Blues make solid start after squashing Redbacks

New South Wales 2 for 96 (Jaques 44) trail South Australia 154 (Deitz 62, MacGill 3-6) by 58 runs
Scorecard

Stuart Clark and Stuart MacGill made Darren Lehmann's decision to bat look questionable in the Pura Cup match at Adelaide Oval, where South Australia crashed to 154 - and were lucky to even make that. MacGill finished with 3 for 6 as he ran through the Redbacks late in the innings, while Clark (2 for 33) set up the day of New South Wales dominance with two wickets in his first four overs.

Phil Jaques and Greg Mail let the Redbacks off the hook with seven dropped catches between them but South Australia were unable to capitalise, managing to bat for only 65.3 overs. The opener Shane Deitz was dropped four times on his way to 62 before Doug Bollinger (2 for 30) finally had him caught behind off a thin edge.

Lehmann also had a life before he was out for 32 just before tea to a magnificent return catch by MacGill. Clark, who is fighting for a place in Australia's Ashes attack, had Matthew Elliott caught at gully for 0 from the fourth ball of the match, then claimed Cameron Borgas for 2. The Blues' success came despite the fact that Moises Henriques, who took 5 for 17 against Queensland barely a week ago, was left out to make way for MacGill.

In reply New South Wales showed there were runs in the pitch, reaching 2 for 96 at stumps. Phil Jaques and Ed Cowan (29 not out) led the way before Jaques was out for 44 off the last ball of the day.