Gritty North secures draw for Warriors

Reinventing himself as an opening batsman, Marcus North ground out a century to frustrate Victoria and secure a draw for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield match at the MCG.

The legspinner Fawad Ahmed was unable to repeat his first-innings success, toiling without reward as North soaked up 314 balls and more than six hours to ensure the Bushrangers would not take maximum points from their opening fixture.

Victoria's major bowling threat on the final afternoon turned out to be the former captain Cameron White, who showed the confidence currently coursing through his batting had started to stretch into his seldom-used wrist spin by plucking four wickets.

North's defiance had looked like taking WA quite comfortably to safety for most of the day, particularly during a lengthy partnership with the former Australia Under-19s captain, Will Bosisto. However, White's wickets set up a tight finish, and North was ultimately relieved to walk off the MCG at the close with WA eight wickets down.