Western Australia versus Victoria
After a 15-wicket day in Melbourne, the match between Victoria and Western Australia is expected to come down to an intriguing conclusion. Victoria lost wickets at regular intervals in the second day, with only Mitchell Perry and Matthew Short making a significant contribution. Prior to stumps on the first day, Victoria had already lost Nic Maddinson. After Western Australia had a dreadful start to their second innings, Cameron Gannon cleaned up the tail and concluded with a five-wicket haul to give his side a 100-run lead. That proved to be huge in the end.
While Fergus O’Neill shook the batting side to drop them to 31/4, Cameron Bancroft put up a resolute resistance and the others folded around him. After that, Bancroft and Josh Inglis helped their team recover, but now that the wicketkeeper has left the game at 45, it is up to the opening to score some crucial runs on the last day. With four wickets remaining, WA leads by 219 runs at this point. If they win and Tasmania loses against South Australia, they might be able to make it to the home final.
Brief scores: Josh Inglis 45, Fergus O’Neil 3/30, and Western Australia 244 & 119/6 lead Victoria 144 (Matthew Short 53, Cameron Gannon 5/42) by 219 runs.
South Australia versus Tasmania
After South Australia set a target of 324 to win the game, Tasmania found themselves in danger of losing their hold on a home final. After losing Matthew Wade early in the day, Tasmania was already spooked before stumps and were struggling at 48/6. Although Jake Doran scored a vital fifty to help his team surpass100, Tasmania ultimately gave away a 148 lead.
The second essay saw their bowlers come back to help them fight back, but Harry Nielsen’s fifty proved to be crucial as South Australia finished with 175. That was sufficient to set a goal of more over 300, and they also dismissed Wade for the second time that day, giving Tasmania pause. Now, they need 316 runs more to win the match at home.
Brief scores: 8/1 need an additional 316 runs vs South Australia 271 & 175 (Harry Nielsen 53; Beau Webster 3/37) & Tasmania 123 (Jake Doran 52; Nathan McAndrew 6/44)
New South Wales versus Queensland
Despite losing most of the first day’s play due to rain on Monday, New South Wales enjoyed a successful second day and led by 78 at stumps. Queensland was suffering at 49/6 at one point, but Xavier Bartlett’s counterattacking performance, which featured five sixes, stunned the opponents and helped his team end with 144. Then, Bartlett showed off his confidence by hitting the first ball, but NSW was able to rally. After dismissing half-centurion Sam Konstas and Moises Henriques off consecutive deliveries, Mitchell Swepson temporarily put NSW in control, but Oliver Davies hammered an undefeated 79 to put his team ahead.
Brief scores: Queensland 144 (Xavier Bartlett 70; Chris Tremain 6/20) are trailed by 78 runs by New South Wales 222/5 (Oliver Davies 79*, Sam Konstas 57, Callum Vidler 2/50) runs.
