Love hurts Warriors with 186

Queensland 7 for 480 (Love 186, Hopes 90, Hayden 76, Hogg 4-95) lead Western Australia 208 by 272 runs
Scorecard

Martin Love has left behind a poor start to his season and smashed 186 - including 105 in a session - to put Queensland in control of their Pura Cup match against Western Australia at the WACA. Love, James Hopes and Matthew Hayden combined to help Queensland smash 414 runs on day two, leaving them at 7 for 480 in reply to the Warriors' 208.

Love struggled to find his rhythm in the first session, scoring 28 before lunch as Hayden (76) blitzed the bowlers, but he turned on a show in the second in which he plundered 22 boundaries. When he was finally caught behind off the part-time bowling of Michael Hussey, Love had hit 35 fours and one six, and become Queensland's most prolific batsman with 27 centuries - one more than Matthew Hayden - and 10,084 runs.

Love's 186 came after he accumulated only 15 in his first four innings of the season. His comeback from poor form echoed last year, when he had averaged 14.88 in his nine previous innings and then scored 106 and 50 in a Queensland victory at the WACA. This season's effort could not have come at a better time for the Bulls, who are on the bottom of the Pura Cup table with two losses.

Hopes partnered Love in a 143-run stand and made 90 from 89 deliveries before he became Brad Hogg's fourth victim. Hogg continued the new trend of spinners being the leading wicket-takers for Western Australia, finishing the day with 4 for 95.

Chris Hartley (32 not out) and Andy Bichel (26 not out) added 52 before stumps as the Warriors' pace attack struggled to break partnerships. After returning from the Champions Trophy in India, Shane Watson, who made 0, and Andrew Symonds (3) were the only Queensland batsmen to fail.