Handscomb hundred keeps Victoria on top

Peter Handscomb reached his second century of the Sheffield Shield season late on the third day in Adelaide, where Victoria built a strong first-innings lead on a good batting surface. Victoria started the morning at 1 for 201 and by stumps they were 5 for 521, with Handscomb on 100 and Daniel Christian on 64, and their advantage over South Australia was 90 runs.

Handscomb brought up his hundred in the final over of the day off Gary Putland and it continued a strong start to the summer for him - his Shield scores this season have been 108 not out, 96, 10 and now 100 not out. Christian will begin the fourth day hoping to become the third centurion in Victoria's innings, after opener Chris Rogers began with 107.

Rogers added only three to his overnight score before he was caught off the bowling of Joe Mennie, but his century should have erased any doubts over his place in the Test side ahead of the series against India. Mennie followed in his next over by having Cameron White caught and bowled for 8, but South Australia managed only two more wickets for the rest of the day.

By stumps, six Victorians had scored made half-centuries or better, and Marcus Stoinis (90) and David Hussey (81) both missed out on the chance to turn theirs into hundreds. Stoinis fell to Putland and Hussey was caught behind off Mennie, who finished with 3 for 62, but at the close of play the Handscomb-Christian partnership was worth 139 and much work remained for the Redbacks.