da spicy bet： The New South Wales Blues came back from a first-innings deficit of 187 tobeat the Western Warriors by 51 runs in an extraordinary Pura Cup comeback atNorth Sydney Oval today
da roleta： Rick Eyre04-Dec-2000The New South Wales Blues came back from a first-innings deficit of 187 tobeat the Western Warriors by 51 runs in an extraordinary Pura Cup comeback atNorth Sydney Oval today.Needing just 141 runs for victory in a little less than five hours, the WestAustralians were bundled out for 89 in only 35.3 overs on a pitch which wasstarting to keep low.The key destroyers for NSW were left-arm paceman Nathan Bracken (5/22 from 15overs) and right-arm speedster Don Nash (3/31 from 11.3). Brendon Julianplayed a swashbuckling innings of a run-a-ball 32, but coming to the creaseat 6/49 it was too little, too late.The final day began with the Blues 6/246, only 59 ahead with four secondinnings wickets in hand. They pushed the score along to 327, thanks mainly toa 51-run eighth wicket stand between Corey Richards (66) and Nash – perhapsthe most rotund first-class cricketer in Australia today – who belted threefours and two sixes in a 35-ball innings of 32.What looked sure to be a formality for the Warriors began turning sour in thefirst over when Ryan Campbell’s stumps were spreadeagled by Nash before a runhad been scored. Simon Katich (5) was run out when a quick single to aninnocuous misfield turned to disaster thanks to an underarm side-on directhit by Richards. Damien Martyn fell to the first ball he faced, and whenMike Hussey (4) was trapped lbw it was 4/15.It could have taken just one good partnership to turn the game back in WA’sfavour, but that one good partnership never came. When Tom Moody’s grim 85-minute seventeen came to an end it was left to the erratic brilliance ofBrendon Julian. When he holed out to Michael Bevan at long-off attemptinghis second six of the innings, the unbelievable started to have the feel ofreality.This was a match the Blues did not deserve to win from the first hour of thefirst morning. Devoid of their six internationals who were busy annihilatingthe West Indies in Perth, NSW were 5/49 in their first innings after captainShane Lee won the toss and decided to bat in overcast, humid conditions. Itwas an enterprising 87 from Brad Haddin, supported by Mark Higgs (34,amazingly his highest first-class score to date), who elevated the Blues’total to 226 all out late on Friday.Jo Angel, Brendon Julian and Brad Oldroyd took three wickets apiece for theWarriors, who replied with a first innings total of 413. The highlight of theWA innings was a dashing 192-run third-wicket partnership between SimonKatich (117) and Damien Martyn (92). Katich’s eleventh first-class centurywas a knock of the highest calibre, taking full advantage of some at timesindifferent NSW bowling. Julian (76) dominated a 109-run eighth-wicketpartnership with Jo Angel (37) that elevated the Warriors total to a pointwhere an innings victory seemed highly achievable.In the NSW second innings, a determined 92 by Greg Mail and an equallyresolute 57 from Michael Bevan enabled the home side to make WesternAustralia bat a second time, but when they both departed on Sunday afternoonit appeared that the Blues’ cause was lost. Few could have predicted whatwould happen on Monday.The outright win means that New South Wales are level on the top of the PuraCup ladder with Queensland (who drew with Victoria on Saturday) on 14 pointsfrom four games. WA did not leave North Sydney Oval empty-handed, taking twopoints for the first-innings lead, but they are now equal last on 4 pts withTasmania after South Australia defeated the Tigers at Adelaide Oval today.
