Redbacks hold advantage after McAndrew’s five

Nathan McAndrew's reward for bowling South Australia into a position of strength with a five-wicket haul on day two of their Marsh Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales was to be sent out as night watchman with his team under the pump late in the afternoon.

Unfortunately for the accomplished allrounder he survived just five deliveries in his unfamiliar guise as a number four batter, but the Redbacks hold a narrow advantage at the game's midway point with an overall lead of 167 and seven second-innings wickets in hand.

A key to their ascendancy was the pressure applied by their three-man seam attack of McAndrew (5-42), Wes Agar (2-50) and Harry Conway (2-43) backed up by some sharp catching on an Adelaide Oval pitch that is proving hard work for batters of all persuasions.

McAndrew claimed his stint in the UK county competition last winter has further honed his bowling skills on pitches such as Adelaide's that offer "tennis-ball bounce", adding it was a willingness to bowl fuller and attack the stumps that paid dividends for the Redbacks today.

"I've been lucky to play here for a couple of years and think I've found a natural length that hits the top of the stumps and makes the batters play at more balls," McAndrew said at day's end, with South Australia 3-57 in their second innings.

"That's all I try to focus on.

"It would have been nice not to have lost as many wickets tonight, but they came out with their tails up and bowled really well, the Blues.

"But we've got a nice platform to try and build on that lead tomorrow and get well ahead of the game, and try and bowl them out on day four."

Twenty three wickets have tumbled for the addition of less than 550 runs across two days, with South Australia’s Nathan McSweeney and NSW keeper-batter Matthew Gilkes the only two to have reached 50.

Both Gilkes and McAndrew noted at day's end the ball was "going through the surface" ensuring bounce was variable and seam movement occasionally exaggerated, with Gilkes claiming a fourth innings chase above 300 would likely prove hard work for the Blues.

"It's a bit frustrating to be so behind in the game, but we're still well and truly in it if we can go out there and get more wickets early tomorrow" he said.

"It was definitely coming through the top, and a little bit poppy off the wicket with still enough seam (movement) there.

"I think 300-plus will be tough (to chase) but we've got a very capable batting line-up and we can chase anything on the last day.

"Under 300 would be great, but we've got a lot of work to do to get there."

NSW were bowled out for 183 in less than 60 overs, but that score would have been markedly less if not for the defiant last-wicket stand of 57 he fashioned with 20-year-old Jack Nisbet who remained unbeaten on 21 in his maiden Shield innings.

Coming off a first-ball duck in his only prior Shield innings this season, Gilkes had watched on from the non-striker's end as NSW surrendered 5-46 either side of tea and slumped to 9-127 before he found a willing partner in Nisbet.

"He's a great competitor Jacky, and still very young," Gilkes said of his batting partner.

"I tried to take a majority of the balls off Macca (McAndrew) and then just tried to play the spin normally, he's a great player of spin."

The highly competitive Nisbet then made his team's initial breakthrough with the ball when he pinned SA opener Kelvin Smith in front in his first over of the Redbacks second innings, and later knocked over McAndrew as evening shadows stretched across Adelaide Oval.

McAndrew had been deployed as nightwatchman after opener Henry Hunt – who was struck a painful blow amidships by Jackson Bird and endured an equally torrid half-hour immediately afterwards in which he didn't score a run – edged to slip.

McAndrew's all-round capabilities with bat and as first-change seamer have elevated him to perhaps the Redbacks most valuable Shield player.

His presence and contribution to team balance was undoubtedly missed in their season-opener against Tasmania when he was sidelined with calf soreness, but his impact was almost immediate when thrown the ball this morning.

The 30-year-old, who hails from Wollongong on NSW's south coast, entered the attack after Agar and Conway had sent down six overs between them and broke the Blues' opening partnership in the fifth over of his spell.

But it was his five-ball burst after lunch, in which he snared three vital top-order wickets without conceding a run, that altered the game's complexion as national selector Tony Dodemaide watched with interest from the sidelines.

Having trapped Jason Sangha leg before with a delivery that looked to be shaving leg stump, McAndrew followed up by having obdurate opener Ryan Hackney caught in a carefully planned leg-gully trap having batted more than two hours for his 37.

Next ball, McAndrew knocked over NSW's first-round century maker Jack Edwards who shouldered arms to a delivery that jagged in and tilted back off-stump to leave the visitors reeling at 6-81 and the SA seamer on a hat-trick.

Chris Green denied McAndrew the rare milestone, and then fashioned an invaluable 41-run stand for the seventh-wicket with Gilkes who was the final wicket to fall, handing the all-rounder the fourth five-wicket haul of his eight-year first-class career.

"It wasn't the best, it was at least hitting the stumps because I normally get the yips when I've had a hat-trick ball in the past," McAndrew said of the delivery that Green kept out.

"So it was good to at least make Greeny play, but it didn't look all that threatening – he had it covered pretty easily."

SA had resumed this morning on 8-262, with the aim publicly stated by McSweeney at the close of day one to "get another 30 or 40, get to 300 then get bowling".

Agar signalled his intention to reach that benchmark in a hurry and holed out to deep mid-wicket in the process, prompting McAndrew to likewise swing hard and when he was bowled launching a wild heave at Chris Tremain – who finished with 4-57 – the innings total stood at 293.

With only three seam bowlers in their arsenal, as opposed to the Blues battery of five, SA needed wickets while the ball was new and deployed five slips for Agar's opening over.

But NSW's opening pair Hackney and in-form Daniel Hughes put together a cautious first-wicket stand of 35 before, in the 15th over, Hughes aimed an expansive drive that landed in the safe hands of Ben Manenti at second slip and NSW were unable to gain sure footing from that moment.

Kurtis Patterson departed just moments shy of lunch when squared up with the resultant edge smartly snared by Jake Lehmann diving low to his left at third slip, and SA then landed a hefty blow when Henriques fell for a third-ball duck to his highly visible frustration.

Henriques stood at the crease for several seconds in disbelief at being adjudged caught behind, even though bat was well away from his body in aiming a flashing drive that sent bowler Agar and an ecstatic slips cordon into spontaneous celebration before umpire Troy Penman's finger was raised.

The veteran all-rounder's grievance was doubtless compounded by the precipitous state his team took into the break at 3-41, with greater calamity to come in the session that followed.

Sheffield Shield 2023-24 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Drawn D	No results N/R	Deductions Ded.	Batting Bonus Bat	Bowling Bonus Bowl	Total points PTS
1 Western Australia Men WA	10	5	2	3	0	0	5.53	9.4	47.93
2 Tasmanian Tigers Men TAS	10	5	2	3	0	0	6.06	8.3	47.36
3 NSW Men NSW	10	4	3	3	0	0	6.31	9	42.31
4 Victoria Men VIC	10	4	4	2	0	0	4.74	8.2	38.94
5 South Australia Men SA	10	3	6	1	0	0	5.19	9.3	33.49
6 Queensland Bulls QLD	10	2	6	2	0	0	3.54	8.3	25.84

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

D: Drawn

N/R: No results

Ded.: Deductions

Bat: Batting Bonus

Bowl: Bowling Bonus

PTS: Total points