Vics grind visitors into dust
The Sunday Age
Sunday March 21, 2010
THE only thing that died quicker than Queensland's chances of winning the Sheffield Shield final against Victoria was the contest itself.Even though the Bushrangers started day four with a 321-run lead €” 82 more than the record score to win the final €” it took another 78 overs and 318 runs for them to decide the weary Bulls had suffered enough in the MCG field.Chasing 640 for victory after the declaration, 68 runs more than the highest fourth-innings total in 107 years of shield cricket, Queensland survived a tricky 10 overs to reach 0-29 at stumps, with Ryan Broad (9) and Wade Townsend (16) at the crease.The only issue today is whether Victoria will claim the title by bowling the Bulls out in the 90 overs remaining in the match, or if it peters out into a draw and the Bushrangers win it by default as the top-ranked team.In a day almost completely devoid of highlights due to the tedium of the inevitable outcome, the stand-out moments were David Hussey posting his second consecutive shield-final century €” his 168 also made him the season's top run-scorer with 970 €” and apprentice builder Cameron Boyce claiming 6-181 with his leg-spin in only his second shield match. He also became the first Queensland leg-spinner to claim five wickets since Bruce Oxenford 18 years ago. Oxenford was one of the two central umpires for the match.As Victoria batted well into the last session it was hard not to conclude its motivation was revenge on the Bulls for having posted 6-900 in the final four years ago, during which the Bushrangers had to field for just over 16 hours.While century-maker Hussey said deliberations over the declaration were solely the domain of captain Cameron White and coach Greg Shipperd, he conceded he had wanted the Bulls to be in the field for as long as possible."Nick Jewell and I were talking about it in the rooms just after tea time. I wanted to keep batting and Nick wanted to keep batting because it was definitely a long time . . . 242 overs we had to field for. It's definitely stuck in the memory bank," he said.Nevertheless, Hussey said the Bushrangers would be striving to bowl out the Bulls today, to make their defence of the shield title even more emphatic."You always want to win the match, but I think Queensland are a very proud state and they don't want to lose the game to us. Last year we drew . . . I think that's why he had the declaration tonight," he said."Hopefully we can get 10 wickets . . . in front of a decent crowd."Hussey, who began the day on 63, made his intentions clear by clubbing three sixes within the first 20 minutes. His century came in the 12th over of the day. The only time he was made to look comparatively sluggish was after partner Aaron Finch was brilliantly run-out by substitute Jason Floros, when White took the lead.The captain and vice-captain had a 170-run partnership before Hussey fell to a stunning catch from Lee Carseldine. In the next over White, on 89, chopped onto his stumps off Boyce.The 20-year-old Queenslander, the first spinner to take six wickets in a shield final, said he hoped his haul justified the decision to select him for this match, just a week after his debut."It's good to pay back people like [captain] Chris Simpson and [coach] Trevor Barsby by taking wickets. It's just a massive confidence boost," he said.The bowling performance of Boyce was commended by Hussey, one of the best players of spin in Australia. "I thought he was very, very talented. He turns the ball, got good revolutions on the ball, drifts it. He's got a big future in the game. Hopefully up in Queensland they can produce some spinning wickets up there instead of green seamers."
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