Vics fall three wickets short after Hunt’s epic effort

Henry Hunt's epic effort in carrying his bat throughout the final day, with tailender David Grant living up to his self-administered nickname 'The Wall', secured South Australia a hard-fought draw after Victoria dominated much of their season-opener Marsh Sheffield Shield match at Karen Rolton Oval.

Hunt survived a career-high 326 balls across more than seven hours at the crease to defy Victoria's final session victory push and finish unbeaten on 97, aided by fast bowlers Grant (0no from 45 balls) and Wes Agar (19 from 56) as SA ended 7-207 and 218 shy of their distant victory target.

Victoria seemed destined for victory after Travis Head (6) was dismissed for six by rookie swing bowler Fergus O'Neill for the second time in his maiden match, and another Test player Alex Carey (2) succumbed to the same bowler midway through the day leaving SA 5-136.

But Hunt became only the second opener in SA's Shield history – behind recently elected SACA board member Dan Harris (in 2011) who was a spectator this afternoon – to carry his bat through the final day of a four-day game.

The 25-year-old might have been deprived a deserved century when both teams shook hands with two balls remaining in the day, at which point he could have taken a free swing in search of a ton if energy levels permitted, but he was happy to accept the premature closure.

"At the end of the day I just wanted to get off the field and have a beer," Hunt said.

"It's obviously nice to have personal success but I guess the end result of the day was to get the draw and I achieved that, so box is ticked in that regard.

"Hopefully I can score a bit quicker in the next game, hit a few more boundaries and a hundred might be on the cards."

As the final hour of the last day loomed, SA hopes of hanging on for the draw that seemed so distant at six wickets down (and with a lengthy tail to come) at tea had dramatically brightened due to the defiant seventh wicket stand of between Hunt and Agar.

Promoted above number 10 for the first time in his 14-game first-class career, Agar produced his longest innings in both balls faced and minutes absorbed as Hunt expertly worked the strike late in overs.

But it was the fast bowler's urgency to get to the non-striker's end from the first ball of the 92nd over that brought about his undoing, when he failed to recognise he had pushed a ball from Jon Holland to the preferred hand of Nic Maddinson at mid-off, who duly threw down the stumps.

Responsibility then fell to Grant, who eventually soaked up the day's penultimate over from Test star Scott Boland having struck an agreement with Hunt he would take all six deliveries if unable to sneak a single off any of the first three.

"He calls himself ‘The Wall’, so he can live by that nickname still," Hunt revealed.

It would have come as no surprise that Hunt proved the immovable object against Victoria's seemingly irresistible push for an outright win given his previous longest occupation was the 80 off 278 balls he produced in helping SA to a draw against the same opponent at Glenelg Oval two years ago.

While disappointed not to have pocketed the points in a game they essentially dominated after slumping to 6-137 midway through day one, Victoria coach Chris Rogers was proud of his team's efforts across a grinding final three sessions.

"The pitch just seemed to die as it went along, and there was nothing really there at the end for us to get something out of it," Rogers said.

"We just couldn't get those breakthroughs we needed.

"Those little quarter chances just didn't go our way but credit to our guys, they fought as hard as they could and they were a little bit out on their feet at the end having given it everything.

"It was always going to be difficult after we lost the toss on a pitch that, on the first half of the first day, did everything and then for the rest of the game did nothing.

"But I was really, really pleased with the way we batted on day one.

"I thought we could have been knocked over for less than 150 and from there we controlled the game and gave ourselves a chance to win.

"We're frustrated we couldn't get the job done, and there are 11 guys in there (dressing room) who are really disappointed."

To steal an unlikely win, SA needed to execute the second-highest successful run chase in their 130-year history, and the biggest the competition has seen since Queensland piled on 5-471 to defeat the Redbacks in 2013-14.

And while opening pair Jake Weatherald (53) and Hunt did their bit in an enterprising start, the fact no other member of SA's top seven was able to pass 10 meant the pursuit was effectively abandoned before it got going.

Weatherald, who had raced to 28no from 38 balls on Saturday evening, continued at that same required pace this morning with a boundary almost every over as he seized on any width offered him.

Unsurprisingly, it was Boland who made the vital incision when he altered his attack to around the wicket and lured the left-hander into a forward push to a delivery that straightened, and was neatly plucked by the ever-reliable Peter Handscomb low down at slip.

With the run rate dropping to just above three an over after the day's first drinks break, Jake Carder went searching for a boundary but in reaching to drive a wide ball from Mitch Perry he edged a catch to gully.

The pivotal moment came five overs later when O'Neill perfectly executed the plan against Head that had proved so effective in the first innings.

A genuine swing bowler at just above brisk medium pace, the 22-year-old enticed Head to drive in the over prior to the Test batter's dismissal and although a boundary resulted, he would not have been upset to see Head's flashing blade with foot planted some distance from ball.

In his next over, with the trap set and two fielders stationed 25m or so from the striker at extra cover, the Redbacks skipper obliged and punched a low catch to his BBL teammate Matt Short who gleefully completed Victoria's most prized dismissal for the second time in the match.

"There's definitely something about him," Rogers said of his newest seamer.

"He's got some good skills, he's accurate and he's a competitor, we can see that with his personality."

From that moment, SA switched to game-saving mode.

Hunt and Jake Lehmann added just eight runs from the six over prior to lunch as O'Neill and Will Sutherland gave the pair nothing to exploit.

Lehmann's half-hour occupation ended shortly after the break, when he nicked an outswinger from Boland that hooped across the left-hander but perhaps the day was best characterised by Test keeper Carey.

The normally adventurous stroke player was pinned down by both circumstance and steadfast opposition, and managed just two singles from the 38 deliveries he faced before he also fell to debutant O'Neill.

"We came into today being very optimistic about getting a win if we could start the day positively and put a lot of runs on the board and put them under pressure," Hunt said tonight.

"We were looking along the lines of being two or three down by tea, and then we'd make an assessment from there.

"But losing Lehmo (Lehmann) straight after lunch made it pretty clear that we had to shut the game up, we'd lost four of our top batters and it was very unlikely, if not impossible, to try and go for an outright win."

SA's next fixture is against Tasmania at Adelaide Oval from next Sunday, while Victoria tackle Western Australia at CitiPower Centre a day later in a rematch of last season's Shield final where Boland is expected to be missing as he's managed ahead of the upcoming NRMA Insurance Test Series.

Rogers said he also held no worries about the form of Test-capped opener Will Pucovski who, for only the second time in his Shield career, failed to reach double figures in either innings of a match.

"He got 200 in a second eleven game a few weeks back, so there's no concern about that," Rogers said.

"And it's perhaps not bad to remember that his batting is human after all, you don't always get to walk out and middle every ball.

"It's going to still be challenging at times and in the second innings in particular he probably didn't hit the ball as well as he would have wanted to, but that's a good learning moment for him as well."