Ross, Carey revive Redbacks after collapse

An attacking century stand between Alex Ross and Alex Carey has steered South Australia out of trouble on a see-sawing opening day of the 2015-16 Sheffield Shield final against Victoria.

The duo added 103 in a little more than 20 overs either side of tea to take the Redbacks from a perilous 5-185 to 8-325 at stumps in a match they only need to draw to secure the state's first Shield title in two decades.

Left-armer Jon Holland was the pick of Victoria's bowlers with 3-86 from 29 overs, while fellow spinner Fawad Ahmed was conspicuous in his absence from the bowling crease for most of the day, the leggie grabbing 1-33 in the nine overs he bowled.

If a conclusion can be drawn from the opening exchanges of this match, it's that the performance of Victoria's dual spin attack - who found plenty of purchase on the first-day pitch - at least means a question mark has been pencilled in alongside SA's decision not to include a frontline spinner in their XI.

The home side's selection may have been influenced by the healthy layer of grass that covered the pitch at Glenelg's Gliderol Stadium on match eve, but any thought of a green seamer was put to bed when the covers were pulled back this morning to reveal mostly dry grass and a hard surface beneath.

It meant both skippers were keen to bat first and the coin - like so many things in an extraordinary season - fell the way of Redbacks skipper Travis Head, who unsurprisingly instructed his openers to pad up.

SA rookie Jake Weatherald, playing in his first Shield final, and his opening partner Mark Cosgrove, the only current Redback to have played in a season decider, began in contrasting fashion.

Playing in just his fifth first-class match, Weatherald batted like it was his 50th, hammering 13 boundaries inside the first 20 overs, including three consecutively off the bowling of Marcus Stoinis.

It was up to Victoria's other medium-pace allrounder Dan Christian (2-43) to get the breakthrough, finding Weatherald's edge through to Matthew Wade to send him on his way for 66 from 61 balls and end the opening stand at 90, SA's highest of the season.

Weatherald's cameo was indicative of South Australia's season, an attacking and high-risk adventure that thrilled the sprightly day one crowd of 4,207, before Cosgrove and Sam Raphael tapped the brakes to ease the home side to 1-100 at lunch.

Cosgrove did what he's done for much of the season, patiently seeing off the new ball before falling when a big score was on offer, trapped in front by Chris Tremain (1-65) for 42 some 30 minutes after the resumption.

It was the first wicket in a collapse of 4-54 that cancelled out SA's brisk start and briefly turned the match Victoria's way.

Head began much in the same way as Weatherald, hitting two fours and a six in his first 15 balls before Christian induced a dabble outside off stump and Cameron White did the rest at second slip.

In the very next over, Raphael played over the top of a Holland delivery and was bowled for 29 before the left-armer got one to spin back sharply between Jake Lehmann's bat and pad to remove him for 14 and reduce the home side to 5-185.

The responsibility of posting a total of substance subsequently fell on the inexperienced shoulders of wicketkeeper-batsman Carey and Ross, the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year.

And as has been the way of this South Australian side during much of their resurgence this season, the Redbacks batsmen went on the attack.

The more aggressive of the pair early on was Carey, one of five left-handers in this SA top seven, who took the gloves from Tim Ludeman a month ago on the back of strong form in SA Premier Cricket.

At the home of his club side Glenelg, Carey dominated the early stages of his union with Ross and was particularly harsh on Holland, who had bowled frugally in taking 2-47 in 19 overs before tea but was hit for 20 in three overs immediately after the interval.

Carey swept the left-armer over the rope between long on and deep mid-wicket on three occasions, with 'The Sweepologist' Ross adding a maximum of his own.

But it was this attacking mindset against Holland that would ultimately prove to be Carey's downfall, with Peter Handscomb taking a skied catch on the mid-wicket boundary after Carey had tried to loft the spinner into the Edwards Rix Stand.

Ahmed, who had bowled just a solitary over before tea, was then introduced from the Northern End and promptly had Joe Mennie caught behind for one with a leg-break that gripped and bounced noticeably.

Ross found a capable ally in Chadd Sayers, who had scheduled his bucks party for this weekend before SA's late surge into the season decider forced a change of plans, the pair adding 28 before Ross chopped Scott Boland onto his stumps on the eve of stumps to depart for a well-made 72, the new ball getting the breakthrough.

Sayers (20 not out) and Daniel Worrall (5 not out) survived the remaining overs to leave the match evenly poised heading into day two.

After three drawn Shield finals in a row, the entertaining opening to this contest has offered more than a glimmer of hope that a result is possible.

But just who will be holding the famous of Shield at match end is still no clearer after 90 tense overs of play today.