Ed Cowan eased New South Wales to Matador Cup glory overnight, scoring 88 not out from 78 balls as the Blues eased to a nine-wicket triumph over Western Australia in Sydney.
The former Nottinghamshire opener shared an unbroken partnership of 165 off 139 deliveries with Australia captain Steven Smith after Mitchell Starc’s 3-55 did the damage in reducing the Redbacks to a below-par 221 all out.
Cowan’s match-winning red inker leaves him with an impressive haul of 356 tournament runs from seven matches, averaging 59. He scored a century in a 75-run victory over the same opposition three games into the tournament.
The 33-year-old left-hander played seven first class matches for Nottinghamshire ahead of the Investec Ashes in 2013, averaging 43, only to be dropped by Australia following the first Test at Trent Bridge.
He has since made the move from Tasmania to New South Wales where he is aiming to reignite his international ambitions under the watchful eye of Smith, who scored 84 not out in last night’s final.
Cowan’s first Sheffield Shield since joining the Blues in 2014-15 brought four centuries in nine matches and an average of 48.
A further prolific season this time around, in a Shield season gets underway on Wednesday, will make him hard for the selectors to ignore.
The 2015 season has seen dramatic last-gasp four day victories, thrilling limited-overs contests and an historic Investec Ashes Test, all in the unique surroundings of Trent Bridge.
Next season, we’d wager, will be no less enthralling and frankly we’d hate for you to miss out.