A summer of disappointment ended with a glimmer of opportunity for Adam Crosthwaite, who was dumped as Victoria's first-class wicketkeeper at the start of 2007-08. The teenager Matthew Wade had transferred from Tasmania and his batting potential left Crosthwaite with only a full-time place in the limited-overs side. But in an eerily familiar turn of events, Wade was dropped and Crosthwaite recalled for the last two games of the season, including the final loss to New South Wales. The reverse had happened to Crosthwaite in 2005-06, when he was the incumbent and lost his position to Nathan Pilon for the decider. Crosthwaite's batting was a concern for Victoria - in 23 matches he had only managed one half-century - but his second-innings 50 and sharp glovework in the 2007-08 final justified his recall. He played every FR Cup game, averaging 19.14 and collecting 20 dismissals, and the battle with Wade is likely to continue in 2008-09.

Before last season Crosthwaite had been relatively settled as the replacement for the long-standing Darren Berry. He played every game in all three formats in 2006-07, recording his maiden first-class half-century with 72 in Adelaide. An aggressive batsman, he shone in the Twenty20 competition and used unconventional strokes to make up for his lack of brute force. He was Man of the Match in the final, when his 31-ball 52 set up the struggling Bushrangers for victory. Crosthwaite, who claims to have read Sun Tzu's The Art of War, debuted for Victoria in 2002-03 as Berry's replacement during his suspension for missing a training session. He showed his talent in 2004-05 with a breathtaking 54 from 38 balls in a one-day win over Queensland and played three first-class games when he overtook Peter Roach towards the end of the season. He was part the Australia Under-19 World Cup win in 2002 and was included in the 2006 Academy intake.
Cricinfo staff April 2008

• Tigers jump to top despite Hodge hundred (Nov 12, 2008)
  
• NSW's all-round power delivers Pura Cup title (Mar 19, 2008)
  
• Hard work pays for Crosthwaite (Mar 11, 2008)
  
• Victoria drop Wade for must-win match (Mar 6, 2008)
  
• Victoria seal thriller in Perth (Feb 2, 2008)
  

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Jan 1, 2008 Adam Crosthwaite © Cricket Victoria

Jan 13, 2007 Adam Crosthwaite keeps the runs coming late in Victoria’s innings © Getty Images

Jan 7, 2007 Adam Crosthwaite smashes a four during his innings of 39 © Getty Images

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