing his vicecaptain to bounce back.
Silk has fallen for a duck in three of his four innings since the resumption from the Big Bash, including caught down the leg side in the second innings in the state’s last-start victory against WA.
He has not passed 50 all season and enters today’s home clash against NSW with just 183 runs at an average of 16.6 and highest score of 44 to his name.
However Vaughan is refusing to hit the panic button and is not concerned about any loss of form to the experienced campaigner.
“The most disappointing one for Silky is when you are a little bit out of form or out of runs, to get strangled down the leg side is a real dagger in the heart,” Vaughan said.
“They are the ones we speak about that there is little we can do about that, they are the days you walk off, come upstairs and have a cup of tea and say ‘today wasn’t my day’.
“It’s not a technical flaw or an issue in his batting at all.
“He is a mature batsman now and has a really good idea on how he wants to go about it, he is very calm and consistent in his preparation.
“He has worked hard all week … [we are] trusting what he has done over the journey.”
The Tigers look set to make just one change to the outfit which defeated WA to keep their faint finals hopes alive, with Jackson Bird returning from Australia A duties.
Bird passed a fitness test on an infected foot, but speedster Riley Meredith — on the comeback trail from a side strain which cut down his BBL tournament — was unable to shake an illness and could not be considered.
The hosts must defeat a talent-laden and high-flying Blues side to remain in the mix for the final, but Vaughan said the lure of chasing bonus points will not come into calculations.
“At the Christmas break we knew there was four games to play, there was always the conception that three wins gets us right in the mix.
“Obviously four wins would have been fantastic but out of the last four games, we knew three would have us right in, depending on what happens in other games.
“We are 1-1 with two games to go — so real cliche but we have to win this game to still be alive.”
Tigers squad: Tim Paine (capt), Gabe Bell, Jackson Bird, Alex Doolan, Jake Doran, Nathan Ellis, Ben McDermott, Simon Milenko, Lawrence Neil-Smith, Sam Rainbird, Jordan Silk, Charlie Wakim, Beau Webster, Mac Wright.