A COMBINED six wickets from Michael Neser and Mark Steketee has steered the Queensland Bulls to victory against Victoria in the Marsh One Day Cup, when the two sides met at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane on Tuesday.

The Vics were dismissed for just 171 runs with three overs still on the board. Although the likes of Scott Boland had potential for a big day with ball in hand, the Bulls reached the required total after just 36 overs.

Neser and Steketee that got the job done in the match’s first innings, ripping through the Victorian batting order with three wickets apiece. The pair have proven themselves across all domestic formats in the past, and took advantage of a bowling friendly pitch that was providing plenty of movement.

Queensland Bulls (3/173) def. Victoria (171)

The Bulls won the toss and made the predictable decision to bowl first as it was likely to be causing the batsmen some havoc. That is exactly what happened, as Neser struck early, using the movement in the pitch to send in a rocket that bamboozled Matt Short en route to skittling the stumps for the first wicket of the match.

Nic Maddinson began to put some runs on the board, but Marcus Harris was run out on the back of some terrific fielding from Sam Truloff, who was excellent around the ground all day. After Maddinson was dismissed, Victoria put its hopes in the partnership of Campbell Kellaway and Sam Harper in the middle order. While the pair managed to get the total back to respectable, Steketee struck and claimed his second scalp of the match in the form of Kellaway, with the poor strike caught by his partner in crime in Neser.

The latter took care of the dangerous duo of Fergus O’Neill and Jack Prestwidge with some nice swing and seam on the ball. Neser’s biggest weapon is his pace, and it certainly rattled the Victorian batting order. Steketee finished the job by drawing a mis-hit from Boland, a delivery that had perfect length to end the first innings.

Usman Khawaja (26 off 44) got the Bulls going after Sam Heazlett was bowled by the Boxing Day hero in Boland, and ensured the side stayed on track in the run chase. The real MVP in the batting lineup on Tuesday was Truloff, who registered 55 runs from 79 deliveries, including seven boundaries.

His shot selection was terrific, while Truloff’s timing was exquisite as he did not allow the Bulls’ bowling attack to get going on the unkind surface. His half-century allowed Max Bryant (41 off 29) and Matthew Renshaw (37 off 55) to finish the job.

It was Queensland’s first triumph of season 2022/23 in the Marsh Cup, and could prove a catalyst as it looks towards the NSW Blues on the 27th of November, while Victoria sustained its third loss of the fixture.