Manou backs Klinger omission

South Australian captain Graham Manou has defended the surprising omission of run machine Michael Klinger from the side which lost to Tasmania by seven wickets in the Ford Ranger Cup match at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

Klinger appeared shocked when coach Mark Sorell alerted him he'd be carrying the drinks ahead of the contest and with due cause given his fantastic form in the limited overs competition last season.

In 2008-09 he finished second on the national batting table, making 469 runs from 10 matches.

The Redbacks used James Smith, who made 116 in the Sheffield Shield match last week, and Cameron Borgas in the line-up instead of the former Bushranger.

Manou said it was a 'very, very tough call' by the selectors.

"The selections went a certain way and I'm sure he'll bounce back into the side sooner rather than later," Manou said.

"It's obviously very disappointing for him but I think our squad at the moment is quite even, I mentioned that after the Shield victory."

"I think at the moment it's a bit of form. Smithy played exceptionally well in the four-day stuff and the selectors saw it fit to experiment there."

"Most of those guys have got hundreds in the pre-season as well on top of that so a very, very difficult call ... and we live and die by it."

Klinger's ability to bat through an innings would've been a handy asset when South Australia struggled to build partnerships against Tasmania on Sunday.

Manou said his team was 'outclassed' by a better one-day unit.

"Losing a couple of wickets early in clumps doesn't help when you are trying to lay a foundation, especially when you've got a guy like Dan Christian who we've got plans for him during the season as a powerplay specialist," he said.

"We've seen over the last couple of years it seems to be easier to chase here (at Adelaide Oval) for whatever reason but when you look at that surface it's pretty tough to not bat on it first."

Tasmanian captain George Bailey said his side's strong bowling performance set up the victory while Michael Dighton and Tim Paine's bustling opening stand of 112 was important too.

"We looked at the way we bowled and thought the best time to score was probably going to be with the two new balls when the wicket was a little bit slow," Bailey said.

"I don't think the guys took excessive risks, 'Dighters' is a clean striker of the ball at the best of times and Painey has really lifted his game in terms of being able to strike boundaries but he's a fantastic rotator as well."