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Josh Hazlewood thinks Murphy “has done a great job so far” as Nathan Lyon’s understudy, and expects more of the same from him

Andrew McGlashan17-Jul-2023What England say will likely be low down the information Australia take on board when deciding their XI for Old Trafford, but Moeen Ali believes they have to play Todd Murphy as a frontline spinner.Murphy sent down only 9.3 overs at Headingley and just two one-over spells during England’s successful chase after having come in for the injured Nathan Lyon, and one option to squeeze in the fit-again Cameron Green would have been to go without a specialist spinner.However, Australia have not picked an all-pace attack since the 2011-12 Test against India in Perth and the expectation is that spin will have a role to play in the fourth Test even though the forecast for the weekend is uncertain. Pat Cummins, Andrew McDonald and on-tour selector Tony Dodemaide all spent time inspecting the surface as the rain stayed away during the afternoon after interrupting England’s training.Spin bowling in Ashes cricket at Old Trafford has a long legacy, not least Shane Warne’s ball of the century in 1993. Warne enjoyed the bounce and turn on offer at the ground, taking 21 wickets in three matches, although Lyon found less success in his two outings in 2013 and 2019 where he claimed three wickets.Related

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Although the ground has a reputation for helping spin, in the last ten years it has the second-highest average for spinners of men’s Test grounds in England. However, Moeen, who has taken 16 wickets at 18.50 in three Tests at Old Trafford, argued that a frontline spinner is vital and that how Murphy is used by Cummins will be crucial part of the game.”You have to play a spinner in a Test match no matter where it is, in my opinion, but Old Trafford especially,” Moeen said. “I think the way they used him [Murphy], it was a difficult one, I think the chase was a difficult one because we would have preferred facing a spinner. [They] were missing Nathan Lyon, who has been a massive part of the team and does an amazing job for them.”Todd’s good, he looks really good, he’s got really good potential and I’m sure he’s going to bowl a lot more here. From a captain’s point of view, it’s not always easy to use somebody who’s pretty new into the side, especially a spinner, and I think that’s where captaincy really comes into it now.”Because when you’ve got a good spinner like Swanny [Graeme Swann] used to be or Nathan Lyon, it’s quite easy, just give them the ball. But now I think for Pat it will be a test of real captaincy and let’s see how good you are now, but he’s done a good job so far.”Josh Hazlewood, who took six wickets in Australia’s 2019 victory at Old Trafford to retain the Ashes, is set to replace Scott Boland, having sat out at Headingley, and he backed Murphy to have a much more substantial role this week.”Todd’s had a great start to his career particularly in the subcontinent against the best players of spin the world, India,” he said. “I know we are going to miss Gazza [Lyon] from time to time when we are in the field but think Todd as his understudy has done a great job so far and expect the same again.”Further clues to Australia’s make-up appeared to be on offer during their training session on Monday. David Warner, whose place looks secure, fielded at first slip and Mitchell Marsh in the gully, while Green was with the reserve players, although he did have a bowl on the square during the afternoon.Meanwhile, Hazlewood is confident of being able to get through the final two Tests. Having been pulled from the World Test Championship final squad, Edgbaston and Lord’s – where he took eight wickets – were the first time he had played back-to-back first-class matches since 2020-21.”We haven’t bowled a lot of overs in terms of what Test matches usually look like for us,” he said. “The way England play, it gets us in the field for a little less in terms of workload. I felt pretty good going into [Headingley]. It was probably the right call now I can sit back and look at the big picture. I was desperate to play, which is obvious. But now it makes sense.”I was probably a little bit underdone for that World Test Championship and then got ready for the first game. I didn’t seem too rusty when I was out there in the middle. Once you get that big day of workload underneath you, you feel a lot better for the run. I felt better and better as I was going along. Hopefully after that little break, I’ll coming out firing again.”

Shaw, Pujara and Suryakumar were unable to make much of a dent on a target of 298

Shashank Kishore15-Jul-2023Priyank Panchal is a cricket nerd, to the extent that when he was on a family holiday in Australia in the summer, he took a detour to Bowral to be able to visit the Bradman museum. Then in England last month, while on tour to the Gray-Nicolls factory – his bat sponsor – he stopped by to watch the World Test Championship [WTC] final at the Oval to soak in the experience of possibly playing in one.Until last year, Panchal was on the fringes of the national team. He was picked as a reserve opener for the away tour of South Africa in late 2021, and then made the cut for the home series against Sri Lanka in February 2022. He could’ve been reserve opener for the fifth Test in Birmingham against England last July but missed out due to a hernia.Panchal hasn’t been in the mix since, and it may be, at 33, that time is running out. For now, it appears as if Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has leapfrogged Panchal and Abhimanyu Easwaran among others, will get a long rope, as he should, having begun his Test career with a sparkling 171 in Dominica. Where does that leave the likes of Panchal?Well, on the fringes but with the feeling of having hit a brick wall because when you kept churning big runs for India A, the top order was packed. And when opportunities opened up, someone else was preferred. Panchal might well feel aggrieved at the turn of events but there’s really nothing he can do, except keep churning out the runs.On Sunday, he will have an opportunity to deliver the Duleep Trophy title for West Zone. They’ve got their backs to the wall, but Panchal has made them believe. He’s unbeaten on 92 but, on a fifth-day track showing signs of wear and tear at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, there’s a bigger goal. South Zone need five wickets, West Zone 116 runs. And that they have those many to defend is thanks to some useful contributions from Washington Sundar and Vyshak Vijaykumar who made 37 and 23 respectively to push the total up to 230.Panchal’s three previous innings in the season read 11, 13 and 15. With the Ranji Trophy not starting until January 2024, Panchal had one opportunity, possibly two more if he’s picked in the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup in October, to further reinforce his credentials for an India cap. Adding to his challenge was the fact that West Zone collapsed again.V Koushik struck three times to rock West Zone early•PTI

V Koushik, the Karnataka seamer, had dealt three massive blows. Prithvi Shaw was bowled, Cheteshwar Pujara played with hard hands and was caught at bat-pad and Suryakumar Yadav was superbly undone by late inswing that had him lbw. At 79 for 4, West Zone’s target of 298 seemed distant.But Panchal held firm and was unwavering in his focus. It was old school in many ways, focusing on crease occupation and grinding the bowlers down, and then trying to cash in when they erred. The only problem was the bowlers hardly erred, and Panchal realised if he didn’t change things up he might end up bowled by a grubber. So he began to look more actively for those singles and twos and once he flicked that switch he started hitting even the good balls to the boundary.Panchal dazzled with a series of straight drives. He went past a half-century off 128 balls, got past 8000 first-class runs but neither landmark elicited a big response. He knew there was a job to do, and irrespective of who was watching or how many there were, Panchal put his head down and carried on as if nothing was going to shake him.At the other end, Panchal had Sarfaraz Khan for company. A batter whose exclusion from the Test side has elicited widespread debate on the value of runs in domestic cricket. Sarfaraz has done the hard yards, scored runs in different conditions and kept his form up for three full domestic seasons, but his India A record has been modest. Beyond the runs, there’s an apparent weakness against the short ball. And he received plenty of that in the final session.Sarfaraz was even hit on the helmet once, which brought the physio out to check for concussion. Sarfaraz’s issues stem from his initial trigger movement towards leg as he tries to weave out of the way, irrespective of the bounce.Reprieved on 2 when Sachin Baby missed a run out from cover – his underarm throw going over the wicketkeeper with the batter nowhere near the crease – Sarfaraz chanced himself against spin, sweeping Washington Sundar from the rough and slogging with the spin into the leg side.The plan was working. The target was being whittled down, until Sarfaraz got too close to the pitch of a Sai Kishore delivery and saw his leg stump knocked back as he tried to flick against the turn. It was a massive moment in the game. Three balls later, the light meters were out and Panchal, who got into the 90s with a uppish drive over gully, breathed a sigh of relief along with Atit Sheth.

Hard graft in front of England selector gives hosts a foothold against Somerset at Ageas Bowl

ECB Reporters Network03-Sep-2023Liam Dawson overtook his best LV=Insurance County Championship runs tally since 2015 with an unbeaten 109 in front of England selector Luke Wright on a slow-paced day between Hampshire and Somerset.Dawson has enjoyed a successful season with bat and ball with 667 runs and 28 left-arm spin wickets to his name in Division One.His second century of the campaign handed Hampshire a slim advantage after day one at the Ageas Bowl, after Nick Gubbins’ slow-paced 49 off 132 balls.Fast bowlers Jack Brooks claimed three wickets and Lewis Gregory two as the Somerset attack refused to allow their hosts to score at above three runs per over. They closed on 282 for seven.Hampshire chose to bat, but before play started the two teams stood for a minute of silence in memory of Heath Streak, who died aged 49 earlier on Sunday.Zimbabwean Streak played 19 first-class and 21 List A matches for Hampshire as an overseas signing in 1995. Their players wore black armbands during the day’s play.Fletcha Middleton – a star of Hampshire’s progression to the Metro Bank One-Day Cup final last month – fell to his third delivery, as Brooks found some away movement and the outside edge to second slip.The recovery set the platform, and tempo, for the day. Watchful and safe batting, against accurate but unthreatening bowling on a slow pitch.On his first Championship outing for Hampshire, Toby Albert showed promise in his 26 during a 50-run stand with Gubbins before tamely chipping to point.James Vince belied the conditions by cover-driving his first ball for four. His 34 in 49 was a rare attacking spell of the day, alongside out-the-blue sixes from Albert and Gubbins.Vince overtook Gubbins in 17 overs before lunch but was given out caught-behind off an inside-edge before Tom Prest was leg before for a six-ball duck.Gubbins, who has a strike-rate of under 40 in Division One this season, was particularly slow between lunch and eventually fell a run shy of his seventh half-century as Shoaib Bashir’s quicker ball crashed into the stumps. He was replaced by Ben Brown who slowed things even more, with four off 42 deliveries in 54 minutes before Gregory had him caught behind.Dawson manoeuvred things in his typically understated style, his 111-ball fifty showing composure, skill, and a sound technique but little unneeded extravagance.The only question mark on his innings was a caught-and-bowled appeal off Brooks, who claimed the catch, but Dawson insisted it was a bump ball. The umpires sided with the batter. Replays were inconclusive so the benefit of the doubt towards the batter proved sensible.James Fuller accompanied Dawson in a 54-run stand before Brooks struck him on the pads with the new ball, but Dawson marched towards the 13th century of his career and past 9,000 first-class runs.Due to the sluggish nature of the surface, Dawson dominated his scoring square of the wicket, with all but two of his 13 boundaries coming from pulls, jabs, sweeps or cuts.He and Keith Barker accelerated towards the close, putting on 56 together, to cash out the dividends earned from the earlier graft in the day.

Shahidullah’s 49 lifted Afghanistan after an early collapse before rain stopped play in the final

Shashwat Kumar07-Oct-2023Rain played spoilsport in the men’s final at the Asian Games, meaning that only 18.2 overs were possible before the game was abandoned. India, by virtue of being the higher-seeded team, were awarded the gold medal in what proved to be an anti-climactic end to a competitive tournament.Earlier in the afternoon, India had won the toss and had elected to field first. Arshdeep Singh set the tone early, like he did in the semi-final, using the conditions and getting the ball to move prodigiously, both in the air and off the surface. However, it was Shivam Dube who dealt the first blow, getting Zubaidi Akbari to mistime his slog to mid-on in the second over.Arshdeep got his reward in the very next over, cramping Mohammad Shahzad for room and having him caught-behind. Shahzad was unhappy with the decision. His unhappiness was not entirely unwarranted, with replays later indicating that the ball flicked his right bicep rather than the bat or glove.Afghanistan were dented further in the fourth over, with Noor Ali Zadran involved in a needless run-out. He pulled the ball to deep square leg but was a little sluggish with his running, eventually falling inches short of his ground at the striker’s end while trying to complete the second run.Shahidullah steadied Afghanistan after early collapse•AFP/Getty Images

Afsar Zazai and Shahidullah stitched together a 37-run fourth-wicket partnership and looked set to increase the scoring rate in the middle overs. Zazai, though, could not read a beautifully-disguised Ravi Bishnoi googly in the 10th over. The ball pitched on a length just outside off and jagged back, breezing past the inside edge and crashing into the stumps. Shahbaz Ahmed castled Karim Janat an over later to leave Afghanistan tottering at 52-5 after 10.5 overs.Afghanistan got their act together once captain Gulbadin Naib strode out. He injected composure into their innings and put together a 60-run partnership with Shahidullah, off just 45 balls. The pair rotated the strike and were proactive enough to pounce on any loose deliveries.Shahidullah finished with a 43-ball 49, while Naib ended with 27 off 24 balls, helping Afghanistan to a total of 112-5 before rain arrived. Bishnoi was the pick of the bowlers for India, giving away only 12 runs in his four overs and bagging a wicket. Arshdeep, Dube and Shahbaz scalped a wicket apiece.

Allrounder Aaron Hardie has been called up to the squad ahead of Thursday’s opening match

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-2023David Warner has been withdrawn from the T20I series against India following the ODI World Cup.Warner joins a group of multiformat players who will skip the five-match series ahead of the home summer which starts with the first Test against Pakistan on December 14.Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc are also heading home along with allrounders Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh.Related

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Warner had an outstanding World Cup where he scored 535 runs at 48.63. The upcoming Pakistan series will be the final stage of his Test career with him having earmarked the SCG in early January for his retirement from the format.Western Australia allrounder Aaron Hardie, who made his debut in South Africa earlier this year, has been added to the T20I squad. Kane Richardson has also been called up as a replacement for Spencer Johnson who has a hamstring injury.Despite starting just four days after the ODI World Cup final, the series acts as part of the build-up to next year’s T20 edition in West Indies and the USA. Australia currently have six more T20Is scheduled before that tournament with a pair of three-match series against West Indies and New Zealand in February.The squad now includes seven players who featured during the World Cup plus Tanveer Sangha who was a travelling reserve throughout.The side will be led by Matthew Wade although Marsh, who captained them to a 3-0 victory against South Africa in September, is the favourite for the role on a permanent basis.There will also be a stand-in coach for the series with Andre Borovec taking charge as Andrew McDonald returns home ahead of the summer.The series gets underway in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.Australia’s T20I squad Matthew Wade (capt), Travis Head, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Jason Behrendorff, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha

The three-match T20I series was shared 1-1

Firdose Moonda14-Dec-2023A record-equalling fourth T20I hundred from Suryakumar Yadav, contributed a shave under half of India’s total at the Wanderers and ensured they shared the series with South Africa. Suryakumar’s innings was backed up by a brilliant all-round performance from India’s attack, whose seamers challenged South Africa on both the inside and outside edge and whose spinners found grip and turn.Kuldeep Yadav, on his 29th birthday, finished with a career-best 5 for 17, he took all his wickets in the space of 12 balls, and subjected South Africa to their third biggest T20I defeat while batting second. By the time Kuldeep was introduced into the attack, in the 10th over, South Africa’s chase was all but over. They were 66 for 4 with only one specialist batter left in David Miller and had to score at more than 12 runs an over.That their task was that daunting was thanks to Suryakymar, who shared in a 112-run third wicket partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal, and played an audacious innings at a high-altitude ground. He hit eight of India’s 12 sixes, and seven fours while Jaiswal contributed 60 off 41 balls, his third half-century in 14 T20I innings. The pair laid the platform for India to go well above 200, though they did not need that much.

Maharaj Magic

India were off to a flier with 29 runs from the first two overs and Aiden Markram had to turn to his most reliable bowler – Keshav Maharaj – in the Powerplay. The left-arm spinner delivered exactly what the captain wanted with his second ball, that beat Shubman Gill in flight as it drifted in. Gill missed his sweep and was struck on the front pad and given out. He took some time to consider a review and decided against it but will be unhappy with that choice. Replays showed the ball was missing leg. By then, Maharaj had also removed Tilak Varma, who hit a full ball straight to Markram at mid-off. Suryakumar faced the hat-trick ball and played it along the ground to cover as Maharaj closed out his opening over by conceding only one run. His final analysis of 2 for 24 off four overs was the most economical of the South African attack.

Sky high

Jaiswal came back from his duck at St George’s Park with an entertaining fifty off 34 balls and was outpacing his captain until the 13th over. With pace proving too tempting for the batters, Andile Phehlukwayo opted for a slower ball but Suryakumar picked it up early and sent it over long-on for six. He sent the next delivery through short third for four and then hit Phehlukwayo for back-to-back sixes over wide long-on and midwicket to bring up fifty in 32 balls – fewer than Jaiswal – and demonstrated his ability to take advantage of scoring regions other than his favoured one over the ‘keeper’s head. His next fifty runs came off 23 balls as he joined Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell as the only batters to score four hundreds in T20Is.Kuldeep Yadav picked up five wickets in 12 balls•AFP/Getty Images

Can’t score off Siraj

Mohammed Siraj started with two slips as he went searching for Reeza Hendricks’ outside edge and sent down four terrific outswingers in pursuit. Hendricks was beaten on each occasion and, sensing he was getting closer and perhaps remembering what happened in Gqeberha when he didn’t have enough protection, Siraj put a third slip in. His fifth ball also teased Hendricks as he defended and missed again. Then came another plan: an extra fielder on the off side with a massive gap through mid-wicket, inviting Hendricks to try and pull. Siraj bowled length outside off, Hendricks half-attempted the shot and the ball snuck under the blade of the bat to end a perfect over from Siraj. In his next over, Siraj beat Hendricks’ inside-edge before he finally got bat on ball and pushed one into covers and then got off the mark, off the ninth ball he faced, when he hit Siraj over mid-off. But Siraj had the last laugh. He was stationed at mid-on, when Hendricks hit the ball to him, was called through for a single and was caught short of his ground when Siraj’s direct hit broke the stumps.

All but over either side of the Powerplay

Markram and Heinrich Klaasen are the kind of batters who could score at more than 10 runs an over to win a T20I match but needed to navigate through a wily Indian attack. Arshdeep Singh’s slower ball had Klaasen sweeping hard but not well enough to get past deep midwicket and he was caught by Rinku Singh on the boundary. Arshdeep now has 26 T20I wickets this year, the joint-most among Full Member bowlers alongside Mark Adair. Ravindra Jadeja, leading the team Suryakumar off the field nursing a bruised leg, brought himself on immediately after the Powerplay, his first ball gripped in the surface and Markram top-edged a pull to Jaiswal. South Africa were 42 for 4 in the seventh over and their challenge was all but complete.

Man-alone Miller

Jadeja should have had David Miller in his next over, when he found the outside edge with a delivery that went straight on and Jitesh Sharma took the catch behind the wicket but Miller was given not out on-field and DRS was not working at the time. Replays later showed Miller had hit the ball and should have been out for 18. He went on to score 35 but India got their revenge with the other batters. Donovan Ferreira, Phehlukwayo and Maharaj were dismissed in each of the next three overs as Miller could only watch the series win move further away. He was the last batter dismissed, in the 14th over.

Captain Pat Cummins said they would get behind Warner as much as they needed to

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2023David Warner has opened up on Mitchell Johnson’s criticism of his retirement plans, saying his former team-mate is entitled to his opinions, however scathing.Warner refusing to add fuel to the fire comes as Australian captain Pat Cummins said the Test team would be “fiercely protective” of the veteran opener in the face of external attacks.Warner is hoping to call time on an illustrious Test career after Australia faces Pakistan on his home deck at the SCG in the third and final match of the series that begins in Perth next week.Related

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But in a newspaper column at the weekend, Johnson questioned whether Warner had been in strong enough form to set his own retirement date and opened up old wounds by referencing his role in the “Sandpapergate” ball-tampering saga.The extent of Johnson’s critique, which included suggesting that “Bunnings would sell out of sandpaper”, has brought criticism but Warner himself laughed the comments off as he addressed them for the first time.”It wouldn’t be a summer without a headline, would it?” he said at the launch of Fox Cricket’s summer coverage in Parramatta on Friday. “It is what it is. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions. Moving forward, we’re looking forward to a nice Test over in the west.”Since the summer of 2020-21, Warner has managed only one Test century from 25 matches – a memorable double-hundred against South Africa in his 100th Test at the MCG in late 2022.Australian selectors have stuck by Warner amid the lean stretch, which has admittedly featured two dismissals in the 90s, and are in the midst of determining his replacement beyond Sydney. The playing group has been just as supportive in recent days.”I think we protect each other a lot,” Cummins said. “We’ve been through a lot over the years, our boys. Someone like Davey or Steve [Smith], I’ve played with them for a dozen years now so we’re fiercely protective of each other.”Sometimes you’ve got to remind yourself of the amount of positive support that is out there.”Warner, focused on ending his career on a high, said he learned long ago to knuckle down in the face of criticism like Johnson’s.”My parents ingrained that into me,” he said. “They taught me every day to fight and work hard. When you go onto the world stage and you don’t realise what comes with that, it’s a lot of media, a lot of criticism but a lot of positive.”I think what’s more important is what you see here today, the people coming out to support cricket.”Cummins was hopeful Australia can move past the saga ahead of their first home match since a successful winter that yielded wins in the ODI World Cup and World Test Championship finals as well as a drawn Ashes series in England.The Perth Test is also set to mark Nathan Lyon’s return from the calf injury he suffered early in the Ashes.”We’ve had arguably our most successful year ever. We’re going into a really exciting summer,” Cummins said. “There’s so many positive things around Australian cricket I think we should be talking about and we’re focusing on that [Johnson’s column].”

However, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, who missed the second Test in Vizag, are both recovering well and expected to be available

Sidharth Monga and Nagraj Gollapudi07-Feb-20241:00

Manjrekar: I would look at another wicketkeeper until Pant returns

Virat Kohli’s absence in the England series is set to be extended, with the senior India batter expected to miss the third and fourth Tests in Rajkot and Ranchi, respectively. ESPNcricinfo has learned that doubts also persist on Kohli’s availability for the fifth Test in Dharmasala, which starts from March 7, a factor that the selectors will consider when they meet this week to pick the India squad for the final three Tests.It was on January 22, three days from the start of the England series, that the BCCI announced that Kohli had pulled out of the first two Tests for “personal reasons”. Kohli had landed in Hyderabad the same morning to join the Indian squad, but flew out the same day. The BCCI has not made any further comment on Kohli’s absence since that statement, which said: “Virat has spoken to Captain Rohit Sharma, the team management and the selectors and has emphasised that while representing the country has always been his top priority, certain personal situations demand his presence and undivided attention.”

Rahul, Jadeja in running for Rajkot

Among the players who missed the second Test, Mohammed Siraj is set to make a comeback after he was rested as a precaution. The fitness of KL Rahul, who sat out with a quad strain, and Ravindra Jadeja, who sustained a hamstring injury during the first Test, is being monitored at the NCA in Bangalore.Related

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ESPNcricinfo has learned that the final report from the NCA physio is still awaited, but the outlook for both players is positive. With the third Test not starting for another week, India are optimistic about the chances of at least one (if not both) of Rahul and Jadeja being available for the game, pending fitness clearance.Rahul and Jadeja were India’s best batters in the first Test, though both missed out on centuries. Rahul filled in the No. 4 slot left vacant by Kohli and his return now would boost the middle order which was light on experience in Vizag.

Siraj back for third Test

The one confirmed returnee for the Rajkot Test is Siraj. The fast bowler, who had bowled 11 overs in the first Test defeat at his home ground in Hyderabad, was rested for the second Test for workload reasons.The return of Siraj will be a boost for the bowling line-up, which relied on Jasprit Bumrah’s brilliance to win the second Test. The only bowler in the world to have reached the top of ICC rankings in all formats, Bumrah made a comeback from a stress fracture of the back starting with the World Cup last year. Managing his workload will be a consideration for the team management, but he is likely to play in the Rajkot Test next Thursday.After losing the first Test – only their fourth defeat at home since the start of 2013 – India made a comeback in Vizag to level the five-Test series 1-1. The next two Tests will be played back-to-back before the final Test in Dharamsala starting March 7.

The middle-order batter has enjoyed a standout Sheffield Shield season when runs have been hard to come by

AAP14-Mar-2024Emerging New South Wales star Ollie Davies has been compared to greats including Steve Smith and David Warner after playing a key role in his team’s five-wicket Sheffield Shield victory over Queensland.Chasing 130 for victory, NSW sealed victory on Thursday in 28.2 overs courtesy of a blazing knock from Daniel Hughes. Davies contributed a handy 25 after NSW had suck to 91 for 4.Related

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But it was Davies’ first-innings score of 131 off 147 balls that proved the difference – helping lift NSW to 316 and earning him player-of-the-match honours. Davies finished his Shield campaign with 670 runs at an average of 67 – the fourth-highest run tally of the season.Beau Webster (914), Cameron Bancroft (778) and Nathan McSweeney (762) finished above him, but they all played 10 matches compared to Davies’s seven.NSW captain Moises Henriques is tipping a bright future for Davies.”I’ve been playing cricket professionally for 19, 20 years, and I’ve been lucky enough to see a lot of young, special batters come through the NSW ranks,” Henriques said. “Ollie seems to be another one of those guys. He’s very hard to stop. He’s always moving the scoreboard forward.”He reminds me a lot of a mix between Steve Smith, David Warner and even Phil Hughes – they’re always looking to score runs. They’re able to score runs in areas that other batters maybe can’t.”For him to come out and score three hundreds in seven games this season in bowler-friendly conditions – it just shows that mindset of always scoring runs and putting the bowlers under pressure.”NSW started their season with two losses and a draw – extending their winless run in the red-ball format to 15 matches. But a 10-wicket win over Western Australia in November sparked a charge up the table, with NSW ending the season in third spot with four wins, three draws and three losses.For Queensland, it’s a case of back to the drawing board after finishing last on the ladder with just two wins and two draws from 10 matches.They started the final day against NSW at 287 for 8, and were bowled out for 301 despite the best efforts of Xavier Bartlett.NSW wanted to make light work of the run chase, and Hughes went into T20 mode as he cracked six fours and two sixes on the way to a 29-ball half-century.His departure a short time later left NSW at 75 for 3, and there were some nerves at 91 for 4 after Matthew Gilkes was dismissed for 6. But steady knocks from Henriques and Davies eased NSW to victory. Kurtis Patterson had batted at No. 3 after being called in as a concussion sub for Sam Konstas who was injured on the third day.Debutant Queensland bowler Callum Vidler snared 3 for 38, following on from 2 for 50 in NSW’s first innings.”It’s not the result you want on debut, but it was cool to be out there,” Vidler said.