Two young men who shape as all-important cogs to the future of Australian cricket have combined to steer Western Australia through a rocky fourth-innings run chase in the Sheffield Shield.
Western Australia’s pursuit of 121 in their clash with South Australia looked precarious when they fell to 2-14 in the fifth over, with Sam Whiteman and former Australia opener Cameron Bancroft back in the pavilion.
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The nervy run chase also saw former Australia batter Shaun Marsh and ex-Test all-rounder Hilton Cartwright run out.
But 22-year-old Australia all-rounder Cameron Green and 24-year-old batter Josh Philippe, who’s played limited-overs international cricket, joined forces to lift their state to a six-wicket win at the WACA.
When Philippe hit the winning runs 40.2 overs into the innings, he had made 31 from 38 and Green 38 from 90.
Saturday’s Sheffield Shield action also saw Queensland left-arm orthodox bowler Matthew Kuhnemann spin the Bulls to victory over Tasmania in Townsville.
The 25-year-old finished with figures of 5-107 from 43 overs as Queensland defeated Tasmania by 96 runs.
Meanwhile, Victoria‘s bowlers guided their state to a 204-run win over NSW in Sydney.
Scott Boland, Will Sutherland and Jon Holland all took three wickets each, as two-Test batter Kurtis Patterson (4) and uncapped all-rounder Sean Abbott (16) failed to impress in the fourth innings.
Both Patterson and Abbott are hoping to earn selection in Australia’s squad for the Ashes.
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