Bancroft ton gives WA lead

New South Wales 316 and 1 for 107 (Patterson 49*, Hughes 45*) trail Western Australia 8 for 511 dec (Bancroft 144, Harris 120, Turner 96, Sandhu 3-110) by 88 runs
Scorecard

Opener Cameron Bancroft scored his sixth first-class century to give Western Australia a 195-run first-innings lead in Perth. New South Wales, however, hit back, courtesy an unbroken 86-run partnership between Daniel Hughes and Kurtis Patterson. The steady stand had come after Nick Larkin was dismissed by Joel Paris for 11.

The hosts remained in control for most of the day, Bancroft leading the way and pushing for an Australia berth with 144 off 340 balls, spanning 444 minutes. He was assisted by Ashton Turner and Hilton Cartwright who stroked fifties each. Western Australia eventually declared at 8 for 511 in 136 overs.

New South Wales were crippled by left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe's finger injury, which he had sustained while batting. Gurinder Sandhu ditched his medium-pace for offspin, something he had done during the A tour to India last year, and removed Sam Whiteman and Ashton Agar in successive balls. Sandhu finished with figures of 3 for 110, one of the three bowlers to concede more than 100 runs.

Hughes and Curtis then combined well in New South Wales' second innings to trim the deficit to 88 runs.