West Aussies on top after two days in Shield opener
SEASON 2022/23 of the Sheffield Shield kicked off earlier in the week, with Western Australia and the New South Wales Blues beginning their four-day first class clash at WACA Ground.
The Western Australians were the winners of the 2021/22 Sheffield Shield, and came into the season with the list capable of defending the title. The Blues on the other hand, were looking to rise up the rankings after just a pair of wins in their previous campaign.
The two sides also clashed in the Marsh One Day Cup on the weekend, with WA emerging dominant winners, bowling the Blues out for just 76 runs.
That form looks to have carried into the red ball format, with Western Australia continuing to outperform the opposition in a big way.
The Blues batted first and WA took no time before asserting their bowling dominance once again. It was a theme that carried over from the Marsh Cup match last week. The Blues simply could not get going with bat in hand, with no genuine partnership coming to the forefront.
Apart from Kurtis Patterson‘s unbeaten knock of 72, no player scored above 21 for New South Wales, and the entire batting lineup was dismissed for just 180 runs, a total that was more than achievable for the Western Aussies.
Things looked shaky however to start the home side’s innings, when openers Cameron Bancroft (two runs) and Sam Whiteman (duck) were both dismissed by Ben Dwarshius. Sam Fanning and Hilton Cartright were solid at the crease shortly after, but it was youngster Teague Wyllie that was the difference.
He rewrote the history books and became the youngest player to score a shield ton since Ricky Ponting. His composed knock of 104 runs from 204 balls included 15 fours, as he picked the gaps to perfection. Punishing the likes of Nathan Lyon and Liam Hatcher, Wylie steered WA into the lead, and thanks to Matthew Kelly‘s 47-run effort, the side went into day three with a 78-run lead.
New South Wales had started day three in decent fashion, with the Blues building a promising opening partnership, before Blake Nikitaras edged one through to the keeper, dismissed for 25 runs. It was all downhill from there, as the wickets began to fall for the Blues. At the time of publication, WA had the opposition sitting at figures of 4/64 in the second innings, and in full control of the game.
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