Hopefuls flourish and fail at the SCG

Victoria are in complete control of their Sheffield Shield clash against NSW at the SCG on a day where Test aspirants flourished and failed.

At stumps on day three, NSW are 1-39 in pursuit of 391, with Daniel Hughes (16no) and nightwatchman Nathan Lyon (2no) at the crease.

Blues young gun Kurtis Patterson did his Test selection chances no harm with a polished 55, while Peter Nevill (26), Nic Maddinson (6) and Glenn Maxwell (3) were unable to post a big score they needed to put their names in the spotlight.

Left-arm spinners Jon Holland (2-58) and Stephen O’Keefe (2-6) bowled well on a wearing wicket, but Lyon couldn’t bring an end to his first-class wicket drought that now stands at 97 overs. But O'Keefe picked up an injury blow, with a Cricket NSW spokesman comfirming the left-armer had a "low-grade calf injury". It remains to be seen what that does to his chances of Test selection, but it is not serious enough to prevent O'Keefe from batting in the NSW second innings if required.

Overnight Blues opener Hughes (42) fell from the fifth ball of the morning to Holland, before the small crowd in attendance were treated to some sublime stroke play from the bat of Patterson.

The languid left-hander leant on a half-volley from right-arm paceman Scott Boland (3-51) with impeccable timing and followed it up with a textbook back-foot cover-drive to emphasise his class against fast bowling.

While Patterson was making it look easy, Maddinson was tied down by former NSW quick Chris Tremain (4-22).

The Victorian was eventually rewarded for his patience with the wicket of Maddinson, who was bowled by a ball that pitched short of a length and went underground, beating the batsman’s outside edge and crash into off-stump.

While much of the selection talk ahead of the third Test squad announcement on Sunday has been around batsmen, Tremain reminded selectors why he made his international debut this year with a metronomic spell of fast bowling.

In seven consecutive overs, the right-armer claimed 2-1 and bowled six straight maidens.

Zeroing in at the stumps, Tremain gave allrounder Moises Henriques no room to free his arms, and with a two men placed in close on the leg-side, no easy single to get off strike.

It took 13 balls for Henriques to pinch a single and get off the mark, but in between his arrival to the crease and his exit 20 balls later, Patterson became Holland’s second victim of the morning.

Patterson looked at ease against the Bushrangers seamers, but the left-arm spin of Holland and the rough outside his off-stump were creating issues.

A full ball from Holland spat up and took the glove of the 23-year-old, falling safely to the turf, before another kept low to bring an end to his innings.

Playing back to the Victorian, Patterson was left defenceless as the ball spun sharply, kept low and hit the front pad at ankle-height plumb in front to leave the umpire no choice but to terminate his innings on 55.

Nine balls later, Henriques was back in the SCG dressing room when he too was judged lbw to Tremain for 2.

Holland bowled 16 unchanged overs from the Randwick End during the morning session as he staked a claim for a Test recall after his two matches in the Sri Lanka this winter.

Following lunch it was allrounder Glenn Maxwell who took over the spinning duties from Holland and he should have had the wicket of Nevill, but Daniel Christian – who reeled in two good catches at first slip on day two – put down a chance at short mid-wicket.

The shoe was on the other foot next over when Nevill was dropped off the bowling of Christian by a diving Peter Handscomb at gully.

But Christian took the fielders out of play when he bowled Nevill with a ball that hit a crack, veered in and kept a fraction low, ending a 59-run seventh wicket stand.

Trent Copeland was obdurate during his 95-ball 35 before Scott Boland found an edge with the old ball, and the Victorian clattered into Lyon's stumps with a shiny new Kookaburra six overs later.

Doug Bollinger went down swinging to be the last man out for the Blues, gifting Tremain a fourth wicket on his former home ground and handing the Bushrangers a 285-run lead.

Victoria skipper Matthew Wade declined to enforce the follow-on, allowing first-innings century-maker Travis Dean and pint-sized opener Marcus Harris to throw the bat in the search for quick runs.

Dean added 29 to his 134 from day one but was out to O’Keefe and a terrific one-handed catch by Blues captain Steve Smith at cover.

Harris continued his excellent start to the Shield season with a quick-fire 62no from 67 balls, including 10 boundaries.

Harris now has scores of 115, 77, 75, 28 and 62no to be the competition’s second-highest run-scorer, behind only his Vics teammate Handscomb.

Wade declared shortly after the promoted Maxwell top-edged a sweep shot off O’Keefe to set NSW 391 to win from 108 overs.

Australia vice-captain David Warner missed out in the first innings but started with intent late in the day, uppercutting his first ball over the slips and to the vacant third man region for three.

The daunting rough outside his off-stump didn’t worry Warner when he launched Holland into the empty stands beyond straight mid-wicket for the first six of the day.

But as the artificial light took over and with only a few overs left in the day, Warner dragged Tremain on to his stumps to fall for 20.

Nightwatchman Lyon copped a nasty blow to his left arm in the final over but after a quick visit by the NSW physio batted on to see his side through to play’s end. 

NSW XI: David Warner, Ed Cowan, Steve Smith (c), Kurtis Patterson, Nic Maddinson, Moises Henriques, Peter Nevill (wk), Steve O’Keefe, Trent Copeland, Nathan Lyon, Doug Bollinger

Victoria XI: Marcus Harris, Travis Dean, Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade (c,wk), Glenn Maxwell, Cameron White, Dan Christian, Scott Boland, Chris Tremain, Jon Holland

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