Murphy gives WA a scare on record-breaking day

Emerging off-spinner Todd Murphy gave Victoria brief hope they could force a stunning victory over Western Australia before the Junction Oval surface ultimately won out on the final day of their Marsh Sheffield Shield clash.

Given 66 overs to survive on the final day with a deficit of 150 after Peter Handscomb declared Victoria's mammoth first innings on 4-616, the visitors were reduced to 3-19 as Murphy wreaked havoc with the new ball.

The 21-year-old deceived Sam Whiteman (2) in the fourth over as the WA skipper ran past a delivery and was out bowled, before first innings centurion Cameron Bancroft (6) chipped a catch to mid-on four overs later.

When young prodigy Teague Wyllie (11) picked out fine leg off Cameron McClure (2-22) trying to repeat his six from the previous ball, it left WA in a perilous position with more than 57 overs still remaining in the day.

Hilton Cartwright and Josh Philippe (24) put WA's survival back on track before two controversial umpiring decisions marred what had turned out to be an enthralling final day of a batter dominated contest between last season's finalists.

Philippe was given out caught at short leg off McClure, with replays – of which the umpires are without in the Shield – clearly showing the ball had bounced before reaching Marcus Harris.

Aaron Hardie, who pummelled Victoria for 174no in last season's decider, then padded away an off-break from Murphy (3-42) outside the off-stump only to be adjudged leg before even though replays suggested the ball still had a long way to travel to hit the stumps.

Cartwright (76no) and D'Arcy Short (39no) pushed WA into the lead before dropping anchor to see their side to safety, with the visitors finishing 5-185 when the players shook hands at 5.15pm with 10 overs to go.

But the final day belonged to Handscomb who etched his name in the record books with an epic career-best 281 not out.

The Victoria skipper resumed on Thursday morning unbeaten on 174, reaching his second double ton in 314 deliveries as the hosts piled on the runs in the opening session.

Wicketkeeper Sam Harper also struck his second first-class century as he and Handscomb put on a record fifth-wicket partnership for Victoria of 338, bettering the previous mark of 316 set by Grant Gardiner and Laurie Harper in 1997.

Harper finished unbeaten on 132 as the hosts declared at lunch on day four with a lead of 150, adding 170 without loss in the opening session.

Handscomb, who was the 2021-22 Marsh Sheffield Shield's leading run-scorer with 697 has now started this season with two centuries in two matches following his 132 against South Australia last week.

"I think I'll probably start to enjoy it a little bit more later, in the moment you just try and do what's right for the team," Handscomb said after the match.

"I'm feeling good … but I've got to just keep trying to do what I'm doing, stick to routines, my processes and plans and continue to score as many runs as possible for the season.

"I got lucky on a couple of times as well, I was dropped a few times so I feel good, but they take one of those catches and we're not having these conversations.

"The Test side is obviously doing pretty well at the moment and there's only a certain amount of batting spots.

"So it doesn't matter how good I'm feeling or what I'm doing, if there are no spots available, then no one is getting in."

Handscomb said the much talked about Junction Oval surface, which produced its sixth draw in seven matches, would have made a great Test pitch had the match gone another day.

The last two Shield wickets at the Junction Oval have been used previously – in this case for two T20 World Cup warm-up matches last week – with Victoria trying to prepare drier surfaces to bring their two spinners into the match to yield a result.

"With another day on that anything really could have happened," Handscomb said.

"The lead in to try and make a spinning wicket wasn't ideal with the weather and the floods here.

"What we're trying to make this ground into and the identity of this ground, the (curator) has done an incredible job to get that kind of wicket and in other circumstances there would have been a few more tricks on day three and four and potentially a result."

The two sides do battle again on Saturday at the same venue in a Marsh One-Day Cup fixture.