Blues settle for draw after Cameron's ten

New South Wales 394 and 4 for 122 drew with Victoria 394 and 240 (McDonald 64*, Casson 5-97, Cameron 4-86)
Scorecard

Mark Cameron enjoyed his first ten-wicket match and Beau Casson regained some bowling form but the top-of-the-table clash between Victoria and New South Wales petered out to a draw at the SCG. The remarkable first-innings tie secured both teams a place in the Pura Cup final, however neither side could claim an advantage on the fourth day.

New South Wales were set a chase of 241 from at least 44 overs but they were in no hurry to overhaul the target as Greg Mail took half an hour to get off the mark. Andrew McDonald and Bryce McGain picked up two wickets each but neither side looked like pulling off a win and the game was called off after 46 overs with the Blues at 4 for 122.

Victoria had been dismissed for 240 halfway through the middle session as Casson grabbed 5 for 97, which were his best first-class figures since moving to New South Wales from Western Australia. Cameron collected 4 for 86 to finish with a match haul of 10 for 187 and the Blues could not call on Doug Bollinger and Moises Henriques, both of whom had injuries.

David Hussey returned to the Victoria line-up following his fruitless call-up into Australia's ODI squad, however he only managed 9 batting in the unfamiliar No. 7 position and left the Bushrangers at 6 for 143. McDonald top scored with 64 not out and put together a handy 60-run stand with Matthew Wade (36) when it seemed the Blues might run through the lower order.

Both teams are on 33 points and hosting rights for the decider will now come down to the final two rounds of Pura Cup matches, to be played over the next three weeks. The Blues take on Tasmania in Hobart and finish with South Australia at the SCG, while the Bushrangers face a trip to Western Australia before ending their season at home against Queensland.