NSW scrape home against SA

Stuart Clark’s heroic efforts have helped New South Wales edge out South Australia in a thrilling two-wicket victory late on day three of the Pura Cup match in Adelaide today.

Clark picked up six wickets to have the Redbacks dismissed for 267 earlier in the day, before hammering a career-best 62, weathering a fearful South Australian attack that had reduced the Blues to a surreal 4-1 in their chase of a meagre 134.

Speedster Shaun Tait spearheaded the carnage, trapping Phil Jaques and Ed Cowan leg-before-wicket both without scoring, then had Beau Casson (seven) caught behind at 5-12.

Tait eventually finished with 4-46 off 10.5 overs, while Jason Gillespie also picked up the wickets of Greg Mail and Brad Haddin for ducks in his first over to register figures of 2-35 off eight.

After the visitors slumped to 6-46, Dominic Thornely united with Clark to post a burly 78-run partnership in only 56 balls to hoist their team to 6-124.

Clark played his natural game from the onset, and after being dropped by Tait off Cullen Bailey when on six, he registered his maiden first-class fifty in only 34 balls.

His knock eventually came undone on 62 off only 37 deliveries, including four towering sixes, when he was caught at long-on off Bailey (2-52), before the leg-spinner had Matthew Nicholson caught-and-bowled for a duck three balls later, leaving New South Wales still with five runs to win.

However, Thornely’s (47no) composure helped the Blues over the line, and he brought up the winning runs with a majestic hook shot over long leg off Tait’s next over for six.

Earlier in the day, South Australia resumed on 2-103, as Mark Cosgrove and Cam Borgas made light work of a less threatening New South Wales attack.

The pair shared in a dominant 165-run partnership, hoisting the Redbacks from 2-13 to 2-178 after scoring at a run-a-minute in the opening session.

Though, nearing his fifth Pura Cup century, Cosgrove (94) edged Doug Bollinger to Greg Mail to end the partnership, while Borgas (72) fell at 4-202, cutting a boundary off Stuart MacGill, however, tripped on his stumps.

Callum Ferguson (39) made a start batting at five, but was unable to proceed, while Darren Lehmann (16) looked his typical self before dabbling outside off to Bollinger and was caught in similar mode to Cosgrove.

Clark headed the assault, taking 4-3 off his final 18 deliveries to finish with 6-39, helping the home side lose their last eight wickets for only 89 runs.

“I’d say it’s one of my more better games (all-round),” said Clark, who claimed 8-72 and scored 87 collectively for the match.

“I found it hard facing Shaun Tait, who bowled at a great pace.

“He’s bowling fast, he’s bowling accurately.

“South Australia’s never out of the game when he’s in the team.

“I put my name in front of the selectors,” he said, regarding his Ashes aspirations.

“It’s going to come down to what line up they want … if they want to go with express pace, then I probably won’t get a call up.”

Lehmann was positive overall with his team’s performance on the third day, in particular Tait.

“I was happy obviously with the way we bowled today,” the SA captain said.

“It would have been great to make more runs in the first innings and take more wickets in the first innings. We were probably only 30 or 40 runs short in the end.

“He (Tait) seems to bowl well when we’re under real pressure.

“It was the first time he swung the new ball all year.”

South Australia - First Innings - all out 154

New South Wales - First Innings - all out 288

South Australia - Second Innings
S DEITZ lbw b Clark 2
M ELLIOTT lbw b Clark 6
C BORGAS hit wicket b MacGill 72
M COSGROVE c Mail b Bollinger 94
C FERGUSON c Haddin b Clark 39
D LEHMANN c Mail b Bollinger 16
G MANOU st Haddin b MacGill 6
C BAILEY lbw b Clark 9
J GILLESPIE c Haddin b Clark 2
P ROFE not out 1
S TAIT b Clark 0

Sundries (5b, 3lb, 12nb) 20
Total (all out) 267

Fall: 10, 13, 178, 202, 227, 242, 264, 266, 267, 267

Bowling: S Clark 21.1-8-39-6 (1nb), M Nicholson 22-7-40-0 (5nb), D Thornely 4-2-12-0, S MacGill 22-1-92-2 (4nb), D Bollinger 16-2-66-2 (2nb), B Casson 3-1-10-0.

Innings time: 368 mins. Overs: 88.1

New South Wales - Second Innings (target 134)
G MAIL c Manou b Gillespie 0
P JAQUES lbw b Tait 0
E COWAN lbw b Tait 0
D THORNELY not out 47
B HADDIN lbw b Gillespie 0
B CASSON c Manou b Tait 7
A O’BRIEN c Ferguson b Tait 16
S CLARK c Rofe b Bailey 62
M NICHOLSON c & b Bailey 0
D BOLLINGER not out 0

Sundries (1b, 1lb, 1nb) 3
Total (for 8 wickets) 135

Fall: 1, 1, 1, 1, 12, 46, 124, 129

Bowling: S Tait 10.5-2-46-4 (1nb), J Gillespie 8-1-35-2, C Bailey 6-0-52-2.

Innings time: 133 mins. Overs: 24.5

New South Wales won by two wickets
Points: New South Wales 6, South Australia 0
MOTM: S Clark (NSW)

12th Men: D Harris (SA), M Henriques (NSW)
Toss: South Australia
Umpires: S Davis, A Collins
Venue: Adelaide Oval
Attendance: -

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