Victoria 292 and 6 for 320 dec (Dean 92, Maddinson 66, Agar 3-62) beat South Australia 214 and 216 (Head 60, Sutherland 6-67) by 182 runs
Will Sutherland took a career-best 6 for 67 to help Victoria skittle South Australia and continue their remarkable run towards the Sheffield Shield final.
Victoria needed just 41.4 overs to take the final six wickets on the fourth day to bowl South Australia out for 216 for a 182-run win. Sutherland took three wickets on the final day to complete his best bowling in Shield cricket after taking his maiden five-wicket haul in the previous match against Queensland.
Travis Head provided some resistance making a half-century after he lost night watchman Joe Mennie. But Scott Boland found a path through a gaping gate from around the wicket knocking back Head’s off stump. Boland also pinned Jake Lehmann lbw later in his spell.
Harry Nielsen and Chadd Sayers put together a 49-run stand to frustrate Victoria but Sutherland returned to take two of the last three wickets. He had Nielsen caught at fine leg off a top edge for 40 before Wes Agar holed out to deep point.
Victoria have won three games in a row and are now a chance to make Shield final having been dead-last and winless after six rounds prior to the BBL break.
Queensland 496 and 5 for 54 (Kelly 3-11) drew with Western Australia 277 and 347 (Whiteman 110, Hardie 100*, Neser 3-59)
Sam Whiteman and Aaron Hardie have produced match-saving centuries for Western Australia to deny Queensland a vital outright victory at the WACA and put their Sheffield Shield final hopes in jeopardy.
Whiteman made his third Shield century and his first in nearly four years to ensure Queensland at least batted again before Hardie shepherded the tail with his maiden first-class century to push WA’s lead to 128 and give Queensland just 16 overs to chase them in fading light on the final day.
Queensland reshaped their batting order to have a crack at the target but lost 4 for 18 in the first six overs and slumped to 5 for 42, with Matthew Kelly taking three wickets to add to his five in the first innings, before Jimmy Peirson and Nathan McSweeney shut up shop in final six overs of the day.
WA were staring down the barrel of defeat in the first hour of the final morning having lost Cameron Green, Josh Philippe, and Josh Inglis to be 6 for 162, still 57 runs shy of forcing Queensland to bat again.
Whiteman and Hardie steadied with a half-century stand. Whitman reached his patient century off 242 balls. But Queensland will rue a missed opportunity. Hardie was dropped on just 19 by Joe Burns at first slip. It was a simple knee-high chance off Michael Neser with WA only 13 runs in front and two sessions still to play.
Hardie made them pay striking 11 fours and a six in his 100 not out. Whiteman fell for 110 to a stunning catch from Bryce Street. But Hardie shared a 51-run stand for the 8th wicket with Kelly and then a 31-run partnership for the 10th wicket with David Moody, to go from 71 to 100 and take WA to safety.
The draw sees Queensland drop to third on the Shield table behind Victoria will one round left to decide who will meet New South Wales in the final.