South Australia 9 for 277 dec (Hunt 109, Nielsen 63, Tremain 3-51) and 5 for 328 (McSweeney 99*, Lehmann 94, Conway 1-38) beat New South Wales 294 (Sangha 142, Buckingham 4-79, Doggett 3-58) and 8 for 308 dec (Hearne 65, McSweeney 4-89, McAndrew 3-67) by five wickets
Nathan McSweeney and
Jake Lehmann orchestrated a stunning final-day chase to run down 326 in the fourth innings and give South Australia their first Sheffield Shield win in over two years against New South Wales at the Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide.
McSweeney made 99* while Lehmann smashed 94 off 89 deliveries, as South Australia mowed down New South Wales’ target of 326 in 76 overs with five wickets in hand and six overs to spare. McSweeney also took 4 for 89 with the ball in the second innings in a brilliant all-round display. He batted superbly and deserved a century but struck a four with a pull shot forward of square to bring up the winning runs and finish one short of a century.
He shared a 151-run partnership with Lehmann after the pair came together at 3 for 89 with victory a long way away. Lehmann smoked 14 boundaries, scoring 94 in the stand before picking out square leg with a sweep shot. At that stage,South Australia still needed another 86 to win, and lost Thomas Kelly shortly after.
But McSweeney and
Harry Nielsen guided them home, with Nielsen finishing on 34* to go with his half-century in the first innings. New South Wales’ five bowlers each picked up a wicket, but none could get a run on with successive breakthroughs to put South Australia’s batting under pressure.
Earlier, McSweeney and
Nathan McAndrew combined with the ball to set South Australia’s chase up, taking seven wickets between them in New South Wales’ second innings. The latter had begun the day four down with a lead of 252, as McAndrew castled Jack Edwards for 38.
Lachlan Hearne become the fourth New South Wales batter to pass fifty in their second innings, but was bowled by McSweeney for 65. Baxter Holt and Chris Tremain also fell cheaply, leaving skipper
Jason Sangha to declare at 8 for 304, and set South Australia 326 to win off 82 overs. And although his team lost, Sangha finished as the Player of the Match for scores of 142 and 62.
South Australia had not won a Sheffield Shield game since February 2020, breaking a 16-match streak without victory over a two-year stretch. It was their first Shield win under coach
Jason Gillespie after two seasons in charge.
Alex Malcolm is an Associate Editor at ESPNcricinfo
