Classic Sheffield Shield innings: 20-16

40-36; 35-31; 30-26; 25-21

20. Cameron White (Vic) 97no v NSW, Mar 2016

Match drawn

Cameron White never quite managed a first-class hundred against New South Wales but this effort – his best against the Blues – was every bit as good given what it meant for the two sides involved.

A see-sawing affair at Traeger Park in Alice Springs looked to be headed the way of NSW by the time stumps were pulled on day three, with the Vics having stumbled to 3-20 in pursuit of 269.

Given it was the last round of the season, there was plenty to play for; an outright win to the Blues would see them leapfrog Victoria into the final, while the Vics needed just a draw to be in the decider, although a win would have seen them host.

White, who had spent time warming the Vics bench through the previous couple of seasons, was next man in on the final morning, and he didn't have to wait long for his introduction after Marcus Stoinis was lbw to Harry Conway to put the score at 4-34.

The Blues attack, which also included Nathan Lyon, Trent Copeland, Sean Abbott and young mystery spinner Arjun Nair, continued to pile on the pressure, and it told once again when Matthew Wade was out before lunch to have the Vics teetering at 5-56.

White held firm. Playing straight and leaving where he could, he set his sights on a drawn outcome, some two sessions down the line.

The right-hander, who had carved out a fine white-ball career owing to his big-hitting exploits, reined in his game superbly, using all his experience as the Blues tried everything to get through his defences.

As Dan Christian, Chris Tremain and Scott Boland all soaked up valuable deliveries, the Vics edged closer to the close.

Boland (34no off 82) even counter-punched on occasion, hitting six boundaries during his rear-guard effort, and as the overs wound down and with three wickets still in hand, White too decided attack would be the best form of defence.

His late flurry took him to 97no and Victoria to within 35 of their target, but ultimately neither the century nor the victory mattered; a valiant draw was enough to keep the Blues from overtaking them into the decider.

"I had great support from Dan Christian and Scott Boland," White said, "I thought NSW fought and competed very hard but I am just rapt to be playing in another Shield final."

It was a final that Victoria went on to win, defending their Shield title against South Australia in Adelaide, with White playing another telling hand with an aggressive first-innings 78.

First inns: NSW 341 (Patterson 82; Tremain 4-47)

Second inns: Vic 251 (Stoinis 107; Abbott 3-60)

Third inns: NSW 178 (Copeland 47; Christian 5-40)

Fourth inns: Vic 7-234 (White 97no; Copeland 3-59)

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19. Travis Head (SA) 192 v Tasmania, March 2016

South Australia won by an innings & 78 runs

These days he's an Ashes winner and a multiple Test century-maker, but back in the summer of 2015-16, Travis Head was really just getting started.

After waiting 35 matches to register his maiden first-class hundred, they came in a hurry that season, with the aggressive left-hander enjoying a breakthrough campaign.

The then 22-year-old had long been recognised as a player of considerable potential, having been handed the captaincy of the Redbacks the previous summer, and making his Australia debut two months before this match.

South Australia had become perennial strugglers in the Shield, claiming the wooden spoon in three of Head's first four years in the side, and although they were only sitting in fourth spot with one round to go in the 2015-16 season, they also knew a big win over Tasmania at Glenelg and some favourable results could push them into their first final in 20 years.

Day one unfolded perfectly. After the Tigers opted to bat first, they were skittled for 91 by a rampant Chadd Sayers (7-46), and when two Redbacks wickets fell in the first six overs of their response, it seemed a low-scoring shootout was on the cards.

Head had other ideas. Coming off a match-winning 134 in a one-wicket win against WA in Perth (another knock that wouldn't have been out of place on this list), the dashing left-hander raced to 50 from 52 balls with eight fours.

He and Alex Ross (52) put on 95 for the fifth wicket – more than Tasmania had managed in their first innings – and by stumps Head had brought up a second Shield hundred in as many innings, and his third of the summer, with the Redbacks racing along at 4.5 runs per over to be 7-239.

The following morning, they added a further 107, of which Head smashed 86 from fewer than 60 balls to help his side to 346 and a massive first-innings lead of 255.

In all, he had tallied 192 from 176 deliveries, with 24 fours and five sixes, and accounting for 55 per cent of his side's runs. Ultimately it also catapulted South Australia into their first Shield final in 20 years, after Tasmania were routed for 177 on day two to lose by an innings, and other results left the Redbacks top of the ladder.

Head's fairytale did however end there, as his side suffered a seven-wicket loss to Victoria in the decider.

First inns: Tas 91 (Triffitt 25; Sayers 7-46)

Second inns: SA 346 (Head 192; Bird 5-81)

Third inns: Tas 177 (Doolan 67; Worrall 4-71)

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18. Darren Lehmann (SA) 237 v NSW, Feb 2004

NSW won by 25 runs

Darren Lehmann's second entry on this list came amid a loss but such is the scope and the sheer audacity of the performance – the highest fourth-innings score in the history of the Shield – it still finds itself this high in the pecking order.

Lehmann, the Shield's all-time leading run-scorer, was a devastating player of both pace and spin, and his natural tendency towards aggression made for some of the competition's most outrageous innings of recent times.

This was one of those. At the SCG, against a New South Wales attack boasting Stuart MacGill, Stuart Clark, Nathan Bracken and Matthew Nicholson, and in the most improbable of circumstances, Lehmann carved out a forgotten classic.

"The only blot on this knock," he told cricket.com.au, "was we should've won the game."

Certainly it didn't appear that way early on day three. Having declared twice in the match – first at 9-350 and then at 4-299 – and having bowled out the Redbacks for a meagre 129 (an innings punctuated by six ducks), the Blues had put themselves in an almost unbeatable position: with around five-and-a-half sessions remaining, they needed to collect 10 wickets.

South Australia, on the other hand, required 521 to win.

They were one down in the third over when Nicholson had Ben Cameron caught for a duck by Mark Waugh, and when Mark Cosgrove was run out shortly after lunch to leave them 2-76, the match looked to be following a predictable path.

Twenty-eight minutes later, makeshift opener Graham Manou and Lehmann had added 50 for the third wicket, and the Redbacks' message was clear; if we're going down, we're going down swinging.

"I actually remember the conversation he and I had with (coach) Wayne Phillips the night before," Manou told cricket.com.au. "In typical 'Boof' (Lehmann) fashion he flippantly made a comment along the lines of, 'Well you get a big hundred, I'll get 300, and we'll win the game'.

"He used to love playing against the Blues when the Waugh boys were there."

Having recently surrendered his Test place due to an Achilles injury, Lehmann certainly seemed a man on a mission, moving to 71no by tea to well and truly find his groove. Manou meanwhile had surged to a maiden first-class hundred from just 113 balls, his second fifty coming from 33 deliveries as the duo added 151 before the interval to stir the possibility of something extraordinary.

And while the 'keeper-batter was out for a dashing 130 in the final session, Lehmann ensured the blitz continued, making his way to 149no by the close and relishing the challenge against MacGill on his home patch. By stumps, the leggie had figures of 0-118 from 18 overs, while the Blues were ruing a dropped catch by Mark Waugh with Lehmann on 90.

It was the prolific left-hander's 69th first-class hundred, and the prospect of making it among his most memorable was very much there: at 3-339, South Australia needed 182 on the final day to pull off the greatest run chase in first-class history.

The batting blitz had left NSW scratching their heads to the point that captain Waugh, evidently running out of ideas, threw the ball to wicketkeeper Nathan Pilon for the final over of the day.

The next morning, Lehmann wasted no time in bringing up his 150 and he accelerated from there. The wicket of Andy Flower (24) mattered little to the SA skipper, who added another 87 in 55 balls in a spectacular one-man show (No.6 Mark Higgs contributed two in a fifth-wicket stand of 64).

At 4-434 shortly before lunch, and with Lehmann seemingly unstoppable, the Redbacks suddenly found themselves in the box seat. Which is when the game shifted once again.

Of course, it all hung on the wicket of their talisman, and when Lehmann blazed a MacGill offering to Steve Waugh at cover, it triggered a mini-collapse of 3-5 just before the end of the morning session.

It was the beginning of the end for South Australia, and they ultimately lost their final six wickets for 61 to be bowled out for a valiant 496.

Afterward, the emotions for Lehmann were bittersweet; though the run chase hadn't come off, the then 34-year-old had been rewarded with a recall to Australia's Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka.

First inns: NSW 9d-350 (Mail 128; Tait 5-85)

Second inns: SA 129 (Flower 44; Nicholson 5-36)

Third inns: 4d-299 (Mail 152no; Tait 1-13)

Fourth inns: SA 495 (Lehmann 237, Manou 130; MacGill 4-144)

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17. Tom Cooper (SA) 98 & 203no v NSW, Nov 2011

Match drawn

It was a match in which David Warner and Steve Smith were surpassed, and the Blues' star-studded bowling attack was outpointed – all by a young batter from Wollongong who had effectively become a New South Wales reject.

Tom Cooper was only 23 but the underage NSW rep had already been around; having moved to South Australia four years earlier, he had also utilised his heritage to play for the Netherlands in the ODI World Cup earlier in 2011.

Missing from his resume was a first-class hundred, but at Bankstown Oval in Sydney's west, that too was about to change.

After NSW piled on 6d-474 thanks to hundreds from Warner (145) and Smith (106), the Redbacks' reply of 266 was held together by Cooper (98), who came to the middle at 2-52 and didn't depart until the score was 7-248.

Against a NSW attack brimming with established talent in Doug Bollinger and Steve O'Keefe and aided by hot young pace commodities Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, he was the only player to reach 50.

Staying true to his aggressive game, Cooper carved out 13 boundaries in his 167-ball stay on a deteriorating wicket, being particularly ruthless against the leg-spin of Smith, but a lack of support left South Australia following on.

Second time around, the No.4 came to the crease just one over into day four, with his side still trailing by 149 and the prospect of anything but defeat looking decidedly grim.

Two more wickets fell before lunch but by the interval Cooper was 54, and he had found a reliable partner in fellow NSW native Dan Christian.

As dark clouds gathered above Bankstown Oval, the pair held their ground through the middle session to raise the Redbacks' hopes of an unlikely draw.

Upon reaching his maiden hundred – a feat of concentration and patience across 201 deliveries – Cooper opted to turn the tables on the Blues, upping his attacking game with a series of delightful strokes. His second hundred came from just 89 balls and when Christian ultimately fell for 96, the partnership had reached 260 and the pair had erased their side's deficit.

With Cooper unbeaten on 203, the skippers agreed to shake hands, and the young SA batter's chanceless knock had secured a memorable draw for his side.

"I've played here half a dozen times and only got 50 runs in total, so I was a bit nervous coming here," said the former University of NSW player. "I'll be happy to come back now."

First inns: 6d-474 (Warner 148, Smith 106; George 3-126)

Second inns: SA 266 (Cooper 98; Katich 3-29)

Third inns: SA 5-373 (Cooper 203no, Christian 96; Hazlewood 2-44)

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16. Chris Rogers (Vic) 115 & 147no v WA, Nov 2008

Victoria won by six wickets

Chris Rogers was at an interesting point in his career when he produced this remarkable double for the Vics in Perth, the same venue he had made his Test debut 10 months earlier.

For Rogers, a disappointing debut had been compounded by his omission from Test tours of West Indies and India that came later that year, and when the home summer began, selectors went with Simon Katich to partner Matthew Hayden at the top of the order.

The left-hander had made his way from WA to Victoria after reportedly being disappointed to have been left out of the one-day side, and this Shield clash was his first against his former state, though he had already notched up a pair of half-centuries and a fine 159 in four matches for his new team.

And after WA crawled to 239 in almost 100 overs, their ex-opener immediately looked a man on a mission. Though the rest of the top four all fell for single-figure scores inside 16 overs on a rain-marred second day, Rogers ensured the run rate ticked along at four per over, capitalising on his form with a series of stunning boundaries – including a couple of sixes cut over point – and making his way to 50 from 77 balls.

With Cameron White (47) offering support, Rogers needed only another 44 deliveries to race to 100, at one point dispatching David Bandy for four fours in an over to race from 83 to 99. His century arrived moments later via a swashbuckling cover drive, and when he was finally out for 115 from 132 balls (19x4s, 3x6s) it felt as if a point had been proven to WA selectors.

Victoria were bowled out for 326 to lead by 87 on the first innings, but a second hundred of the match to Marcus North put WA in the box seat on the final morning, with their declaration setting the visitors 318 to win in 74 overs.

At 2-45 early in the middle session, a Victoria win appeared unlikely, but Rogers and WA native David Hussey (87) came together for a match-defining 168-run stand, the pair motoring along at more than 4.5 runs per over throughout their union.

And though Hussey and White fell in successive balls after tea to add some intrigue to the contest, it was largely one-way traffic through the final day, as Rogers stood firm and found another capable ally in Andrew McDonald (60no).

The opener was unbeaten 147 when the winning runs arrived with seven balls to spare, having timed the pace of his four-and-a-half-hour innings expertly.

"I'm not really a badge kisser but I felt that was appropriate today," Rogers said. "But in the same breath I think maybe the WA guys were disappointed, but so be it.

"I came here to score heavily and fortunately it's happened. I'm happy at the moment. I had my family there (watching)."

Added Vics captain White: "Chris Rogers obviously had a lot to do with (the win) and I'm rapt for him and for the team. It was a very important six points."

The win put Victoria top of the ladder and they would go on to lift the trophy, with Rogers scoring a century in the decider and tasting Shield glory for the first time.

First inns: WA 239 (North 103; Pattinson 3-43)

Second inns: Vic 326 (Rogers 115; Dorey 5-104)

Third inns: WA 8d-404 (North 141; Wright 5-53)

Fourth inns: Vic 4-321 (Rogers 147no, Hussey 87; Dorey 3-75)