Redbacks' last pair hold on for thrilling draw

South Australia 3 for 89 dec and 9 for 309 (Ferguson 65, Lehmann 51, Johnson 5-43) drew with Queensland 342 and 5 for 99 dec (Perren 34, Gillespie 3-41)
Scorecard

The tailenders Jason Gillespie and Paul Rofe survived 38 deliveries to achieve a nail-biting draw against Queensland at Adelaide Oval. To keep a rain-hit match alive both captains declared today and South Australia, who were chasing 353, were in desperate trouble when Dan Cullen was ninth out at 299, but the final pairing thwarted the Bulls' charge, which was set up by the five-wicket effort of Mitchell Johnson.

In a fine example of result-driven play, Darren Lehmann closed the Redbacks' first innings at the day two stumps score of 3 for 89 - the third day was washed out - to give two points to Queensland, who batted aggressively for 19 overs before Jimmy Maher called his batsmen in. South Australia had 91 overs to reach their target and the chase was on track as Lehmann and Callum Ferguson combined for a 110-run partnership, but when Lehmann was bowled by Michael Kasprowicz for 51 and Ferguson departed to a Johnson edge for 65 an over later the team's only thought was of a draw.

Johnson, a left-arm fast bowler tipped as a Test prospect, then removed Graham Manou and Cullen as the home side lost their final three wickets for 10 runs before clinging on. Queensland had one narrow opportunity for victory when Rofe edged Andy Bichel just short of Clinton Perren with three overs remaining.

The chase started steadily until Johnson claimed Shane Deitz and Greg Blewett either side of lunch to disrupt South Australia's progress, while Matthew Elliott was dropped twice before missing a swinging yorker from Kasprowicz, who will join Elliott at the English county Glamorgan next winter. Gillespie finished his return to the first-class arena with 3 for 41 to add to his 2 for 40 on day one.