Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian Bushrangers is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition. The team competes in three competitions: the Pura Cup (the first-class competition), the Ford Ranger Cup (the limited overs competition), and the more recent Twenty20 competition known as the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash.
The team first played in 1851 and most recently won the Pura Cup in 2003-04, and made the final in 2005-06. The 2007-08 season captain is Cameron White and the vice-captain is Brad Hodge. Victoria won all three of the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash competitions which have been staged, losing just one match in the competition.
The team's home ground is the MCG, subject to availability. The Junction Oval (St Kilda Cricket Ground) is an alternative home venue.
Victoria has provided many players to the Australian team. It played in the initial first-class match in Australia and has a long and successful history. According to the latest Twenty 20 international ranking, Victorian Bushrangers, are at top followed by Sialkot Stallions ( Sialkot,Pakistan),which are only one point behind.
Team History
Victoria was the dominant force in the early days of Australian first-class cricket, winning two of the first three Sheffield Shield tournaments and won most of their early domestic friendly games against the other states.
Victoria has hosted a list of greats such as Warwick Armstrong, Bill Woodfull, Bill Ponsford, Neil Harvey, Hugh Trumble, Lindsay Hassett, Dean Jones, Jack Blackham, Jack Ryder, Bill Lawry, Bob Cowper, Shane Warne, Keith Miller and Ian Redpath. (See here for a full listing of past players).
The Bushrangers' proud history dates back to the very start of Australian cricket when the Melbourne Cricket Club was formed in 1838 which was the largest sporting club in Australia at the time. In that same year the MCC played its first match against the Victorian Military but the first official interstate game was contested between Victoria and Tasmania in 1851 in Launceston.
The first game between the great rivals of Victoria and New South Wales was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1856. Playing in that inaugural game was Tom Wills who was considered the best Australian player of the era. He captained the state for many years and his contributions set up the Victorian dominance in Australian first class cricket.
The annual Sheffield Shield tournament first began in the season of 1892-93 between Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. Victoria won this tournament by defeating both opponents twice each.
The tradition of cricket on Boxing Day also featured Victoria when they played New South Wales in 1965.
The Victorian Cricket Association was founded in 1895 and is now located in Melbourne across from the MCG.
During the history of the shield Victoria has won 26 titles, the most recent in season 2003/04. Victoria has always been a powerful force in Australian cricket and the Australian team was, until recent decades, never short of Victorians in the line-up.
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