Hearne the hero as Bulls defeat NSW despite Konstas ton

Blue-turned-Bull Lachlan Hearne has kept Queensland's hopes of a berth in the Dean Jones Trophy final alive with a starring performance against top-placed NSW at Allan Border Field.

Hearne smashed an 86-ball century, his first one-day domestic hundred, as Queensland took out victory by 54 runs despite a brilliant 116 from Sam Konstas.

The Bulls reached 9-310 from their allocated 45 overs (reduced after a pre-match downpour), largely thanks to the tall left-hander Hearne, who made the move to Queensland 18 months ago after losing his NSW contract, and allrounder Jack Wildermuth, who crashed a personal best 83 off 56.

In reply, Konstas was the sole batter to get going for the travelling side as wickets regularly fell around him, initially struggling against the left-arm swing of Liam Guthrie before finding his groove in just his second match in the format.

He reached three figures in just 82 balls, despite suffering from severe leg cramps for the final 40 balls of his innings.

Konstas fell with 72 runs still required, trying to launch Gurinder Sandhu for his fourth six but falling short.

The Blues needed to reach to 248 runs to deny the Bulls a crucial bonus point, and the last-wicket pair managed to scrape across the line before the result was decided.

It was a rough start for the hosts after being sent in, falling to 4-54 with the NSW quicks getting just enough sideways movement.

Hearne, who a month earlier smashed a 62-ball ton against the touring England Lions side at the same venue, found a willing partner in Max Bryant (34 off 38) as the pair looked to counterattack.

They combined for 72 runs in a five-over stretch, culminating with Hearne depositing Moises Henriques for four successive sixes.

The carnage continued after the fall of Bryant with Hearne and Wildermuth putting on a 120-run stand in only 85 balls, the second-highest six-wicket stand in QLD's history.  

The NSW chase started brightly enough, reaching 100 for the loss of just one wicket (Josh Philippe for 23).

But from the moment Jimmy Peirson took an excellent leg-side catch to dismiss Matt Gilkes (34), the Blues' pursuit wobbled.

Under-19 World Cup winner Callum Vidler, earlier presented with his Bulls cap by Xavier Bartlett, delivered a hammer blow in the 19th over with the wickets of Henriques and Ollie Davies in the space of three balls with searing pace.

Konstas, who'd been living a charmed life after a string of French cuts, got a life on 60 when a leading edge ballooned up towards the off-side. Matthew Renshaw was running back from cover, got to the drop of the ball easily but the ball spilled out of his hands as he slid on his knees.

The teenager found success with the reverse sweep, especially against leg-spinner Mitch Swepson, which included a six over backward point.

It was around this point of the innings – the 25th over – that Konstas begun visibly struggling with cramp in his legs. A swig of pickle juice at the fall of the Shaw (23 off 30) wicket did not help, as two balls later Konstas was flat on his back, writhing in pain as Queensland keeper Jimmy Peirson held his left leg aloft. After a five-minute delay, Konstas was given the all clear to continue but his gait had noticeably changed.

Queensland, sitting in fourth and five points behind ladder leaders NSW before this round, haven't drastically improved their ladder position but are now within striking distance of a top-two spot required to make the Dean Jones Trophy final.

One-Day Cup standings 2024-25

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Batting Bonus Bat	Total points PTS
1 South Australia Men SA	7	4	2	0	1	0.25	0	3	21
2 Victoria Men VIC	7	4	3	0	0	-0.162	0	2	18
3 NSW Men NSW	7	3	3	0	1	0.099	0	2	16
4 Queensland Bulls QLD	7	3	3	0	1	0.244	0	1	15
5 Tasmanian Tigers Men TAS	7	3	3	0	1	0.134	0	1	15
6 Western Australia Men WA	7	2	5	0	0	-0.481	0	1	9

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

Bat: Batting Bonus

PTS: Total points