Victoria ease to win after Wade ton
Nathan Hauritz's good form continued as he held New South Wales together with an aggressive half-century and then picked up two wickets, but it was not enough to prevent a Victorian win
ESPNcricinfo staff
23-Dec-2010
Victoria 4 for 226 (Wade 105, Hodge 55, Hauritz 2-53) beat New South Wales 225 (Hauritz 51, O'Keefe 48, Pattinson 2-42) by six wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
Nathan Hauritz's good form continued as he held a tottering New South Wales together with an aggressive half-century and then picked up two wickets, but it was not enough to prevent a Victorian win as left-handed opener guided his side home with a fluent hundred. NSW struggled against Victoria's seamers after opting to bat first and were bowled out for 225 three balls short of their allotted 45 overs. Wade carried Victoria to the brink with a career-best 105 while Brad Hodge added a rapid half-century as victory was achieved with six overs to spare.
James Pattinson, who was the only uncapped player in Australia's preliminary 30-man World Cup squad, did the early damage by removing Usman Khawaja and David Warner early and when Nic Maddinson was run out NSW slipped to 3 for 32. With Phil Jaques falling moments before the mid-innings suspension, Dirk Nannes removed Moises Henriques for 47 and Clint McKay got rid of wicketkeeper Peter Nevill to put the Blues in real trouble at 7 for 127 before Hauritz set about repairing the innings by putting on 93 for the eighth wicket with Steve O'Keefe, who contributed an adventurous 48.
Hauritz, who has been in decent touch with both bat and ball since being discarded by the national side, went to his second List A fifty with five fours before he was caught behind for a 45-ball 51 in the 44th over. Four balls later McKay struck to remove Brett Lee, and the innings came to a swift conclusion when O'Keefe was run out immediately afterwards.
Wade and Aaron Finch bettered a NSW attack boasting four men with Test experience to put on 95 for the first wicket and Victoria took an early lead when they reached 1 for 112 in their first 20-over innings. Hauritz and O'Keefe's fightback meant a further 114 were needed when Victoria's innings resumed, and although Hastings was quickly removed by Doug Bollinger upon the resumption Wade and Hodge - who has also been given an Australia lifeline with an inclusion in the preliminary World Cup squad - then took full control. Both men eventually fell to Hauritz, but by then the result was firmly within Victoria's grasp.