SOUTH Australia pace bowler Jordan Buckingham had a terrific first-class outing in his side’s draw against Victoria in the Sheffield Shield on the weekend.

Against a stacked Victorian batting lineup, Buckingham displayed his potential with a strong showing across both innings, where he withstood some aggression from the batsmen and was able to break through and claim some crucial wickets.

At just 22 years of age, Buckingham’s best appears to still be ahead of him, but the match against the Victorians perfectly showed he is set to come into his own and become a real weapon for the Redbacks in years to come.

Jordan Buckingham vs. Victoria

First Innings – 3/67 (28 overs)
Second Innings – 4/78 (21 overs)

Buckingham’s first wicket came at the end of his seventh over, as he managed to produce some out-swing and draw an edge from Matt Short, with keeper Alex Carey taking the catch. Short was replaced by Sam Harper, who is a power-hitting weapon capable of posting a big total, but it was Buckingham that struck again and broke any potential partnership. He again implemented a strong level of out-swing, but also produced a shorter delivery that surprised Harper, who poked at the ball and nicked it to Carey again.

Buckingham’s third and final wicket of the innings was a crucial one, finally able to dismiss the red-hot Will Sutherland, who had just notched up a ton with a classy knock. He conjured a fair amount of seam and rocketed the ball into off-stump, sending Victoria’s young gun back to the sheds, and just about ending the opposition’s innings.

Buckingham did not set the world on fire during his time at the crease, but that is not what the team requires of him, and he managed to back up his impact with ball in hand in Victoria’s second innings.

Much like the first innings, it took Buckingham a while to finally strike with ball in hand, with wicket number one coming in his 10th over. He was once again able to claim the scalp of Short, after he tried to find the boundary but the shot fell into the arms of Nathan McSweeney.

Harper finally got on a bit of a roll himself, getting past 30 runs in no time at all. He looked set for a match-winning knock before Buckingham proved to be his kryptonite again. It was another shorter delivery that got the job done, as Buckingham pushed the ball across the wicket, and a sloppy shot attempt saw Harper flick the ball straight back to Carey.

Buckingham was not done yet, claiming the two most dangerous scalps remaining. Peter Handscombe was in the midst of a massive performance, having reached over 130 runs in what could be a result-defining outing. However, Buckingham got the breakthrough, again forcing an ambitious shot which was caught in the outfield.

He claimed the final wicket of the innings shortly after, in similar fashion. He forced Sutherland to play a shot down off-side, and given the delivery was so full, it was tough to get any momentum under the ball, and it was caught in point.

Overall, it appears unlikely that the Redbacks would have been able to conjure a draw had Buckingham not chimed in four seven crucial wickets. No South Australian bowler spent more time with ball in hand, and he was the best at his craft over the four day match.