Clinical Western Australia pull off easy win

SHEFFIELD SHIELD 2023-24

Representative Image: Nathan McSweeney batted 242 balls for his 67.

Western Australia vs Queensland

Western Australia moved to the second spot in the Sheffield Shield standings after picking up a facile win over Queensland on the final day. Chasing a mammoth 448, Queensland resumed at 56/1 but lost an early wicket that set the tone for the rest of the day. Cameron Gannon's breakthroughs reduced them to 117/5 as they were staring at a huge defeat. Ben McDermott and Jack Wildermuth then stitched together a useful stand to stem the fall of wickets. While McDermott hit a patient half-century, Wildermuth narrowly missed out on a ton and made 91. Once their resistance came to an end, Queensland were bowled out for 301, to lose the contest by 146 runs.

Brief scores: Western Australia 310 (Jayden Goodwin 115; Xavier Bartlett 5/64) & 307/7d (Josh Inglis 136*) beat Queensland170 (Jack Wildermuth 41; Corey Rocchiccioli 4/54) & 301 (Jack Wildermuth 91; Corey Rocchiccioli 4/109) by 146 runs

New South Wales vs South Australia

New South Wales and South Australia played out an entertaining draw on the final day in Sydney after NSW declared post fetching a first innings lead of 223 runs. Fighting to eke out a draw, SA received an early jolt when the openers Kyle Brazell and Jake Fraser-McGurk were sent packing with just two runs on the board. Nathan McSweeney and Thomas Kelly then steadied the ship and hit patient fifties to drag the game. Just when the pair had batted out over 40 overs, NSW struck again to reduce the batting side to 189/5. From thereon, an entertaining finish was in store. While SA managed to avoid an innings defeat, wickets did fall at regular intervals at the other end. Eventually, McSweeney batting out 242 deliveries made a massive difference as Ben Manenti took charge at the end to erase the deficit and force a draw with just one wicket left.

Brief scores: South Australia 287 (Ben Manenti 71; Jack Nisbet 3/50) & 259/9 (Thomas Kelly 69; Jack Edwards 4/59) drew with New South Wales510/8d (Oliver Davies 116; Daniel Hughes 114)

Tasmania vs Victoria

On expected lines, Tasmania completed an easy win over Victoria on the final day. A see-saw battle swung in favour of Tasmania late on the third day with four wickets and all they needed was just two more on the final day to complete the win. Will Sutherland made it easier after he was dismissed in the very first over of the day. Less than three overs later, the final wicket also fell to give Tasmania a 57-run win. Their place in the Sheffield Shield final is now almost guaranteed with this win.

Brief scores: Tasmania 240 (Jake Doran 47; Will Sutherland 5/73) & 307 (Beau Webster 167*) beat Victoria 106 (Gabe Bell 4/21) & 384 (Nic Maddinson 109; Iain Carlisle 4/68) by 57 runs