Rookie skipper praised for selfless act

Rookie my FootDr Queensland Bulls captain Jimmy Peirson has selflessly denied himself a shot at a maiden first-class century by declaring just short of three figures in order for his side to chase victory.

Peirson, who was a shock appointment as Bulls captain late last month, moved to a career-best score of 82 not out late on day three of the JLT Sheffield Shield clash against the West End Redbacks in Cairns.

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Despite being just 18 runs short of what would have been his first hundred at domestic level, Peirson decided to pull the pin on his side's innings when teammate Joe Burns posted a double-century.

"I said to him 'do you want to get your hundred?' and he said 'nope, not to the detriment of the team'," Burns, who finished unbeaten on 202, said after play.

"So full credit to Jimmy. That's a big part of what we're about at the Queensland Bulls and I love that from him."

Peirson's decision meant the Redbacks held a 96-run lead on the first innings, which they extended to 155 when they moved to 2-59 at stumps.

The 25-year-old, playing in just his 10th first-class match and second as skipper, said pushing for an unlikely victory on the final day was his main motivation when deciding when to declare.

"It's a fine balance because you don't want to give them too much of a lead, because you're mindful that you want to set the game up so it's an even chance for both teams," he said.

"I think we've done that pretty well and it's now in South Australia's hands to set the game up (on Wednesday)."

Peirson was unveiled as Queensland’s 53rd first-class captain last month when regular skipper Usman Khawaja was called up to Australia's Test side.

A highly-rated youngster who served a long apprenticeship under former Bulls skipper and gloveman Chris Hartley, Peirson received the full backing of Queensland Cricket despite his inexperience.

"Jimmy is an outstanding player and has demonstrated admirable qualities on the field as well as away from it," Queensland Cricket CEO Max Walters said at the time.

"I have no doubt he will tackle the task with professionalism and determination."

Speaking before Peirson's elevation to the captaincy, Bulls coach Wade Seccombe also heaped praised on the youngster and tipped him for higher honours in the future.

"I love the way Jimmy goes about his work," Seccombe said during Queensland's Shield game against NSW last week in mid-November.

"To my mind, he'll be up there (for Australia) at some stage.

"He's the sort of character within our group that I think would go really well at a higher level, he shows signs of leadership with us.

"I reckon at some point he will go further afield."