Non-catch helps Bulls take lead after Lehmann's lone hand

So tightly poised is the Sheffield Shield final after Jake Lehmann's peerless hundred handed SA a decided advantage even the pair of front-foot no-ball dramas that headlined day two ultimately evened out.

Queensland enter day three holding a one-run lead with seven second wickets in hand following Lehmann's lone hand that lifted his team to a 176-run first-innings advantage as the Rolton Oval pitch showed distinct signs of flattening out.

Given the biggest first-innings deficit overcome to win a Shield final is the 104 Victoria reeled in to defeat New South Wales at the MCG in 1990-91, it was going to take some individual brilliance and a measure of good fortune to keep the Bulls in the hunt.

Queensland skipper Marnus Labuschagne looked to provide the first ingredient with his first red-ball half-century of the year, and benefited from the second when he was adjudged not out on 20 to a stunning outfield catch due to a belated no-ball decision.

SA coach Ryan Harris is renowned within his squad for his disapproval of bowlers over-stepping and positions himself in the role of umpire at training to police the practice.

"We certainly thought it was a clean catch, it was a pretty good catch," Queensland's Jack Wildermuth said of rival allrounder Liam Scott's brilliant grab that sparked the initial drama.

"We were watching pretty hard that front foot, so we were all pretty glued to the TV because usually in other Shield games we don’t have (off-field adjudication of) no-balls.

"So it was the right call I think."

Lehmann, in the batting form of his 10-year first-class career, acknowledged the controversy and a subsequent repeat that eventually saw Labuschagne depart for 61 proved pivotal as SA chase early wickets tomorrow to limited the Bulls's overall lead.

"If you ask Ryno (Harris) there should be never no-balls because he's always on to our quicks about them," Lehmann said.

"But those things happen in cricket and it was a fantastic catch, a great piece of bowling and we set him (Labuschagne) up again later.

"He's a fantastic player, he gets in the contest so it was good to get him out and love to see the back of him.

"On day one there was a little bit more moisture through the middle of the wicket and (the ball) probably stuck in the wicket a bit more and enabled it to sit up a little bit, which made it quite hard to find rhythm.

"Today it's slightly flattened out and the ball's more consistently coming through.

"It will be about finding ways to get wickets when the ball gets soft, and find a way with the new ball tomorrow with a couple of more wickets then go from there."

Scott's 'catch' was the sort of inspirational moment that could feasibly have changed the game's complexion, and might prove the sliding doors moment on which this absorbing Shield season is decided.

Labuschagne added only another 41 runs between his pair of close calls, but in that time his team narrowed the first-innings deficit that seemed so distant at the start of their second innings to fewer than 50.

By day's end, they were ever-so-slightly in the black.

SA's hard-earned lead was largely thanks to Lehmann, who not only posted the sole century of the final to date but single-handedly overtook Queensland's first innings total.

The 32-year-old, who was part of losing SA Shield final teams in 2015-16 and 2016-17, has been in irresistible touch in recent weeks and today became the first SA batter since Michael Klinger in 2008-09 to score hundreds in three successive Shield games.

The last player to better that streak in the red cap was his father, Darren, who peeled off five in four matches on the bounce between March and December 1999.

Lehmann told cricket.com.au prior to the final what it would mean to him to emulate his dad's triumph in lifting the Shield with SA 29 years ago, and he could not have done much more than his fourth ton of the summer (from just 110 balls faced) before being last man out.

"I feel like there's been some ups and downs, and things going well and things going poorly and I feel like I've been playing consistently all year, whatever cricket I've played whether it's club cricket for Kensington, first-class cricket, one-day cricket.” Lehmann said after stumps today.

"To rock up and perform in a final when there was a little bit of pressure on and some wickets falling out there is awesome.”

The end of the home team's innings coincided with lunch, and it took more than two hours of back-bending work on the increasingly benign pitch for SA's bowlers to chisel out Usman Khawaja (21) and Angus Lovell before controversy erupted.

It was the second over after tea, and just three deliveries after Scott had broken through to remove obdurate opener Lovell (38 off 80 balls) the high drama played out.

After a duck in the first innings and recent red-ball struggles during which he'd not previously reached 50 in seven first-class innings this year, Labuschagne began today's knock full of intent and showing sure footwork.

But having reached 20 from 35 balls faced, the Test number three latched on to a rare short-pitched ball from Doggett that Scott seemed to see late before charging in from his fielding position on the fine leg boundary.

The athletic 24-year-old, who had pulled off an inspired direct-hit run out in the first innings to remove Jack Clayton for a first-ball duck, made extraordinary ground as Labuschagne's lofted shot appeared certain to bounce in front of him.

Scott then launched himself forward and intercepted the ball, which made an audible slapping sound as it landed in his right hand, and immediately took off on a celebratory run before being engulfed by jubilant teammates.

Despite on-field official Sam Nogajski – added to the ICC's emerging umpires panel overnight – referring the catch's legitimacy to his off-field colleague Phil Gillespie with an accompanying soft signal of 'out', Labuschagne remained understandably unmoved.

The euphoria of the SA team huddle that was fuelled by their confidence the catch was clean then dissipated as television replays indicated Doggett was desperately close to the front line, then turned to abject disappointment when the no-ball was confirmed.

There had been disquiet on day one when Ben McDermott was caught and bowled by Jordan Buckingham and footage from the specifically-focused side-on run out cameras wasn't available for use in discerning if the SA quick had overstepped.

Instead, the third umpire relied on broadcast footage shot from mid-pitch to make his decision that eventually found in SA's favour, and Labuschagne was seen in a couple of conversations with match referee Dave Gilbert in the aftermath of that incident.

SA were confident they had Labuschagne lbw to Scott when on 11 earlier in Scott's spell, and the second decision to land in the Queensland skipper's favour appeared to briefly take the wind from the home team's sail.

The reprieve looked to have been the slice of luck Labuschagne needed to rediscover his frustratingly absent form, and he looked increasingly comfortable as he posted his first 50 of 2025 with his seventh boundary, a sweetly timed square cut off Buckingham.

History then seemed destined to repeat when, on 61 and with his team 32 runs in arrears, Labuschagne aimed a less vigorous pull at a Doggett short ball and miscued another top edge that landed in the hands of the deep backward square leg fielder running in.

Doggett's less-than-animated celebration suggested he feared another mis-step and after initial replays were shown on the big TV screens the Queensland skipper began walking back to the crease to the resume his innings.

But this time technology favoured the hosts, and Labuschagne was forced to undertake a slow walk back to the pavilion to the delight of the relieved SA players and the thunderous applause of the partisan crowd.

Queensland's fourth-wicket pair Clayton (32no) and McDermott (16no) negotiated the final hour largely untroubled adding an unbeaten stand of 33 as the Bulls look to continue their unlikely resurgence tomorrow.

It had become apparent from the resumption of play this morning that wickets were not going to tumble at the alarming regularity witnessed on day one when 16 fell alongside 253 runs which included the Bulls being humbled for 95 in their first innings.

Resuming on 6-158 and holding a 63-run lead, SA found few difficulties negotiating a ball 45 overs old as seventh-wicket pair Lehmann (42no) and Manenti (36no) routinely found their boundary and their union yielded 50 runs in the day's second over.

Just as the Bulls were beginning to wonder where a breakthrough might manifest, the introduction of leg spinner Mitchell Swepson brought instant dividends even if his wicket-taking delivery was one he might not wish to revisit.

A genuine loosener dragged down mid-pitch sat up and spun further away from right-hander, whose biggest dilemma was which boundary to smash it to in order to reach a deserved half century.

But it hit lower than the bat than planned, and looked to have cleared the leg-side in-fielders until McDermott launched himself skywards at mid-wicket and clung to the chance in his right claw, cradling it to his barrel chest as he tumbled to the turf.

Lehmann then found a willing and able ally in Nathan McAndrew and the pair fashioned an invaluable 65-run stand that at one stage threatened to push SA's lead beyond 200, but ended in the immediate aftermath of Lehmann reaching a memorable hundred,

There was no more graphic example of how batting conditions had changed than the potency of Queensland's teenage speedster Callum Vidler who had been his team's strike weapon on day one with four vital wickets earned with raw pace.

With the ball softer and the pace off the pitch reduced as it dried out on the second day of cloudless Adelaide autumn heat, Vidler was unable to pose the same threat and his six overs in today's morning session yielded 0-31.

When SA lost McAndrew (39) and Doggett (0) in the space of three deliveries to find themselves nine-down and only Jordan Buckingham – with a Shield season batting average of 0.33 - to partner Lehmann, Labuschagne brought Vidler back into the attack.

It raised the prospect of the 19-year-old becoming the youngest to claim a five-wicket bag in a Shield final, overtaking fellow Queenslander Cameron Boyce who was aged 20 years 263 days when he snared 6-181 with his leg-spin in the 2009-10 loss to Victoria.

But when he was unable to prevent Lehmann sneaking a single to retain the strike, so he was removed from the attack and replaced by Steketee who captured his first wicket in three consecutive innings of toil on Rolton Oval when SA's batting mainstay holed out for 102.

Sheffield Shield final 2024-25

March 26-30 (10.35am ACDT): South Australia v Queensland, Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide

The Sheffield Shield final will be broadcast live on Foxtel, Kayo Sports, cricket.com.au and the CA Live app

Teams 

South Australia: Henry Hunt, Conor McInerney, Nathan McSweeney (c), Jason Sangha, Alex Carey (wk), Jake Lehmann, Liam Scott, Ben Manenti, Nathan McAndrew, Brendan Doggett, Jordan Buckingham

Queensland: Usman Khawaja, Angus Lovell, Marnus Labuschagne (c), Jack Clayton, Ben McDermott, Jimmy Peirson (wk), Michael Neser, Jack Wildermuth, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson, Callum Vidler