Redbacks find a way to lose
Fringe Test bowler Steve O’Keefe has cut down South Australia’s batsmen to deliver NSW a 168-run Sheffield Shield triumph.
Chasing 330 to win, SA crashed to 161 all out – losing 7-42 in the process to an O’Keefe-inspired collapse.
While some pundits reckon spinner O’Keefe struggles to turn a doorknob, he turned the game with his tweakers to take 5-24 from 25 nagging overs on Tuesday’s final day at Adelaide Oval.
And paceman Mitchell Starc (3-53) captured SA’s most prized scalps – Test hopeful Phil Hughes, who top-scored with 69, and in-form Tom Cooper for a duck.
O’Keefe is long odds to usurp Nathan Lyon and add to his one Test against Pakistan in Dubai last month.
But the 29-year-old can do no more than his last-day heroics which humbled the Redbacks.
You might like
O’Keefe started SA’s slide after openers Hughes and Andrew McDonald put on 79 runs – albeit with great dashes of fortune.
Both batsmen were gifted lives as the Blues blew three chances in one Gurinder Sandhu over.
Hughes, on three, nicked a Sandhu ball between wicketkeeper and first slip for four.
Next ball, he clipped a full delivery to Nick Larkin at square leg, who dropped the simple catch.
And on the last ball of Sandhu’s over, McDonald, on five, edged to Daniel Hughes at second slip only for the fielder to turf a sitter.
The blunders appeared costly as Hughes and McDonald then set about the run chase with relish – until O’Keefe turned the tide.
Stay informed, daily
The left-armer trapped McDonald lbw for 30, though replays showed the ball slipping down the leg-side. He soon claimed Callum Ferguson for a 17-ball duck.
Starc, bowling with venom on a supposedly lifeless pitch, continued SA’s woes by collecting Cooper and then Hughes, who was caught behind attempting a cavalier cut shot.
SA continued to slump and the Blues had 37 overs to collect the final two wickets – and almost needed them all.
There were just 27 deliveries remaining when Starc outed a stubborn Tim Ludeman, who soaked up 136 balls in making 17, to complete the victory.
FULL SCOREBOARD
New South Wales 1st Innings
R CARTERS c Hughes b Botha 15 (39)
N LARKIN c Ludeman b Botha 78 (173)
S HENRY c Head b Botha 56 (121)
K PATTERSON c Ludeman b Mennie 6 (37)
D HUGHES c McDonald b Worrall 28 (77)
P NEVILL c Ludeman b Sayers 5 (11)
S O’KEEFE c Ludeman b Mennie 4 (34)
M STARC lbw Botha 15 (34)
J LALOR not out 10 (69)
W SOMERVILLE c Ludeman b Botha 0 (1)
G SANDHU b Botha 4 (21)
Sundries (4b 2lb 3nb) 9
Total 230
Fall: 37 (Carters), 147 (Henry), 150 (Larkin), 168 (Patterson), 181 (Nevill), 196 (O’Keefe), 205 (Hughes), 224 (Starc), 224 (Somerville), 230 (Sandhu).
Bowling: C Sayers 17-4-48-1, D Worrall 23-6-61-1 (3nb), J Botha 32.2-14-34-6, J Mennie 16-4-39-2, A Zampa 14-3-42-0.
Overs: 102.2.
South Australia 1st Innings
A McDONALD c Carters b Sandhu 2 (12)
P HUGHES c Carters b Starc 20 (27)
C FERGUSON c Henry b Lalor 15 (46)
T COOPER b Sandhu 121 (204)
T HEAD c Nevill b Lalor 64 (94)
T LUDEMAN c Nevill b Starc 1 (8)
J BOTHA c Henry b Starc 6 (26)
J MENNIE b Starc 33 (91)
A ZAMPA c Carters b Sandhu 8 (14)
C SAYERS c Hughes b Sandhu 3 (16)
D WORRALL not out 3 (6)
Sundries (3b 14nb) 17
Total 293
Fall: 16 (McDonald), 31 (Hughes), 44 (Ferguson), 173 (Head), 175 (Ludeman), 186 (Botha), 268 (Cooper), 281 (Zampa), 289 (Mennie), 293 (Sayers).
Bowling: M Starc 23-6-64-4, G Sandhu 17.2-3-69-4 (14nb), S O’Keefe 23-3-69-0, J Lalor 16-4-56-2, W Somerville 9-2-32-0.
Overs: 88.2.
New South Wales 2nd Innings
R CARTERS c Sayers b Zampa 36 (82)
N LARKIN c Hughes b Botha 130 (215)
S HENRY st Ludeman b Botha 142 (229)
K PATTERSON c Hughes b Botha 10 (17)
D HUGHES lbw Worrall 21 (48)
P NEVILL not out 23 (25)
S O’KEEFE not out 10 (10)
Sundries (6b 10lb 1w 3nb) 20
Five wickets (dec) for 392
Fall: 77 (Carters), 231 (Larkin), 261 (Patterson), 319 (Hughes), 378 (Henry).
Bowling: C Sayers 21-4-68-0, D Worrall 16-2-59-1, J Botha 30-3-93-3 (1w 1nb), J Mennie 14-6-48-0 (2nb), A Zampa 19-1-85-1, T Head 4-1-23-0.
Overs: 104.
South Australia 2nd Innings
A McDONALD lbw O’Keefe 30 (78)
P HUGHES c Nevill b Starc 69 (109)
C FERGUSON c Nevill b O’Keefe 0 (17)
T COOPER c Henry b Starc 0 (9)
T HEAD c Patterson b Somerville 0 (9)
T LUDEMAN b Starc 17 (136)
J BOTHA b Somerville 1 (3)
J MENNIE st Nevill b O’Keefe 7 (21)
A ZAMPA c Starc b O’Keefe 19 (70)
C SAYERS c Larkin b O’Keefe 0 (5)
D WORRALL not out 2 (20)
Sundries (6b 4lb 6nb) 16
Total 161
Fall: 79 (McDonald), 83 (Ferguson), 101 (Cooper), 110 (Hughes), 110 (Head), 112 (Botha), 121 (Mennie), 150 (Zampa), 150 (Sayers), 161 (Ludeman).
Bowling: M Starc 18.3-4-53-3, G Sandhu 6-0-36-0 (6nb), W Somerville 24-10-33-2, S O’Keefe 25-14-24-5, J Lalor 5-4-4-0.
Overs: 78.3.
Umpires: Gerard Abood, Wayne Knights.
Match Referee: Peter Marshall.
Result: New South Wales won by 168 runs
Man of the Match: Nick Larkin
Points: NSW 7.77 SA 2.43
