2002-03 Annual R eport 2002-03 Annual R eport - Australian Sports ...

Tributes and Milestones
Justin Langer edged out South
Australian Greg Blewett to claim
the ING Cup Player of the Year
title.
Top. How sweet it is. The New
South Wales Blues enjoyed
success in both the long and
short form of the game.
Bottom. Simon Katich scored the
winning runs in the ING Cup final
against his former side, the
Western Warriors.
JUSTIN LANGER
ING CUP
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Western Warriors vice-captain Justin Langer was named the 2002-03 ING Cup Player of
the Year after a superb season in which relished the opportunity to represent his state in
domestic competition.
The left-hander’s 18 votes edged him one ahead of South Australian all-rounder Greg
Blewett, and two votes ahead of reigning ING Cup Player of the Year – Queensland Bulls
captain Jimmy Maher in third place.
In seven ING Cup matches, Langer clubbed a total of 437 runs at an average of 86.20.
This tally was bettered only by Blewett, who scored 486 runs from 10 matches.
The 32-year-old's highest score – an unbeaten 114 – came in a man-of-the-match
performance against the Tasmanian Tigers at the WACA Ground in Perth in December.
Langer finished with two centuries and two fifties from his seven ING Cup matches to
claim the award, voted on a 3-2-1 basis by umpires after each match.
The gritty Warrior is Western Australia's highest domestic one-day run-scorer with 2497
runs.
NEW SOUTH WALES CLAIM
THE DOMESTIC DOUBLE
The New South Wales Blues completed the rare double when they captured both the
Pura Cup and ING Cup domestic titles in 2002-03.
The Steve Waugh-led Blues became the first state to triumph in both domestic finals in
the same year since their New South Wales predecessors managed the feat in 1993-94.
A comprehensive 246-run victory over Queensland at the Gabba broke the sunshine
state’s three year dominance of the Pura Cup trophy.
The victory capped an amazing turnaround for the Blues, who finished the 2001-02
season at the bottom of the table with just two victories.
The ING Cup title came with another win on the road, this time at the expense of
Western Australia who were outclassed by seven wickets in front of a parochial WACA
crowd.
The win extended the Blues’ ING Cup winning streak to three consecutive titles.
During the season, New South Wales fielded a formidable list in the domestic
competition, including 12 players, who throughout their careers have worn
Australian colours in Test or one-day action.
The Blues’ dominance was reflected in the season statistics.
New South Wales boasted two of the top five Pura Cup run-scorers in Michael Slater
(770) and Michael Clarke (763) while Stuart MacGill enjoyed another fine year, heading
the wicket-taker’s list with 48 victims.
In the limited-overs arena, Michael Clarke (385), Steve Waugh (343) and Simon Katich
(328) featured in the competition’s top 10 run-makers, while Nathan Bracken’s 15 scalps
placed him as the ING Cup’s third highest wicket-taker.
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