Lehmann, Head lead South Australia to recovery

A century of some panache by Jake Lehmann and a supporting hand by his captain Travis Head lifted South Australia to a decent first innings against Victoria on day one of the Sheffield Shield match at the MCG.

Arriving at the crease after the Bushrangers had struck three times with the new ball, Lehmann counter-attacked so effectively that he raced to 74 by lunch and ultimately made it to 103, all watched by the selection chairman Trevor Hohns, as he deliberated on who should fill the Nos. 6 and 7 slots for Australia in the first Ashes Test at the Gabba.

Head's more measured innings was also an indicator of his candidacy for the role, even if he was disappointed to fall to the hook shot not long after Lehmann had also been dismissed by the short ball. Lehmann's upper cut off Scott Boland was taken by a diving Aaron Finch at third man.

In the final session, Tom Cooper and Alex Carey formed a serviceable partnership, before the wicketkeeper was visibly annoyed to slice a catch to point when a bigger score would also have pressed him into Ashes contention. Boland, Chris Tremain and Peter Siddle all bowled presentably for the Bushrangers, but, thanks to Lehmann, could not capitalise on their early successes.