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Callum Ferguson's century studs South Australia win

South Australia 265 for 7 (Ferguson 133, Lehmann 44, Fawad 2-53) beat Victoria (White 81, Handscomb 64, Mennie 3-38) by eight runs

A fine century by South Australia's senior batsman Callum Ferguson bankrolled a total of 265 that proved beyond the reach of Victoria in the domestic limited-overs match at the Junction Oval in Melbourne, and allowed the Redbacks to squeak to victory after three successive losses.

Having made three starts in four innings prior to the game, Ferguson was able to go on to a match-shaping score with assistance from the captain Jake Lehmann and Tom Cooper after the early losses of Jake Weatherald and Alex Carey, the former in a wasteful run out when the ball was still new.

Ferguson and Lehmann played with notable patience, unworried by a run-rate that stayed below four runs an over for a sizeable proportion of the innings. With wickets in hand the late acceleration that followed was dramatic, as no fewer than 92 runs being ransacked from the final 10 overs of the Redbacks innings.

The erstwhile Australian representatives Joe Mennie and Adam Zampa then played key roles in damaging the Victorian chase, after the hosts had seemed well and truly on course for the win at 2 for 178 with Cameron White and Peter Handscomb in firm occupation. Handscomb tried to cut a Mennie delivery too close to him and dragged onto the stumps, before White was run out the very next over in a mix-up wth the new batsman Glenn Maxwell.

Zampa's spell featured a trio of contrasting wickets, bowling Mackenzie Harvey on the pull shot with a quicker ball, cornering Seb Gotch with a googly that zipped off the pitch, and then taking a return catch when Scott Boland closed the face of the bat on a leg break. The critical wicket of Maxwell was earned by the Redbacks debutant Luke Robins, who snuck under the allrounder's bat with a yorker that swung back just enough to strike the base of the off stump.

While the last pair of Fawad Ahmed and Jackson Coleman made a brave effort to close the gap, they always appeared to be a big hit or two short - the sorts of runs Ferguson was able to make as he moved up the gears in the closing stages of his hundred. The result moved SA up the table while also keeping NSW in last place - albeit with the Test bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins set to resume after rehabilitation from injury. All teams can advance to the tournament final irrespective of the results of the qualifying rounds.

Victoria 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st35CL WhiteMS Harris
2nd18CL WhiteNJ Maddinson
3rd125CL WhitePSP Handscomb
4th1CL WhiteGJ Maxwell
5th0GJ MaxwellMW Harvey
6th8GJ MaxwellSE Gotch
7th32GJ MaxwellCP Tremain
8th13SM BolandCP Tremain
9th8JR ColemanCP Tremain
10th17Fawad AhmedJR Coleman