NSW skittle Western Australia for 82

New South Wales 4 for 127 (Smith 48) lead Western Australia 82 (Hazlewood 4-14, Bollinger 4-28) by 45 runs
Scorecard

Doug Bollinger and Josh Hazlewood gave New South Wales the perfect start in their push to earn hosting rights for the Sheffield Shield final, skittling Western Australia for 82 on the first day of their match in Canberra. At stumps, the Blues had already taken first-innings points and were 4 for 127, leading by 45 runs with Kurtis Patterson on 18 and Peter Nevill on 6.

New South Wales and Western Australia both entered this final round of matches on 26 points, along with South Australia, meaning that victory in this game would guarantee a place in the decider and possibly the home advantage. Because the SCG will be unavailable for the Shield final due to a Major League Baseball game, New South Wales have nominated Manuka Oval as their alternative venue and they certainly began well there in this match.

Western Australia chose to bat but captain Adam Voges might have quickly regretted his decision as Hazlewood and Bollinger reduced the Warriors to 5 for 15 in the eighth over. The return of Shaun Marsh from Test duty in South Africa did not help Western Australia as he was bowled for a second-ball duck by Bollinger, meaning that since the Centurion Test, in which he scored a century, he has now made three successive ducks.

Nathan Lyon chipped in with two wickets and only two batsmen reached double figures for Western Australia, Ashton Turner with 25 and Jason Behrendorff, who finished unbeaten on 15 after Bollinger and Hazlewood wrapped up the tail to end up with four wickets each. In reply, New South Wales passed Western Australia's total two wickets down, with Steven Smith top scoring with 48.