O'Keefe helps put NSW within sight of victory

New South Wales 303 (Maddinson 112, Cowan 90, Hopes 4-47) and 2 for 42 (Maddinson 15*, Patterson 11*) need another 60 runs to beat Queensland 259 and 145 (Reardon 44, O'Keefe 4-38, Bollinger 3-23)
Scorecard

Steve O'Keefe might have missed selection in the Adelaide Test, but he has helped put New South Wales on the path to a likely victory in their Sheffield Shield match against Queensland at the SCG. O'Keefe collected four wickets and Doug Bollinger three as Queensland were rolled for 145 in their second innings, leaving the Blues a modest chase of 102 to win.

At stumps on the third day, New South Wales were 2 for 42, still needing a further 60 runs, with Nic Maddinson on 15 and Kurtis Patterson on 11. The openers Ed Cowan and Ryan Carters had both fallen within the first six overs but even so, it appeared Queensland had not given themselves a big enough total to defend.

The day had started with the Blues at 6 for 272 in their first innings and they added another 31 runs for the loss of their last four wickets, with James Hopes finishing with 4 for 47. But the Bulls then struggled against O'Keefe, Bollinger and Gurinder Sandhu, who collected 2 for 26 from 13.1 overs.

Nathan Reardon (44) and Jason Floros (32) offered some resistance during a 71-run partnership but when O'Keefe had Floros lbw and Bollinger bowled Reardon, the end of the innings was not far away. O'Keefe finished with 4 for 38 and seven wickets for the match, while Bollinger picked up 3 for 23.