AUSTRALIA HOST CANADA IN PREPARATION FOR OLYMPIC QUALIFIER

The Australian Baseball Team will play hosts to the Canadian National side in a four-game showdown as both countries prepare for the final Olympic Qualifying tournament in Taiwan next month.

The series, to be held in Brisbane and the Gold Coast from February 28 - March 2, will double as the Australian Team’s final stage of selection trials and has been targeted to help the Aussies peak ahead of their must win tournament in Taiwan.

Australian Head Coach, Jon Deeble, is excited about playing the Canadians on home soil – especially as he puts some of the National squad’s youngest talent through the rigors of the two-week selection camp.

“For the first time in a number of years there are several spots in the team that are wide open (for selection) – I’m really looking forward to letting these guys go at it,” Deeble said.

“In terms of our preparation, we have had the benefit of the recent Claxton Shield season to identify some emerging talent and will now we get the chance to see how they perform against Canada – one of the World’s top sides,

“Truth be told, nobody is guaranteed a ticket to the qualifiers, so I am going to take whoever’s “hot” at the time,” he said.

When the two sides locked horns at the Baseball World Cup last November, Australia came away with a nail-biting 7-6 victory that eliminated Canada from the finals – a result that the Canadians will be eager to avenge next month as they battle the Aussies for one of the final three Olympic berths in the eight-nation tournament in Taiwan.

Canada, who finished 4^th in Athens, remains one of the biggest threats for the Aussies’ and will join Korea, Mexico, Chinese Taipei, Germany, Spain and South Africa as they vie for their own piece of Olympic history.

Although Australia will enter the March Qualifier as reigning Silver Medallists, they clearly face an uphill battle on their road to Beijing, placing even greater emphasis on their preparation in these games against the touring internationals.

The four-game series will follow closely on the heels of a two-game exhibition schedule in Sydney that sees the Australian squad match up against the NSW Patriots at Blacktown Olympic Park on February 22 & 23.