An unbelievable record 73-run final-wicket partnership between Kane Richardson and Gurinder Sandhu denied NSW what seemed a certain victory for the second time in three days in their one-day clash against Queensland.
A batting resistance from the Bulls in the Sheffield Shield clash between the two teams denied the Blues a first four-day win since 2021 and again the local bowlers failed to ice the game at North Sydney Oval.
NSW had managed just 217 from less than 45 overs batting first thanks to stirring 82 from captain Moises Henriques and 59 from opener Damel Hughes.
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That total looked more than enough when Queensland slumped to 9-146, victory hopes looking dashed before the brilliant last wicket stand as Richardson finished the match with a massive six off Ben Dwarshuis, one of two the fast bowler hit.
“Look at that last shot!” Sandhu told Fox Cricket.
“Best shot of the day, best shot of the season maybe.
“Thirty (runs) out, he said, ‘Let’s make sure we’re not changing what we’re doing if we do get closer.
“He’s been there a few times where he’s changed it up when he’s got closer, and it hasn’t worked.
“It’s obviously working, so let’s just keep doing that same thing.”
Richardson struck an equal career-best 36 off just 34 balls and Sandhu finished unbeaten 46, to go with the two-wickets he took with the ball in a man-of-the-match performance.
It was Queensland’s first one-day win of the summer and piled on more misery for NSW who went winless in the Shield season for the first tie ever last season, and also managed just two one-day wins.
“It was awesome,” Sandhu said.
“The wicket wasn’t playing too many tricks. It was a little bit slow and popping a little bit.
“I said, ‘Let’s just get through and get yourself in. In 20 balls, it’ll get a lot easier.’ Thankfully we were able to do that.”
The tail-end rescue was needed after Test opener Usman Khawaja continued his lacklustre start to the domestic season.
Khawaja, who was out for 12 opening the batting has made just 61 runs in four innings across the one-day and Shield games this season, with a high score of just 30.
In Perth Fast bowling duo Jhye Richardson and Lance Morris made perfect cricketing returns with the five-Test summer fast approaching as they combined to rout Victoria for just 107 in their one-day clash in Perth.
The minuscule score was 18 runs less than the 125 made by 21-year-old former Victorian batter Jake Fraser-McGurk, who moved to South Australia for more opportunities, as he smashed a world record 29-ball hundred on Sunday.
Playing his first state game since January after a horror run of injuries stretching back to last summer, Richardson made a blistering opening, taking two wickets in his first three overs at the WACA.
Then Morris, who travelled to India with the Test squad in March but has played a single one-day game in September having reconstructed his bowling action to deal with a stress spot in his back, turned up the heat when he came on to bowl.
Considered by many the fastest bowler in the country, Morris matched Richardson’s effort to also snare two wickets in two overs as the home team demolished the Victorian batting order.
A day after Fraser-McGurk, who made his state debut as a 17-year-old in 2019, set a new world record for the fastest hundred in a professional one-day game for his new state, the Vics were rolled inside 22 overs for just 107.
Jason Behrendorff and Andrew Tye also took three wickets each and Victoria was 8-62 before Test spinner Todd Murphy and tailender Fergus O’Neill, who top-scored with 22, put on 36 to avoid total embarrassment for the visitors.
In response WA lost just … wickets as they reeled in the total …
Morris remains firmly on the radar of Test selectors and now Richardson, who has played three Tests and 15 ODIs since his international debut in 2017, will continue to push his claims for a return to national colours having undergone surgery in March to deal with a frustrating hamstring issue
