Somerville five leaves NSW with target of 96

New South Wales 298 and 0 for 3 need another 93 runs to beat Western Australia 216 and 177 (Klinger 50, Somerville 5-65, O'Keefe 3-41)
Scorecard

New South Wales were 93 runs from victory at stumps on the third day at the SCG, after spinner William Somerville claimed a career-best 5 for 65 as Western Australia were dismissed for 177 in their second innings. It meant a target of 96 for the Blues, who batted two overs before stumps and reached 0 for 3, with Daniel Hughes on 3 and nightwatchman-opener Somerville yet to score.

The Warriors had started the day on 0 for 14, needing a strong batting display to set New South Wales a challenging target on a dry, turning pitch. But the loss of both openers, Cameron Bancroft and Jon Wells, to spin within the first four overs of the day was a sign of things to come. Only captain Michael Klinger (50) and Ashton Agar (35) were able to offer much resistance among the top order.

Ashton Turner chipped in with 32 lower down, but the work of Somerville and Steve O'Keefe did the job for New South Wales. O'Keefe followed his five-wicket haul from the first innings with an incredibly miserly 3 for 41 from 38.3 overs in the second, while Somerville finished with match figures of 9 for 126.