Ferguson anchors Redbacks
Callum Ferguson transcended a career defined by flattering starts by carving out a determined century as South Australia reached 5 for 256 against Queensland on day one of the Sheffield Shield match
ESPNcricinfo staff
23-Oct-2012
Callum Ferguson transcended a career so far defined by flattering starts by carving out a determined century as South Australia reached 5 for 256 against Queensland on day one of the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval.
Having won the toss and batted on a dry Adelaide surface, the Redbacks needed some kind of foundation to recover from two heavy defeats in their first two Shield fixtures, and Ferguson provided it with arguably the most measured of his eight first-class centuries against a Bulls attack that kept things tight all day.
Ben Cutting and the visiting captain James Hopes shared four wickets between them while conceding fewer than three runs an over, while Nathan Hauritz and Cameron Boyce gained sharp turn at times to vindicate the inclusion of two spinners.
Coming in at a precarious 2 for 29, Ferguson steadied the innings somewhat with the fit-again Michael Klinger, and added another 57 with the young left-hander Travis Head.
The loss of Head and Christian either side of the tea break gave Queensland a glimpse of SA's tail, but the wicketkeeper Tim Ludeman hung around to add an unbeaten 69 fort he sixth wicket and help Ferguson to his century.