Victoria fall short despite Klinger ton

New South Wales 8 for 259 (Haddin 65, Katich 53, Lewis 3-43) beat Victoria 8 for 251 (Klinger 123*, Clarke 3-20) by eight runs
Scorecard

New South Wales maintained their position at the top of the one-day table despite Michael Klinger's valiant career-best 123. Having been set a challenging chase of 260, Victoria slumped to 6 for 112 in the 30th over with Michael Clarke taking three wickets. Klinger and Adam Crosthwaite then forged a stand of 94 but they pulled up eight runs short.

Klinger, with his second one-day century of the season, held the run chase together after Stuart Clark had struck two early blows with the new ball. Clarke's left-arm spin rattled the middle order and he was on a hat-trick after dismissing Cameron White and Liam Buchanan in two balls. However, Crosthwaite offered Klinger valuable support as the chase came down to 54 off 33 balls. But Matthew Nicholson maintained his composure and ensured that Klinger, and the tail, were unable to hit the required boundaries.

The NSW total was built around a series of solid contributions from the top order despite the quick loss of Australia's latest Test cap Phil Jaques. Simon Katich (53) provided the early runs but the major impetus came from Brad Haddin with a 67-ball 65. Aaron O'Brien (39) and Craig Simmons (31) boosted the total with some late-innings hitting and their runs proved vital in the final outcome.

NSW now have a formidable 11-point lead at the top of the table, although the race for second place is tight with just five points separating the other five teams.