Burns ice cool as Queensland chase down 306

Ashes batsman Marnus Labuschagne got among the runs as Queensland beat the NSW Blues in their opening Marsh One-Day Cup clash in a match almost overshadowed by a scary moment for Blues bowler Mickey Edwards.

Labuschagne hit a sparkling 67 off 64 balls and along with opener Sam Heazlett (70 off 57 balls) helped guide the home side to a position of strength in pursuit of NSW's 5-305 at Allan Border Field in Brisbane.

Jack Wildermuth hit 51 while Test aspirant Joe Burns posted an unbeaten knock of 54 to successfully help the home side over the line with two overs to spare at 6-307.

Seamer Edwards survived with bruising to his right hand after narrowly avoiding a potentially serious blow to the head as Heazlett crashed a shot straight back at the bowler.

Edwards just managed to get his hand up in time to deflect a ball that seemed set to hit him flush on the top of the head.

Edwards continued to bowl, delivering nine wicketless overs for 61 runs.

Cricket Australia said earlier this year it has been working on a protective helmet for bowlers with hopes that a product could be available for the current summer.

Harry Conway (3-72) made inroads for NSW after Heazlett and Labuschagne put on 112 for the second wicket, but, without any of their Test stars, the relatively inexperienced Blues bowling line-up was unable to make sufficient inroads on a docile pitch.

NSW had three batsman pass 50 but saw their momentum stall mid-innings after Jack Edwards and Moises Henriques put on a quick-paced 121 for the second wicket.

The pair fell in quick succession with Edwards (84) the first to go caught on the boundary, while Henriques (52) mishit a leg-side shot to offer an easy catch.

In the absence of Ashes stars likes Steve Smith, NSW found middle-order runs thanks to a confident debut from Nick Bertus, who posted an impressive 69 not out from 60 balls.

New South Wales were without all their Ashes representatives, with only Labuschagne lining up for Queensland after the Bulls elected to rest Michael Neser and Usman Khawaja. 

Queensland XI: Matthew Renshaw, Max Bryant, Marnus Labuschagne, Sam Heazlett, Joe Burns, Jack Wildermuth, Jimmy Peirson (c & wk), Mark Steketee, Xavier Bartlett, Matthew Kuhnemann, Billy Stanlake

NSW Blues XI: Daniel Hughes, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques, Kurtis Patterson, Nick Bertus, Peter Nevill (c & wk), Arjun Nair, Sean Abbott, Nathan McAndrew, Mickey Edwards, Harry Conway