WA have the chance to shoot up to second on the Sheffield Shield table after edging closer to victory in their match against Queensland
Match Report: Western Australia win by 146 runs
ScorecardQueensland dig in after Inglis ton puts WA on top
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Josh Inglis has come to Western Australia's rescue with a sparkling century to put his team on track for victory in their Marsh Sheffield Shield clash with Queensland at the WACA Ground.
Chasing a mammoth 448 for victory, Queensland will resume play on the final day at 1-56, with Angus Lovell (37no) and Jack Clayton (13no) at the crease.
WA took a 140-run first-innings lead after rolling Queensland for 170 on Saturday.
But the hosts were looking wobbly at 4-58 in their second innings on Sunday before Inglis (136no off 165 balls) took control.
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Inglis combined with D'Arcy Short for a 124-run stand to help lift WA to 7(dec)-307.
WA spinner Corey Rocchiccioli snared Bulls opener Bryce Street for five, but Lovell and Clayton dug in to make it safely to stumps.
Inglis, who scored 47 in WA's first-innings 310, was happy with how he performed in his first Shield hit-out of the season.
"I haven't played much red-ball cricket, but to come back and have an impact and help the team to be a really good position, I'm happy," Inglis said.
"We're in a good position. I probably would have liked one or two more (wickets) tonight, but their guys played well.
"I think there's still a bit in it (the wicket). There's plenty of divots out there on both sides of the wicket, and plenty of bounce and spin for Rocchiccioli as well.
"I think if we put the ball in good areas tomorrow, we'll get another nine chances."
WA's top four put up little resistance as Cameron Bancroft (12), Sam Whiteman (33), Jayden Goodwin (0) and Hilton Cartwright (9) fell before the 25-over mark.
Cartwright batted despite injuring a finger during the team's warm-up a day earlier. It's not yet known how serious the injury is.
WA tail-enders Joel Paris (28) and Cameron Gannon (25no off 18 balls) added some handy late runs to ably support Inglis, who cracked 17 fours and one six.
WA will rise to second on the ladder if they can beat the Bulls and Victoria are defeated by Tasmania.
Victoria enter the final day of their match in Tasmania needing 69 more runs for victory but with only two wickets in hand.
Queensland, fifth on the ladder, haven't given up hope of pulling off what would be a famous victory against WA.
"I think the wicket is in a pretty good spot," captain Jimmy Peirson said.
"There's a little bit there when you hit the right area. But when the ball gets softer, we saw today with the way 'Ingo' (Inglis) batted, you can get in there and score runs.
"It's left us a big total to chase down, but stranger things have happened."
Sheffield Shield 2023-24 standings
| Team | M | W | L | D | N/R | Ded. | Bat | Bowl | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
WA
|
10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5.53 | 9.4 | 47.93 |
|
2
TAS
|
10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6.06 | 8.3 | 47.36 |
|
3
NSW
|
10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6.31 | 9 | 42.31 |
|
4
VIC
|
10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.74 | 8.2 | 38.94 |
|
5
SA
|
10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.19 | 9.3 | 33.49 |
|
6
QLD
|
10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.54 | 8.3 | 25.84 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points