Victoria have better of Western Australia in warm-up game

Victoria led Western Australia by 135 runs on the first innings in their drawn two-day match in Perth.

Victoria batted on to be 68/1 when stumps were drawn.

Chris Rogers began the day briskly, but it was Craig Simmons who was the only wicket to fall, cutting William Carr into the gully and being caught there by Hodge for eight (24 balls). Western Australian were 24/1.

At the first session drinks break, with the cloud cover increasing and the chill factor getting decidedly Arctic, Western Australia were 34/1 with Rogers brightly up to 23 (43) and an untroubled Geoff Cullen three (26) after 16 overs.

Shane Harwood, bowling from the golf club end, was unlucky not to have Geoff Cullen caught on four at second slip by Matthew Elliott in the 21st over. After that good luck Cullen started to find the boundary, so that by lunch Western Australia had progressed to 87/1 from 31 overs with Rogers 53 (91) and Cullen 25 (61).

Attempting a sweep toward fine-leg, Cullen 25 (65) was judged out leg before wicket to the bowling of Cameron White and Western Australia had lost their second wicket for 90 in the third over after lunch.

Six balls later, Carr hit the pad of Rogers 56 (105) before Rogers could hit the ball with his bat and he too was out leg before wicket. In the 35th over Western Australia had been setback to tune of 94/3 with two new batsmen at the crease.

The second session drinks break arrived with WA consolidating their fourth-wicket partnership of Brad Hogg 13 (32) and Shaun Marsh 20 (53) and the total had slowly risen to three wickets for 128 runs after 48 overs.

Brad Hogg, who had been supporting his Willetton team-mate Marsh with sporadic flashes of aggression, fell when bowled by Matthew Inness for 29 (79) in the shaddows of the tea break.

Kade Harvey edged his second ball faced from Inness to the 'keeper Darren Berry without scoring. The umpires called the tea break at that stage with WA 5/162 with Marsh on 38 (90).

A post-tea collapse saw WA back in the field with 30 overs to play, and falling well short of the target with just 174 on the board.

Adam Voges gave Elliott a catch in the slips off the bowling of Inness after scoring two (14). Marsh was bowled by Hodge after a solid innings of 40 (104). Ryan Campbell two (4) went out slog-sweeping Hodge, after actually top-edging high in the air to leg gully where the square leg fielder, Inness, ran in to accept an easy one, giving Hodge his second wicket.

Matthew Nicholson failed to score off eight balls when he played the ball back onto the leg stump to be bowled by Inness. And Inness cleaned up the innings with Sean Cary six (8) caught cutting by Hodge.

Victoria had 30 overs to play before stumps in this two-day practice match with 135 runs lead.

Campbell did not take the field after he developed swelling in his left knee - an old injury on which he had surgery during the winter break of 2001. Rogers took over the post of 'keeper and Hogg took over the captaincy role.

Nicholson snared the wicket of Elliott when the Victorian captain edged to the stand-in 'keeper Rogers after compiling 37 runs (63) with Victoria one for 56 in the 19th over.