Australian domestic season 2008-09

Rogers ready for a new start at Victoria

Brydon Coverdale

October 8, 2008

	After a decade in the Western Australia setup, Chris Rogers is ready for his first game with Victoria © Getty Images

Chris Rogers is confident of team glory in his first season with Victoria but he knows that his chances of adding to his one Test cap have diminished in the past eight months. Rogers has spent the past week getting to know his new state team-mates having only just arrived from a successful county stint with Derbyshire.

His decision to relocate from Western Australia came after a summer during which he made his Test debut but was frustrated by his lack of one-day opportunities at state level. He made 4 and 15 in his Test outing at the WACA but the success of Phil Jaques and the emergence of Simon Katich as another Test opening option left Rogers without a Cricket Australia contract for 2008-09.

"I probably didn't have as much form going into that game as I had previously but it's an opportunity and you never knock back opportunities," Rogers said of his Test outing against India. "It's disappointing that I didn't do better but who knows what's going to happen from here.

"It's hard to say. There's a few guys who are opening and doing quite well so maybe I'm a little bit further back but that just means I've got to get a few more runs."

Rogers has been doing exactly that with Derbyshire, where he piled up 1232 first-class runs at 56 and took over the captaincy. He also proved his one-day potential with 228 runs at 45.60 at a strike-rate of more than 80, an effort that he hopes will earn him regular limited-overs outings at Victoria.

"I was not playing in the one-day side for Western Australia, so I really wanted to be doing that," Rogers said. "It's up to me to really perform in the one-day side. That's a good challenge but yeah, I'd like to think that I'll get a run."

Victoria begin their campaign with a one-day game against South Australia in Adelaide on Sunday, followed by a Sheffield Shield match at the same venue. Rogers said there was a buzz around the squad despite being without the captain Cameron White and fast bowler Peter Siddle, who are in the Test squad in India, and the injured legspinner Bryce McGain.

"We're pretty confident," he said. "I think the depth here is probably better than any other state so I think we should be confident going into all forms and hopefully we can get a bit of silverware.

"You look at the batting line-up and it's pretty impressive. There's eight or nine fast bowlers who could conceivably be picked in this first game and I really don't think the other states have that luxury."

For Rogers, simply familiarising himself with all his new colleagues is half the challenge this season. He was part of the Western Australia setup for a decade; he has been among the Victorians for less than a fortnight.

"It's been a bit of a crash course," he said. "I've only just arrived back in Australia a week or so ago. It's always a challenge getting to know the guys and it's going to take a little bit of time."

Brydon Coverdale is a staff writer at Cricinfo

© Cricinfo