Queensland crush Victoria in season opener

Queensland 1 for 112 (Hartley 46*) beat Victoria 111 (Steketee 4-29, Cutting 3-13) by 9 wickets
Scorecard

Queensland made a dream start in their campaign for a hat-trick of one-day titles, crushing Victoria by nine wickets in the season opener at the Gabba. The Bushrangers were sent in by Queensland captain James Hopes and rapidly capitulated to the pace of Mark Steketee, Ben Cutting and Luke Feldman, who skittled them for 111 in only 38 overs.

Steketee, who made his one-day debut for the National Performance Squad during the winter, was playing his first game for Queensland and proved a handful, collecting 4 for 29 from eight overs. His wickets included those of Victoria's captain Matthew Wade, caught behind for 13, and former skipper Cameron White, bowled for 6.

Cutting picked up 3 for 13 and Feldman took 2 for 25 as Victoria's batting line-up crumbled, with Peter Handscomb (20) the only man to get past the teens. Queensland's chase could hardly have gone better as Usman Khawaja and Chris Hartley put on 93 for the first wicket and threatened to overtake Victoria without loss.

However, on 38 Khawaja was stumped off the spin of Jon Holland, which brought Joe Burns to the crease. Burns (11 not out) and Hartley (46 not out) cruised past Victoria's total in the 22nd over, ensuring that the first result of the newly-named Matador BBQs One-Day Cup was a thorough roasting of the visitors.