Cricket News By TODAYLIVESCORE.INFO - Victoria in pole position after dominating display. Peter Handscomb and Matthew Short scored 90 apiece
Peter Handscomb and Matthew Short scored 90 apiece
Victoria put themselves firmly in the driver's seat after another dominating display on day 3 of their Sheffield Shield encounter against New South Wales. Having already taken control of the proceedings following an excellent effort with the ball, Victoria went one step further as they first shot out NSW for just 140 very early in the day before adding vital runs with the bat.
They were in spot of bother initially when Liam Hatcher and Sean Abbott struck early to remove the openers. First-innings centurion Nic Maddinson threatened to register a big score again but departed for 33 after stitching a partnership of 81 with Peter Handscomb that took the lead beyond 250.
Skipper Handscomb then ensured there was no way back for NSW as he joined forces with Matthew Short to bat the opposition out of the contest. Short in particular was also aggressive as he finished with a strike rate over 70. Both the batters missed out on their hundreds though and were dismissed for exactly 90.
The moment Short was dismissed, Victoria declared their innings setting NSW an almost improbable target of 422. On expected lines, NSW did struggle in the chase. Matthew Gilkes was dismissed for a three-ball duck whereas James Pattinson got rid of Jason Sangha for just 5. Kurtis Patterson managed to weather the storm for a while but he too departed just before Stumps, leaving NSW reeling at 61/3, still needing 361 runs for victory on the final day.
Brief scores: New South Wales 140 & 61/3 (Kurtis Patterson 24; Will Sutherland 1-12) need another 361 runs vs Victoria313/9d & 248/5d (Matthew Short 90, Peter Handscomb 90; Jack Edwards 3-47).
