At the MCG, the reigning Sheffield Shield champions Victoria slid to their third defeat in four games after a tense finish. Left with 59 deliveries in the fading light, the hosts went down with only seven balls left in the day. The leg spinner Mitchell Swepson trapped Jon Holland LBW to seal a dramatic victory.
With Peter Siddle and Holland, Chris Tremain had gutsy ninth and tenth wicket partnerships. Lasting 15.4 and 8.4 overs, respectively, Swepson’s strike arrived for the visitors just in time.
Earlier in the day, when Jimmy Peirson’s 51 took Queensland from their 270/7 to 306 before lunch, they set Victoria a 190-run target. In the run-chase, Blake L Edwards, coming in second-change, got rid of opener Matthew Short. Victoria put on 47 runs for the first wicket. Victoria slipped with the wicket of Peter Handscomb to 52 for 3 during rain breaks, and then to 85 for 5 with the wicket of Aaron Finch.
The last two wickets were picked by Swepson, who finished with 3 for 17. Short’s 27 off 55 balls remained the highest individual score in the innings.
Because of this defeat, this season, Victoria has not still registered a win and is stuck at the bottom of the points table.
Brief Scores: Queensland183 & 306 (Mark Steketee 52, Jimmy Peirson 51; James Pattinson 4-66) beat Victoria 300/9 dec and 130 (Matthew Short 27, Mitchell Swepson 3-17) by 59 runs.
