North keeps Warriors afloat on dramatic day

Western Australia 8 for 224 (North 103, Pattinson 3-43) v Victoria
Scorecard

	Marcus North scored his first century of the season © Getty Images

Marcus North's fighting century was overshadowed by the drama of the first few minutes of the match, when Dirk Nannes was ordered out of the attack for bowling high full tosses. On an eventful day, the Warriors plodded to 8 for 224 against Victoria and at stumps Brett Dorey was on 9 and Trent Kelly had 5.

But the score was slightly lost amid the Nannes controversy. His first ball, the seventh of the match, was a full toss that had Shaun Marsh caught at gully but the next two deliveries were head-high full tosses to Luke Pomersbach. The umpire Andrew Craig called them as no-balls and ordered Nannes out of the attack, leaving him with figures of 0.1-0-2-1, the sort of analysis trivia enthusiasts will drool over.

Nannes was not reported over the incident as the umpires did not deem his actions malicious, and he will be able to bowl in the second innings. At stumps the Victorians were at a loss to explain what went wrong for Nannes, who had had limited bowling in the lead-up after missing the previous match due to illness.

North, the Western Australia captain, was confident the beamers were not deliberate but that would have been little help for Pomersbach had they been on line. "I think if it was on target I would have been in a bit of strife," Pomersbach told AAP. "I was lucky the ball wasn't on target. I didn't pick it up early."

Pomersbach departed soon after when he edged behind attempting to hook Peter Siddle but the drama continued when Liam Davis was hit in the head by a Siddle bouncer and retired hurt in the eighth over. Another Siddle wicket left the Warriors at 3 for 29 before North and David Bandy (36) steadied the innings with a patient 81-run stand.

Bandy eventually became the maiden first-class wicket for James Pattinson, the debutant fast bowler. Pattinson, 18, the younger brother of England Test player and fellow Victoria fast bowler Darren, was a late inclusion after Clint McKay pulled out with hamstring tightness. Pattinson added Luke Ronchi seven overs later before Davis returned to help push the Warriors past 150.

Cameron White's desire to win his Test spot back by becoming Victoria's leading spinner started slowly on the pace-friendly pitch as he used six bowlers before himself, but he picked up Davis for 18. Steve Magoffin held up one end while North reached his century but the two soon fell within four balls of each other late in the day; Magoffin gave Pattinson his third wicket, while North's 325-minute vigil for 103 ended when Damien Wright trapped him lbw.