Bulls on top after day one

The Queensland Bulls are in a strong position at the close of a first day's play of the Pura Cup match against South Australia that was cut short by rain and bad light.

After morning rain delayed the start of play by an hour, South Australian captain Darren Lehmann won the toss and elected to bowl on a pitch with a covering of grass that could not help but encourage seam bowlers. Through a tough opening, Jimmy Maher (62) and Jerry Cassell (5) survived a number of lbw decisions and played and missed at a number of deliveries. The pressure finally told on Cassell, in fact, when he unsuccessfully attempted a powerful cover drive and was bowled between bat and pad by a delivery from left armer Brett Swain (1/59) that swung back at him in the air and then seamed through the gate.

As it turned out, though, the dismissal only brought the Redbacks some strife of their own by joining the in-form pairing of Maher and Martin Love (59) at the wicket. Both players starred in their outing for Australia 'A' against West Indies in Hobart earlier in the week, and quickly set about showing that they were in similar mood again today. Together, they weathered some accurate bowling from a four-pronged pace attack to compile a partnership of ninety-four that went a long way toward assisting their team to the very respectable scoreline of 3/229 by stumps.

Love, in particular, played a masterful innings, displaying the craftsmanship that has seen him win a reputation for himself as one of the most highly rated batsmen on the domestic stage in Australia. Off the front and back foot, the elegant right hander was able to effortlessly place the ball into gaps in the field and was ruthless in his punishment when the bowlers overpitched, finding the boundary on as many as six occasions.

The Redbacks' bowlers suffered in the extremely humid conditions which prevailed in Brisbane today. Increasingly, too, they looked to be paying the price for their decision to enter the match without the services of a specialist spinner; the pitch dried quickly during the day and their decision to relegate last-game hero Peter McIntyre to the status of twelfth man looked to be one that was coming back to bite them.

Following the dismissal of Maher - as he chased, and edged, a wide delivery from Mark Harrity (1/47) - Bulls captain Stuart Law (48*) joined Love and wasted no time in accelerating the scoring rate, plundering five boundaries early in his innings. Another sound partnership - this time of sixty - was compiled before medium pacer Greg Blewett (1/12) finally gained the wicket that the Redbacks had been seeking for much of the day. The medium pacer delivered a trademark short ball to Love who was, for once, beaten for pace; promptly, he succeeded only in skying the ball to a waiting McIntyre (substituting for the injured Lehmann, who has a damaged hamstring) at square leg.

The Redbacks had a golden chance to dismiss Law (at 30) when he struck a cover drive to Mick Miller, but the former Queenslander grassed a relatively easy chance. It summed up the fatiguing South Australians' day, especially when it was exacerbated by the succession of further misfields which soon followed.

At the fall of Love's wicket, the hard-hitting Andrew Symonds (32*) joined his captain and issued some powerful blows on the way to his score. It was something of an act of mercy for the South Australians that the Bulls' batsmen eventually decided to take up the umpires' offer of an early finish when the quality of the light deteriorated rapidly late in the afternoon. Play came to its conclusion ten overs before the scheduled drawing of stumps, leaving the spectre of a re-start at the very early time of 9:50 am tomorrow. The Redbacks will certainly be hoping that better things develop then.