Captain Cameron White believes Victoria is primed for a late assault on the Sheffield Shield after crushing South Australia in Adelaide.
The Bushrangers sealed a 186-run triumph over the hapless Redbacks on Sunday to rise to third on the ladder.
While White was bullish about his side's prospects, Redbacks captain Michael Klinger challenged his chronic underachievers to improve.
The Redbacks have not won a Shield match since November 2010.
And with just two points this season, they are headed for a third consecutive wooden spoon.
"The selectors are picking young blokes so sometimes we have to expect these sort of results, but there is no excuse for it," Klinger said after the Redbacks were bowled out for 258 before tea on Sunday's final day.
"The guys in the team, and I'm one of them, should be performing as well as can be every time ... we still have some senior guys in the team who need to be putting their hand up a little bit more."
The Bushrangers were missing frontliners including Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Clint McKay, David Hussey, Aaron Finch and Matthew Wade.
But they still smashed the Redbacks on the back of centuries in each innings from opener Rob Quiney.
White says the Bushrangers, with 18 points and another Shield match against the lowly Redbacks to come, are positioning to challenge second-placed Western Australia (20 points) for a spot in the final against pacesetter Queensland (30 points).
White's lean trot continued with the bat with scores of 3 and 18 but on Sunday he produced the match-breaking moment.
The skipper took a stunning slips catch to dismiss Redbacks strokeplayer Callum Ferguson (79), diving full stretch to his right and horizontal to the ground, White plucked a one-hander.
Ferguson's departure ended a threatening 132-run partnership with Tom Cooper, who top-scored with 93.
Cooper's polished knock finished when caught and bowled by spinner Jon Holland, who proceeded to clean up the Redbacks' tail and finish with 4 for 74.
AAP
Tags: cricket, sport, adelaide-5000, melbourne-3000 First posted February 05, 2012 16:20:17
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