Cameron Green’s difficult summer with the bat continued with a single-digit score as pace bowlers ran rampant on the opening day of three Sheffield Shield matches on Friday.
The WA all-rounder was trapped LVW for six by Tasmanian debutant Kieran Elliott as 41 wickets tumbled across the three games, with only six batters managing to reach 50.
Batting in his preferred position at No. 4, Green’s red-ball preparation for the New Zealand Test series got off to a poor start as the Warriors fought to 4-118 in reply to Tasmania’s 183 in Hobart.
Jayden Goodwin, the son of Zimbabwean Test cricketer Murray Goodwin, posted his second Shield half-century to reach stumps unbeaten on 53 alongside Hilton Cartwright (22).
Earlier in the day Green (1-14) was only called upon to bowl four overs, with Aaron Hardie already offering WA a fourth seam-bowling option and taking the new ball alongside the impressive Joel Paris (4-48).
Victorian captain Will Sutherland returned to the red-ball format following his own ODI debut in top form to claim a five-wicket haul as New South Wales was bowled out for 252 at the SCG.
Sutherland removed Blues openers Blake Nikitaras (29) and returning U19 World Cup champion Sam Konstas (26) in consecutive overs to trigger a collapse of 5-22, before Jack Edwards and Matthew Gilkes steadied the ship with a partnership of 131 for the sixth wicket.
But Edwards’ counter-attacking innings came to a heartbreaking end on 99 when he wafted at a short and wide delivery from Scott Boland and edged the ball through to keeper Sam Harper, throwing his head back in disgust at his shot.
The wicket meant Boland (3-47) moved past Paul Reiffel (318 wickets for Victoria) into outright first place on the state’s list of all-time Sheffield Shield wicket-takers with 321.
Acting Queensland captain Marnus Labuschagne battled hard to find form and push his side in front but fell minutes before stumps for a gritty 38 off 112 balls as the Bulls slumped to 7-111 in reply to South Australia’s 132 at the Adelaide Oval.
Leading a side for the first time in first-class cricket as skipper Usman Khawaja was rested, Labuschagne batted for more than two hours but was brought unstuck by a wide delivery from Nathan McAndrew which he chopped onto his stumps.
McAndrew claimed 2-19 and Jordan Buckingham was dangerous with the new ball as he claimed 3-37, but the Redbacks pair was outshone by the Bulls seamers, who ripped through the top order in the morning session to leave them shell-shocked at 3-0.
New Australian white-ball star Xavier Bartlett took his wicket-taking momentum into his first Sheffield Shield game for the summer and delivered a reality check for boom youngster Jake Fraser-McGurk.
Fraser-McGurk, who former Australian captain Ricky Ponting suggested should be “fast tracked” in to the Australian Test set-up after he slashed 41 runs off just 18-balls in his second ODI against the West Indies, was elevated to open but departed for a fourth-ball duck after snicking a Bartlett outswinger.
After taking 10 wickets in his opening three limited overs games for Australia, Bartlett took two more in his first and second overs, with Jimmy Peirson launching himself first to the left off a Michael Neser delivery and then spectacularly to his right for Bartlett’s second to be involved in all three wickets.
Alex Carey’s 49 from 55 balls proved crucial for the Redbacks as he put on 64 with captain Jake Lehmann (52) to keep them in the game.
