Cullen combo spins SA to 129-run victory

Scorecard

Dan Cullen spun a web around the Western Australia batsmen, returning figures of 5 for 93 in the second innings © Getty Images

A `Cullen' special on the final day at the Adelaide Oval saw South Australia authoritatively dismiss Western Australia for 271, giving them a 129-run win. Bowling in tandem, the finger-wrist spin combo of Dan Cullen (5 for 93) and Cullen Bailey (1 for 46) in the morning session never let WA get into a groove, despite fighting fifties from Adam Voges (76) and Ryan Campbell (64).

Cullen's dismissals were a combination of suffocating bowling and impetuosity from the batsmen. After resuming play at two for 26, Chris Rogers and Voges, the overnight batsmen, survived the first hour, Voges striking a series of authoritative strokes. Rogers, however, was not as comfortable and soon after drinks he miscued a hit off a fizzing Cullen off-break, where Jason Gillespie at mid-on juggled the catch. Darren Lehman, the SA captain, returned to the field on the final day after recuperating from his marathon 488-minute innings of 301 and positioned himself at a very short mid-on after conferring with Cullen. Whatever was said between bowler and captain worked, for Voges soon flicked Cullen straight to a delighted Lehmann. Voges's was an untimely dismissal, as a hundred looked there for the taking.

Bailey, though only scalping a solitary wicket, provided the perfect foil to Cullen's offbreaks. Impressive from the get-go, he was able to gain sharp bounce and turn from a fourth day Adelaide Oval wicket, and beat the bat on numerous occasions. His dismissal of David Bandy (1) at the stroke of lunch was classical legspinner's craft: after beating Bandy with a series of enticing, flighted leg breaks, Bailey forced the batsman to play back to a flatter, straighter ball and had him plumb in front of the stumps.

From a position of five for 118, Shaun Marsh (49) and Ryan Campbell, the wicketkeeper, put on 104 runs, but both fell in relative succession to Cullen (4 for 83) and WA were back in the drums. Marsh was caught at slip after an attempted sweep resulted in a tangle of pad, arm and possibly glove, while Campbell provided a catch to Lehmann in identical fashion to Voges. This was Campbell's second rescue attempt of the match, his counterattacking 122 off just 129 balls taking WA to 281 in its first innings. In the end, it was not enough to sustain a successful chase, with Cullen and Gillespie (3 for 32) running through the tail.