Classic Sheffield Shield innings: 25-21

40-36; 35-31; 30-26

25. Beau Webster (Tas) 187 v WA, Feb 2020

Tasmania won by five wickets

Two long-levered right-handers produced a couple of wonderful innings in this chaotic affair in Hobart just a few summers ago, but it was Tasmania's Beau Webster who had the final say on proceedings.

After the first day-and-a-half was dominated by WA's emerging star Cameron Green, whose 158no formed the bedrock of his side's 371, the Tigers struggled in reply, lurching to 5-139 before the close on day two.

Local boy Webster, who to that point had four first-class centuries as well as a couple of appearances with Australia A to his name, was not out 34 after coming to the crease at No.7, though there had been little indication of what would follow on day three.

The lanky right-hander dominated the first hour of play, hammering 59 from 51 balls as Ben McDermott (28 from 126) contentedly played the support act in the unfolding show. In 30 overs the pair put on 128, as a clinical Webster looked to shift the momentum of proceedings in a calculated and spectacular attacking display.

He offered one chance on 97, dropped at fine leg, before reaching his century from 103 deliveries, with his second fifty coming from 39 balls in a performance reminiscent of his work for Melbourne Renegades during the KFC BBL season that had ended a month earlier.

"There is a lot of similarities in the way I'm batting to the Big Bash," he said. "It's a mindset thing where if the ball is in my area I'm confident I can either clear the rope or hit it hard enough along the ground to score quickly and put some pressure back on the bowlers, which has been a bit of a focus for us after Christmas."

At 8-281, with only the tail to work with and Tasmania still trailing by 109, Webster kicked his innings up a gear, putting together consecutive half-century stands with Nathan Ellis (7) and Gabe Bell (1no) in a show of controlled aggression.

When he was finally out for a run-a-ball 187 (27x4s, 3x6s), he had contributed 74.5 per cent of his side's final 251 runs, pushing Tasmania in front by 19 on the first innings.

"I have a bit of freedom down there at the bottom of the order," Webster said. "It was a bit streaky at times, but I got more out of the middle than not and ended up with my highest score, which I'm very proud of."

And when WA's top three were all dismissed for ducks and the visitors slumped to 4-26 – a lead of just seven – the innings was looking all the more impressive.

And while there were more twists and turns to come as the Western Australians managed to recover to set Tasmania a target of 235, the hosts snuck home by five wickets on the final afternoon, with Webster (29no off 18) and captain Tim Paine (48no) icing the win.

First inns: WA 371 (Green 158no; Rainbird 5-77)

Second inns: Tas 390 (Webster 187; Paris 5-90)

Third inns: WA 253 (Paris 93; Ellis 6-86)

Fourth inns: Tas 5-235 (Doran 63; Paris 2-58)

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24. Martin Love (Qld) 116 v NSW, March 2005

NSW won by one wicket

It was perhaps fitting that the least productive season of Queensland legend Martin Love's decorated Shield career ended with the pain of final defeat, although not without a reminder of his batting brilliance.

Queensland's all-time leading run-scorer, Love was another player who had multiple innings in contention for this list – including an unbeaten 300 the season before this knock – but in the end it was this gutsy second-innings hundred in a thrilling Shield decider that got the nod.

After an early lunch was called on the opening day due to rain, Blues swing bowler Nathan Bracken seized on the helpful conditions to spectacularly dismantle Queensland. Only Love (24) and Andrew Symonds (39) could briefly halt the carnage, putting together a 42-run stand after the hosts had fallen to 3-18. But the exit of Love, who going into the match had scored just 155 runs at 11 in a miserable Shield campaign, triggered a landslide of wickets as Queensland fell from 3-60 to 102 all out.

The Blues found the going almost as hard, falling to 5-48 before fighting their way to 188 and to earn a crucial 86-run lead.

Number three Love found himself in the middle for a second time before tea on day two, by which time he had made his way to 12, with Queensland 2-31 and still trailing by 55.

With a hitherto misbehaving pitch beginning to settle down – but showing signs of cracking up over the following 24 hours – Love seized on the improved batting conditions against the Blues' pace quartet of Bracken, Matthew Nicholson, Stuart Clark and Grant Lambert as well as star leg-spinner Stuart MacGill, who earlier that week said he had seriously entertained a move to Queensland, such was his liking for the Gabba wicket.

By stumps he had moved to 61no, his highest score of the Shield season, nudging the Bulls to 4-150 and a lead of 64.

"There'll probably be a few more twists yet," said Blues coach Trevor Bayliss at the close. "It's still fairly even, and it's an important first session tomorrow."

And while Nicholson indeed struck early on day three, Love combined for a valuable sixth-wicket stand of 66 with allrounder James Hopes (33), then dominated three more handy partnerships with the tail to almost single-handedly take Queensland's lead beyond 180.

In doing so, he moved to his 32nd first-class hundred and surely one of his hardest fought, given the quality of the NSW attack, the unfriendly conditions, and the fact none of his teammates even reached 40 in either innings.

His valiant six-hour, 269-ball innings included 19 fours and ensured Queensland had a total they could at least attempt to defend which, in the end, they very nearly did.

Chasing 183, the Blues recovered from a wobbly 4-97 to be within 25 runs with six wickets still in hand. At that point, they lost 5-3 and it was only an unbroken last-wicket stand of 22 that sealed one of the most dramatic Shield final wins of the modern era.

It also meant Queensland had lost three deciders on the trot, a run they would break the following year when, following a high-scoring drawn final against Victoria, the Shield returned to the sunshine state by virtue of the Bulls' first-placed finish.

First inns: Qld 102 (Symonds 36; Bracken 6-27)

Second inns: NSW 188 (Haddin 68no; Noffke 4-58)

Third inns: Qld 268 (Love 116; Nicholson 5-60)

Fourth inns: NSW 9-183 (Haddin 41; Dawes 3-30)

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23. Evan Gulbis (Tas) 229 v SA, Mar 2014

Tasmania won by an innings & 316 runs

Allrounder Evan Gulbis registered just the one first-class hundred through his 21-match career but he made sure it was memorable.

The Melbourne product, who has since become something of a legend in that city's Premier Cricket scene, had played a lead hand for the Tigers in the previous season's Shield final with five wickets, and his right-arm mediums had become his stronger suit after moving south primarily as a batter.

A career-best score of 35 leading into the 2013-14 summer didn't do his ability justice however, and when he made an aggressive 80 from 73 balls against Western Australia before Christmas, it appeared something had clicked.

With a game to go in the Tigers' Shield campaign, they were out of the running in what was a close race to the final, but they could still impact the placings with a big win over South Australia.

Across three days in Hobart, that's exactly what happened.

Bowled out for 212 after electing to bat first, the Redbacks had Tassie 2-16 before Mark Cosgrove (110) and Ben Dunk (72) took the score to 191. Their exits in consecutive Chadd Sayers overs triggered a mini-collapse of 4-47, leaving Tassie only 26 in front with just four wickets in hand.

Captain Tim Paine (87) welcomed Gulbis out to the middle shortly after lunch on day two, and the pair made their way safely to tea, with the No.8 reaching 50no at the interval.

The remainder of the day belonged to Gulbis, whose confidence grew as Tasmania's lead became a substantial one. The hard-hitting right-hander played straight particularly well and treated SA's part-timers with contempt, passing Paine to register his hundred from 123 balls, then embracing his skipper.

His next 50 runs came from 49 balls, at which point he had completed the rare distinction of hitting a century in a session. By the close, he was 156no and in possession of the highest score by a No.8 in Shield history. Tasmania were 8-507 and in control.  

"I thought I played pretty well in my last game here and I've built from there," Gulbis said that evening. "Hopefully I can build on it tomorrow and make it a big one and (the record) might stay for a while."

Indeed he did. By lunch on day three, Gulbis was the last man out for a remarkable 229 from 293 balls (28x4s, 3x6s). It was the fourth-highest first-class score made by a No.8, while Tasmania's 651 all out was their highest in Shield cricket.

When they bowled South Australia out for 123 before stumps on day three – with Gulbis taking 4-7 – they had also completed their biggest win in the competition.

"I always knew I could bat," Gulbis said, "and it was just about finding a way to do it."  

First inns: SA 212 (McDonald 83; Bird 6-50)

Second inns: Tas 651 (Gulbis 229, Cosgrove 110; Sayers 4-145)

Third inns: SA 123 (Hughes 39; Gulbis 4-7)

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22. Cameron Green (WA) 87no & 121no v Qld, Nov 2019

Match drawn

Cameron Green had emerged two-and-a-half years earlier as an exciting fast bowler with a lethal outswinger, delivered from a near 200cm frame. All this as a 17-year-old, but when the familiar tale of stress fractures unfolded, Green – who already considered himself an allrounder – was able to focus on his batting as he allowed his body to heal.

The results were evident in the summer of 2019-20, when the then 20-year-old averaged 63 in the Shield and was the only player to hit three hundreds in a pandemic-hit season.

The first of those was the second part of this incredible double against the Bulls at the Gabba.

After Michael Neser and Cameron Gannon removed WA's openers for ducks on the first morning, the visitors had slumped to 6-160 after two sessions when the rangy figure of Green made his way to the middle.

It was his ninth Shield match but his first against Queensland, and perhaps the hosts hadn't factored in too much research on the young No.8's batting wares.

By stumps they had more to ponder. Green was 50no and employing the full range of drives and pulls he has become renowned for. And he wasn't done there.

Finding strong support in Jhye Richardson (39) and Matt Kelly (32), Green led the way as WA more than doubled their total through their final four partnerships, reaching 332. The young star-in-the-making had withstood everything a strong Queensland attack could throw at him, remaining unbowed on 87.

It would prove to be just the first of his rescue acts in the match.

After Queensland piled on 411 to lead by 79, the West Australians slumped to 4-39 at stumps on day three. The following morning, their situation worsened to a disastrous 7-53 and the match looked to be all but over.

Again, Green intervened. Teaming up with nightwatchman Kelly, who batted almost four hours for his 46, the young allrounder made his way patiently to a 91-ball half-century, and the pair ensured their hosts would at least have to bat again.  

As the day wore on and Queensland's frustrations grew, Green picked up his strike-rate against the second new ball, motoring along at almost a run a ball through his second fifty and en route to his maiden first-class hundred, which was reached via an overthrow.

Still Green pressed on, but with the shadows lengthening and the target growing, the captains finally shook hands on a draw.

Green had scored 208 runs for the match without being dismissed, saving Western Australia and announcing himself as the Shield's brightest young star in the process.

"At 7-53 we looked dead and buried," said WA captain Shaun Marsh. "We have something special in Cameron Green. He certainly has a bright future for not only WA but for Australia."

First inns: WA 332 (Green 87no; Gannon 4-79)

Second inns: Qld 411 (Street 115; Stoinis 3-50)

Third inns: WA 9-246 (Green 121no; Gannon 4-39)

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21. Chris Lynn (Qld) 250 v Vic, Feb 2015

Queensland won by an innings & 13 runs

The first-class record of Chris Lynn is something of a forgotten relic given his exploits as a Big Bash blaster with Brisbane Heat, however those looking will note the numbers stack up impressively.

Lynn was a quality all-format batter through a decent stretch of his career; he struck a stunning first-class hundred for Queensland as a 19-year-old second-gamer while following on against WA, and later captained Australia A in one-day cricket before playing four ODIs in 2017-18.

Chronic shoulder injuries, and an aptitude for hitting sixes, turned him into the T20 powerhouse we know today, but there was a time when he combined that with the technique and concentration to succeed in first-class cricket.

Perhaps the best example of that was this thunderous performance against Victoria, in his first Shield outing of another injury-interrupted season.

Batting second at the Gabba in response to the Vics' 260 (in which Matthew Wade's dazzling rescue act of 152 from 173 balls narrowly missed this list), the Queenslanders slumped to 3-7 and then 4-33 as a Test-quality pace trio of James Pattinson, Peter Siddle and John Hastings all struck.

Lynn and wicketkeeper Chris Hartley made it to stumps with the score at 4-66, though Lynn had a life on 21 when he was dropped at first slip by Dan Christian. A day later, he was still unbeaten, having moved from 26no to 250no through three sessions of utter dominance.

For much of the day, the right-hander had enjoyed the company of Hartley (123), with the pair piling on a record 273 runs for the fifth wicket.

The 24-year-old Lynn as particularly savage on leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed, hitting the first of his eight sixes against the leg-spinner (he also hit two off Cameron White) to go from 94 to 100.

His next 150 came in 137 balls and amid a flurry of boundaries as Hartley and others increasingly became sideshows to the main event.

Having helped Queensland score 436 runs in the day to lead by 246, Lynn came off that evening exhausted, but with grander plans.  

"I can definitely make 300 if me and 'Fox' (tailender Luke Feldman) can bat for a while," he said.

"To score 300 would be unbelievable. The Vics will push hard to get two wickets and they will obviously try to get me off strike.

"It will be tough work to score a few boundaries with the field they'll probably set for me, but the longer we keep the, out there, it becomes easier and easier."

Alas, it wasn't to be. Lynn was out in the second over of the following morning without adding to his total – still the sixth-highest Shield score by a Queenslander – but by day's end the hosts had wrapped up a stirring innings victory.

Lynn played just another 10 Shield matches, scoring one more century.

First inns: Vic 260 (Wade 152; George 5-78)

Second inns: Qld 512 (Lynn 250, Hartley 123; Pattinson 4-96)

Third inns: Vic 239 (Rogers 69; Milenko 3-29)