Queensland topple Vics again in ‘extreme’ conditions
Shayne Hope |
Victoria coach Chris Rogers concedes his table-topping Sheffield Shield side need to get better after a second defeat to Queensland this season, this time in “extreme” batting conditions.
A low-scoring contest at the MCG went down to the wire on Sunday, with defiant debutant Dylan Brasher threatening to drag Victoria over the line before the visitors prevailed by 36 runs.
Queensland opener Hugo Burdon was named player-of-the-match with scores of 43 in both innings, such was the difficulty players from both sides had in making scores.
A total of 17 wickets fell on day one, bringing more heat on MCG officials and head curator Matt Page.
It came after the disastrous Boxing Day Test ended inside two days and cost Cricket Australia more than $10 million in lost revenue.
The rate of wickets settled down in the top-of-the-table Shield clash, which went into a fourth day, though batting remained difficult throughout.
Brasher top-scored with 72 in Victoria’s second innings, but he and stand-in captain Peter Handscomb were the only batters to post half-centuries.
Handscomb made 67 in Victoria’s first innings, after they remarkably had fallen to 5-11 at one stage on a dramatic opening day.
“When one ball’s getting taken above head high and the next one’s around the shin, that makes it really, really hard to play with confidence knowing where the ball is going to be height-wise,” Rogers told reporters post-match.
“(Then you) add in sideways movement to that.
“If you look at dismissals in isolation you might think, ‘Oh, that was a poor shot.’
“But there’s a build-up to that and there’s probably a bit of hesitancy around how a number of the players played.
“It took someone like Pete Handscomb, who’s at the very top of his game, to fight through it – and even then he needed a lot of luck.
“There’s challenges there. It’s the same for both sides. That’s the way it is.”
Pleased with his team’s all-round performance, Queensland coach Johan Botha had no issues with the MCG surface and welcomed the bowler-friendly conditions.
The former South Africa allrounder noted the Bulls had only taken 20 wickets once in their previous six outings this Shield season.
“For us it’s probably nice to come to a little bit more of a shootout where there’s wickets and you’ve really got to bat well,” Botha said.
“Our few home games have been pretty good wickets and the guys have been cashing in.
“I know the (MCG) ground staff have been under pressure and the Test match and all of that stuff, but I think this was an excellent wicket.”
Chasing 242 to win, Victoria resumed at 6-150 on the final day and were bowled out for 205 before lunch.
Brasher was the last man out, dismissed by Queensland seamer Tom Straker (4-32), who also cleaned up Victoria’s top order with the first three wickets of the innings on day three.
Leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson (3-55) claimed two of the four wickets on Sunday, with Test quick Michael Neser (1-51) also snaring one.
Straker starred with career-best match figures of 7-75.
Queensland’s win lifts the second-placed Bulls to 33.38 points on the Shield table, behind leaders Victoria on 42.17.
“They’ve had our number twice and we’ve got to be better,” Rogers said..
“We know what the questions are and we’ve got to find the answers now.”
AAP
