Western Australia are staring down the barrel of their first Sheffield Protect loss to Victoria on the WACA Floor in almost 5 years after one other day largely dominated by the guests.
After WA had been bundled out for simply 122 on the opening day, the Vics’ first-innings lead grew to 176 earlier than they had been bowled out for 298 early within the ultimate session.
WA will resume on 3-88, nonetheless trailing by 88, after opener Cameron Bancroft (31) was eliminated six minutes earlier than stumps by Check seamer Scott Boland who took his sixth wicket of the match.
It got here after Bancroft and Hilton Cartwright (34no) fought again late from 2-25 with a 53-run third-wicket stand.
Nightwatchman Corey Rocchiccioli (0no) negotiated a tricky ultimate over from Boland.
Earlier, ex-West Aussie and Check opener Marcus Harris set the tone with an eye catching 84, which included 15 boundaries, with the in-form Matt Quick (82) and younger gun Campbell Kellaway (64) additionally posting half-centuries to place their staff nearer to a second-straight defend decider in opposition to WA in Perth subsequent week.
Victoria is 1.02 factors forward of Queensland in second place, midway via the ultimate spherical.
WA’s first-innings deficit would’ve been a lot bigger if not for unlikely bowling hero Cartwright, who proved to have the golden arm in his first spell of 2023, breaking the 112-run fourth-wicket stand between Kellaway and Quick on his technique to three scalps to spark a collapse of 7-66.
With Aaron Hardie surprisingly not getting a bowl, Cartwright made probably the most of his uncommon alternative with 3-14 from six overs of medium-pace as opposition skipper Will Sutherland (two) and gloveman Sam Harper (11) adopted Kellaway again to the pavilion.
His quick stuff was notably efficient with all three scalps caught behind the wicket, together with two from ‘keeper Josh Philippe, to assist put the brakes on what regarded like being a 200-plus lead for Victoria.
Cameron Gannon (4-93) and Charlie Stobo (2-63) then made additional inroads with the second new ball because the Vics went from 3-233 to 8-295 by tea and 298 all out quickly after the resumption.
Gannon bounced again from getting a little bit of faucet from Quick and Harris early within the day to take three of the final 4 wickets on the innings, however nonetheless went for greater than 4 runs an over.
WA’s lead had diminished to only one run earlier than their first wicket of the day, with paceman David Moody (1-64) eliminating a livid Harris who was caught down the leg-side 16 shy of his 25th first-class century with the rating at 3-121.
Boland (2-31) backed up his 4 first-innings scalps with the early wicket of WA captain Sam Whiteman, LBW for a duck, earlier than Mitch Perry eliminated teenager Teague Wyllie (16 off 17) who bought going early with three boundaries.
