Burns drives Queensland with big century

A career-best 183 from Joe Burns ensured Queensland were on top at stumps on the first day of their Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales at the Gabba. Peter Forrest was unbeaten on 87 at the end of the day, with Nathan Reardon on 27, and the Bulls had moved along to 3 for 326 having chosen to bat.

Test spinner Nathan Lyon went wicketless with 0 for 55 from 24 overs, but so did his spin colleague Steve O'Keefe, who had 0 for 57 from 18 overs. The New South Wales attack was missing Josh Hazlewood due to his ODI call-up and Mitchell Starc, who has a groin strain, and the only wicket takers for the day were Gurinder Sandhu with two and Doug Bollinger with one.

Sandhu picked up both of his victims early with the new ball, having opener Marnus Labuschagne caught behind for 6 and Greg Moller lbw for a duck, before Burns and Forrest put on 254 for the third wicket. Burns posted his seventh first-class century and confirmed himself as one of the young batsmen to watch in the Sheffield Shield, eventually caught off Bollinger for 183.

Burns started the Shield season with 98 against South Australia at Adelaide Oval. Forrest finished last summer as the fourth-leading run scorer in the competition and was within touching distance of an 11th first-class hundred by stumps.