Carey's defiance keeps fast-finishing Queensland at bay

On the back of an innings Usman Khawaja rated his best at Marsh Sheffield Shield level, Queensland almost stole a remarkable outright win over South Australia before Alex Carey guided the Redbacks through a tense final hour to a hard-earned draw.

Khawaja's knock of 174 not only stood head and shoulders above any other individual innings on a bowler-friendly surface, it enabled the Bulls to transform a 128-run first innings deficit into a last-day lead of 323 and a shot at an unexpected win.

But the Queensland skipper said that despite posting one of the most satisfying hundreds of his lengthy career, it did not alter his view about chances of a recall to Australia's Test team where he last featured during the 2019 Ashes.

"I don't even worry about Test selection or Test cricket anymore," he said at day's end after his declaration set SA a target of 324 to win from a minimum 86 overs.

"I just play the game for Queensland and do what I need to.

"I could have easily gone out there and got myself a nice little red ink (not out) today but didn't because it's not what the team needed.

"People are always going to ask me about Test cricket, that's fair enough, there is an Ashes coming up.

"But it's not even in the forefront, I am just trying to win games for Queensland.

"Honestly, it was probably my best hundred in Shield in terms of how hard I had to work.

"I had to work my arse off the whole time, there was no reprieve.

SA briefly contemplated chasing the hefty target, but the loss of key wickets Jake Carder (79) and Travis Head (23) either side of tea saw them bail out before Carey (66no in two and half hours) took them safely to 6-244 at stumps.

While Khawaja's innings effectively turned a game the Redbacks had bossed for the first two and half days, Steketee's bowling was equally decisive in the absence of regular attack leader Michael Neser.

Khawaja also revealed his pace spearhead battled a sore heel as a result of having to source new bowling boots earlier in the month, following the theft of his kit (along with that of wicketkeeper-batter and second innings centurion Jimmy Peirson's) from the Bulls' team van outside their hotel in Adelaide.

"He's the leader of the attack, Michael Neser's not here and it's usually him and Nes leading the charge," Khawaja said of Steketee's match return of 10-92 from more than 50 overs.

"Big shoes to fill but he was doing it beautifully, and every time he bowled it looked like something was going to happen."

Not only did the 27-year-old's career-first 10-for further his Ashes claims having been included in Australia's Test squad for the postponed South Africa tour earlier this year, he became the first Queensland bowler to claim 10 in a Shield match at Adelaide Oval since his bowling coach Andy Bichel in 2003-04.

He was the primary threat through the first 70 overs of SA's innings, but come the start of the final hour – with Queensland pushing hard for a remarkable win – Khawaja turned to spin pair Matt Kuhnemann and Marnus Labuschagne before a final, ultimately unsuccessful, flourish with the second new-ball.

The luck that had eluded the Redbacks during Queensland's second innings also arrived at an opportune time, with Head (on 21) dropped by Peirson standing-up to Kuhnemann, and Carey (on 9) spilled by Bryce Street at extra cover from a low chance an over later.

However, when Head bunted a catch to forward square leg soon after to become Steketee's 10th wicket of the match, the odds on an SA win had stretched from unlikely to unimaginable.

And the loss of first innings top-scorer Harry Nielsen (13) to a top-edged pull eight overs later signalled the end of any notional pursuit, as Carey and allrounder Nathan McAndrew (9 off 66) survived 20 overs.

"We still rocked up this morning feeling like we were a chance of winning the game of cricket, and probably Jakey (Carder) getting out just before the tea break and me just after set us back a bit," Head said at day's end.

"We probably didn’t deserve to lose the game, and for most of the game we were right in the hunt to win it."

Queensland had started the final day 4-370 and leading by 242, and confirmed their strategy from the morning's opening delivery from Daniel Worral which Khawaja muscled over mid-wicket for his 13th boundary.

The Bulls skipper should have been out next ball when his flashing drive brought an edge that would have struck Nathan McSweeney at second slip on the forehead had he not ducked beneath it as it scooted to the third-man rope and Queensland pummelled 16 from the opening over.

The luck Khawaja had ridden throughout his 440-minute stay ran out on 174 when he chipped to mid-wicket, but by that stage he was effectively playing support role to Peirson who had blazed to his second century in as many Shield innings.

The 29-year-old's third (and eventually biggest) first-class hundred arrived from 141 balls faced, a scoring rate that made a mockery of the challenges endured by every other batter on a bowler-friendly surface over the preceding two and a half days.

And after Khawaja's departure, Peirson swung into T20 mode and clubbed four boundaries and a six from the next 14 balls he faced as Queensland rattled along at more than eight runs an over before the declaration came 36 minutes into the day.

The indignity heaped upon an SA attack that was mostly immaculate for the first 100 overs of the innings was exemplified by Worrall who leaked runs at barely one per over yesterday but went for 46 off four (including a dropped return catch) this morning.

Khawaja's declaration ensured SA needed to score at a rate of more than 3.5 per over, when the batting pace for most of the match had hovered around two and a half.

History also indicated it was going to take a batting performance of rare quality for SA to claim their first Shield win in more than 20 months, given the last time they compiled that sort of last-day total at such a clip at Adelaide Oval was in 2009 when they scored 5-324 off 79.1 overs to beat Tasmania.

The fact that triumph was underpinned by a century from Mark Cosgrove (currently engaged as Emerging Redbacks coach) against an attack including Luke Butterworth (now Redbacks bowling coach) meant there would have been some positivity in the home rooms when their innings began.

Not that any immediate intent was obvious in the middle.

Redbacks opening pair Henry Hunt and Jake Carder could scarcely have been more circumspect, with the innings' first runs off the bat not arriving until the seventh over when Carder drove Jack Wildermuth to the long-off boundary.

Steketee was proving even more difficult to get away, sending down six consecutive maidens during which he picked up the wicket of Hunt (0) whose attempted leg glance ended up in the hands of Bryce Street at gully.

Carder and Nathan McSweeney – a last-minute installation at No.3 when regular opener Jake Weatherald withdrew on match eve with a foot injury – showed increasingly greater surety as they reached lunch with SA 1-34 from 19 overs.

And the pair pushed the scoring rate past two an over before McSweeney fell lbw to Steketee, at which point the game had effectively become a one-dayer with the Redbacks needing 228 from the best part of 50 overs.

However, the scenario changed immediately before tea when Carder (79) fell to a low caught and bowled by Kuhnemann, another victim of a delivery that appeared to "hold" in the pitch.

It was therefore up to Head and Carey to either steal an unlikely win, or save their team from defeat that seemed unthinkable midway through the match.