South Australian captain Callum Ferguson has praised the resilience of his teammates and of his opponents following the Redbacks' bonus-point win over NSW amid the ongoing inquest into the death of Phillip Hughes.
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Ferguson, who played in the Sheffield Shield game between the two sides in November 2014 in which teammate Hughes was fatally struck by a cricket ball, compiled a masterful 73 not out on Wednesday to kick-start South Australia's Matador Cup campaign and leave the Blues struggling.
Redbacks batsman Tom Cooper and NSW quick Doug Bollinger played well despite taking to the stand at the inquest earlier this week. Cooper made 47 from 57 deliveries until he was dismissed late on by Bollinger, who claimed 3-34 for the match.
"It's a difficult period," Ferguson said. "To everyone's credit that was involved, they certainly put their best foot forward today, got on with the game and certainly put some good cricket out on the park.
"Everyone bounced back and got out here today and Coops [Tom Cooper], in particular, was fantastic. Can't speak highly enough of him, real resilience and that goes for the guys in the NSW side as well.
"He put it to the back of his mind, put the team first and played an unselfish knock at the end to really help us get that bonus point. It looked like he was enjoying himself out there today, he bowled a couple of overs as well which he always enjoys.
"It was good to see him out there with a smile on his face."
Ferguson and Cooper put on 95 runs for the third wicket to set up the thumping win, after openers Alex Carey and Jake Weatherald compiled a quick-fire 72-run stand.
The Redbacks chased down the Blues' modest 208 with more than 10 overs to spare, securing the bonus point that lifts them from the foot of the table into fifth spot, while knocking NSW down to second from bottom.
Ed Cowan had put the Blues in a strong position after batting first with his half-century, but he was dismissed for a neat 50 from 76 balls with the score at 106, and NSW continued to lose steady wickets from there.
Bollinger was clearly the best with the ball for NSW, just two days after denying an allegation that he'd directed a sledge towards Hughes and Cooper in that 2014 Shield game to the effect of "I'm going to kill you".
"He bowled well through the middle and he's bowled well with the old ball for the whole tournament for us," Cowan said.
"Guys are looking up front at using his pace because he's a fast bowler. The challenge for him is big, to lead our attack, and he's responding."
