The best Sheffield Shield matches of the century: 25-21

NSW won by 25 runs

Steve Waugh's Blues bossed the majority of this SCG face-off thanks to excellent performances from a couple of their more unheralded men: opener Greg Mail notched 128 and 152no to allow his skipper to declare twice; and in between, Matthew Nicholson scythed through South Australia with 5-36 to bowl them out for 129 in just 36.3 overs.

It all amounted to a massive NSW lead, and with the home side rattling along at a fraction under four runs per over across their two innings, their second declaration – with the score at 4-299 – came just an hour into day three.

Over to you, Boof, Waugh seemed to be saying to his opposing skipper, Darren Lehmann – the man many were predicting would fill the vacant No.5 spot in the Test side following the veteran batter's international retirement.

And while the South Australian was known for his audacious stroke-play and aggressive cricket, the scale of the task set by Waugh seemed beyond the pale: no team in first-class history had ever chased as many as the 521 they had been set across five-and-a-half sessions.

Yet against a New South Wales attack boasting Stuart MacGill, Stuart Clark, Nathan Bracken and Nicholson, 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 in the early stages of their innings, as SA slipped to 2-76 shortly after lunch on day three. Yet just 28 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 moved to 71no by tea while Manou 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.

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. 

At 3-339, South Australia needed 182 on the final day, and Lehmann quickly brought up his 150 and accelerated from there. The wicket of Andy Flower (24) mattered little to the SA skipper, who added another 87 from his next 55 balls (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 to depart for 237 (238) – the highest fourth-innings score in Shield history – 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 495, with MacGill taking 4-26 from 11 overs on the final day.

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)

 

NSW won by one wicket

The COVID-19 pandemic meant this match between two east coast rivals was played in Adelaide, where the Shield competition had set up at the front-end of the 2020-21 summer.

And it was high-quality cricket from the get-go, as Mitchell Starc led a strong Blues attack that also included Nathan Lyon, and reduced the Bulls to 4-115.

Marnus Labuschagne (117), fresh off a last-start hundred, combined with Jimmy Peirson (66) for a superb 136-run stand, the Test batter arguably at the peak of his powers as he took Lyon for 44 runs from 41 balls faced, including consecutive reverse sweeps to bring up his hundred.

Replying to Queensland's 298 the next day, the entire NSW top seven passed 20 – but none reached 70, with a 105-run stand between Sean Abbott (66) and Peter Nevill (59) the most productive of an innings that yielded 283.

Leg-spinner Mitch Swepson, in the form of his career, took the key wickets of Kurtis Patterson and Moises Henriques before finishing with 5-97.

The tightness and intensity of the contest continued when Blues right-arm seamer Trent Copeland then went to work, dismissing Joe Burns and Labuschagne for ducks and Bryce Street for nine to leave Queensland 3-30 – just 45 in front with seven wickets in hand.

Usman Khawaja (41) and Matt Renshaw (42) stemmed the tide but an inspired Copeland – who finished with the astounding figures of 5-17 from 18 overs – returned to dismiss both set batters and keep his side in the game.

Queensland's last seven wickets fell for 88 runs and the target for the Blues was 206.

The chase was gripping from the outset, as Nick Larking fell in the fourth over and NSW soon found themselves 3-48. Dan Hughes' made 48 to take his side to 124 before Swepson – who was having an increasingly big say on proceedings – intervened, claiming his seventh wicket of the match, and when he also removed Nevill for 25 and Michael Neser weighed in to knock over Daniel Solway for 52, the Blues still needed 40 with four wickets in hand.

As Swepson (5-74) twirled away and the number of close-in fielders grew, the wickets continued to fall steadily, and at 8-187, Queensland seemed to be sensing a stirring victory. But Abbott, top scorer in the first innings, stayed the course, guiding his side towards the finish line even as Neser pulled off a quality run-out of Lyon after stopping what would have been the winning runs.

Ultimately though, it only delayed the outcome, as No.11 Harry Conway held his nerve to see out the Swepson over and Abbott hit the winning single moments later, handing NSW their first one-wicket over Queensland since the 2005 Shield final.

First inns: Qld 298 (Labuschagne 117, Peirson 66; Starc 4-76)

Second inns: NSW 283 (Abbott 66, Nevill 59; Swepson 5-97)

Third inns: Qld 190 (Renshaw 42, Khawaja 41; Copeland 5-17)

Fourth inns: NSW 9-206 (Solway 52, Hughes 48; Swepson 5-74)

 

South Australia won by four wickets

South Australia had waited 29 years for this one and their fans rode a rollercoaster from the moment skipper Nathan McSweeney asked Queensland to bat first and his pace attack soon had the visitors reeling at 5-22.

The Bulls could only post 95 as their former charge Brendan Doggett bowled superbly to take 6-31, but the visitors also made the most of the new ball, with young tearaway Callum Vidler starring as SA fell to 6-112.

A low-scoring affair loomed but that was to discount the pluck of the South Australian lower order, with allrounders Ben Manenti (47) and Nathan McAndrew (39) playing counterpunching support acts to Jake Lehmann, whose 102 changed the course of the contest.

Facing a 176-run deficit, Queensland made steady progress to begin building a lead with seven wickets still in hand, largely off the back of Jack Clayton's fine 100. And when Jack Wildermuth crashed a blistering 111 and Mark Steketee added 51, Queensland had set the scene for a fascinating fourth innings – SA chasing 270 to win on the final day.

"We chased 300 a couple of weeks back on a wicket that was nipping and doing a lot more than this wicket was, so we're all pretty confident in there," vice-captain Manenti said at the close of a remarkable day three.

"We knew that Queensland weren't going to roll over today … but we've believed all season we can win from anywhere and this certainly isn't the furthest we've been behind a game, if we're behind at all.

Steketee and Michael Neser then crashed through with the new ball, reducing the hosts to 3-28, at which point it seemed the longest live drought in the Shield might continue.

But an incredibly composed stand between Jason Sangha (126no) and Alex Carey (102) added 202 in quick time, and ultimately sealed a stirring four-wicket win for the South Australians.

"This is not just a once-off thing, this is something that we're going to work on over the next few years to make it's not 29 years until we win the next one," SA head coach Ryan Harris told the fans afterward. "Stick by us, keep supporting us and we'll keep winning trophies."

First inns: Qld 95 (Neser 34; Doggett 6-31)

Second inns: SA 271 (Lehmann 102; Vidler 4-64)

Third inns: Qld 445 (Wildermuth 111, Clayton 100; Doggett 5-109)

Fourth inns: SA 6-270 (Sangha 126, Carey 105; Steketee 3-40)

 

Victoria won by 156 runs

James Hopes blazed a quick-fire hundred as Queensland crashed 371 on the opening day of a contest with Victoria that saw no end of fluctuating fortunes.

The two heavyweights of the period had clashed eight months earlier in a Shield final the Vics completely dominated, but this time around, the shoe was on the other foot as the Bulls bossed their way into a strong position before tea on day two, rolling their opponents for 188 thanks to Joe Dawes' 5-54.

The lead was such that skipper Jimmy Maher opted to enforce the follow-on in searing temperatures.

"You're never going to say no to the skip," paceman Dawes said. "When you bowl a side out for 45 overs, you're always pretty keen to stick them in again."

But Victoria's top order dominated the closing session, with Matthew Elliott making 71 and Jason Arnberger unbeaten on 97 to take the visitors to within 12 runs of Queensland with nine wickets still in hand. 

"We had plan A, B and C for the day and we failed in all of those, but something else popped up and that was a fighting partnership at the end of the day that has the game pretty level," Victoria coach Greg Shipperd said. "We've bounced back into the contest." 

They certainly had. And on day three, they eventually took control. While Arnberger kicked on to make 152, the wickets fell regularly, and at 6-293, Victoria's lead of 110 looked shaky. But a 205-run seventh-wicket stand between Cameron White (119) and Ian Harvey (90) changed things dramatically, and after adding 36 runs in 6.5 overs on the fourth morning, the Vics flipped the script on the Bulls and made their own declaration with the score at 8-508.

Faced with the prospect of chasing 326 inside a day, Queensland wilted in the heat, shot out for 169 in 59 overs to fall to an incredible 156-run loss.

The outcome – just the fourth time a team had won after being enforced to follow on in Shield history – also ignited a war of words between Shipperd and Maher.

"We had to find a way back into the game, it was graciously given to us by the opposition captain," said the Vics coach. "We took full advantage. A couple of times in the last couple of seasons I think Queensland have seriously underestimated our ability to play at the level that we have."

Maher responded curtly: "I'm sorry if it's disrespectful for enforcing the follow-on. Next time I'll give them 100 runs as well to show them a lot of respect. My bowlers were fresh. They wanted another go at them because we only bowled 45 overs (in the first innings). And then in the second we had them six for 100 effectively, so I think he's looking at the wrong things."

First inns: Qld 371 (Hopes 107, Perren 86; Wise 4-63)

Second inns: Vic 188 (Hodge 61; Dawes 5-54)

Third inns: Vic 8d-508 (Arnberger 152, White 119; Bichel 6-108)

Fourth inns: Qld 169 (Perren 52; Harvey 3-29, Lewis 3-51)

 

NSW won by two wickets

Steve Waugh described it as a "pretty amazing match" and one stat also highlights just how unusual it was: across the first three days, WA lost 19 wickets for 230 runs – but they were saved by an outlier in the form of one partnership garnering them 369.

The Blues asserted their dominance from the beginning courtesy of a classic knock from Michael Slater, whose 204 came from just 238 balls and included five sixes.

It allowed Waugh to declare an hour into day two at 8-418, and a dismal batting showing from the hosts – all out for 110 in 33.1 overs – was underscored by the fact it was part-timer Greg Mail who nabbed the best bowling figures with 4-19.

Waugh, evidently, had overcome the ghosts of Kolkata from a couple of years earlier given he again enforced the follow-on, and at 3-76, with WA still trailing by 232, he doubtless would have been happy with that call.

By stumps on day two though, with the hosts 3-216 and Chris Rogers and Marcus North both approaching hundreds, his mind might well have wandered back to Eden Gardens, and the famous Laxman-Dravid stand.

Certainly left-handers Rogers (194) and North (178) performed their best impressions of the Indian pair the following day, adding another 229 to their partnership before it was finally broken. By then the score was 4-445, the WA lead was 137, and the game had been upended.

Yet still the twists came. Rogers' wicket sparked another collapse – this time 7-44 – and left the Blues needing 182 to win. And when Mail exited from the first ball of the innings and Simon Katich and Steve Waugh followed him back to the pavilion to leave them reeling at 3-29 at stumps, WA's shot at the greatest comeback in Shield history (based on first-innings deficit) was on.

On the final morning, the aggressive Slater loomed as the key wicket, and when he went for 36, captain Waugh elevated the big-hitting paceman Don Nash to continue the momentum of the innings. It worked, briefly, as Nash cracked 30 from 38, but when he fell to Jo Angel, NSW were 6-92 – still 90 from their target with only four wickets remaining.

At that point though, Mark Waugh and Brad Haddin came together to knock off 53 of those runs in quick time. After an hour of productive scoring from NSW, wrist spinner Beau Casson broke the partnership, knocking over Haddin to give his side hope.

Waugh then set about farming the strike, first with Stuart Clark and then with Stuart MacGill as his partners, and with just two wickets in hand, he lofted an Angel offering over gully and away to the boundary for the winning runs.

"It was always going to be pretty close chasing that sort of target – the wicket was playing a few tricks and a few nerves from our batsmen," Steve Waugh said.

"I thought Western Australia played pretty well, but experience got us through with Mark's knock at the end."

First inns: NSW 8d-418 (Slater 204, Mail 90; Nicholson 4-96)

Second inns: WA 110 (Langer 22; Mail 4-18)

Third inns: WA 489 (Rogers 194, North 178; Clark 4-96)

Fourth inns: NSW 8-184 (M Waugh 60no; Nicholson 3-64)