Blewett and Lehmann lead the chase

South Australia 262 and 2 for 75 (Blewett 38*, Lehmann 22*) need another 279 runs to beat Victoria 343 and 272 (Hodge 86, White 75)
Scorecard

Cameron White continued a fine allround match by adding a second-innings 75 to his four-wicket haul, and Brad Hodge cracked his second 80-plus score of the match, to lift Victoria into a commanding position against South Australia at Adelaide. But SA struck back through their Canadian allrounder John Davison, whose four wickets limited their run-chase to a gettable 354.

By the close, Greg Blewett and Darren Lehmann had added 46 for the third wicket, to leave SA needing a tantalising 279 more runs for victory on the final day, with eight wickets standing. It was a fractious day's cricket, and at the close Darren Berry, Victoria's captain, and the allrounder Andrew MacDonald were fined and reprimanded for audible obscenities.

Victoria, who secured a first-innings lead of 81, needed every run of their advantage as SA kept plugging away. Hodge added 91 for the fifth wicket with David Hussey (41) and White shepherded the tail to good effect, but aside from those three batsmen, only one man, Matthew Elliott, made it to double figures. The early damage was done by the new-ball pair of Paul Rofe and Shaun Tait, who took three wickets between them in the first 14 overs, before Mark Cleary bagged a brace in the middle order.

After Davison had spun through the tail, SA started their chase with a stutter, as Shane Deitz and David Fitzgerald fell with the score on 2 for 29. But Blewett and Lehmann ensured against any further losses, to set up an intriguing final day.