Dominant Vics push lead towards 400

Revised D4 session times: 10am - 12:30pm | 1:10pm – 3:40pm | 4pm – 6pm

A fifty from Will Pucovski has extended Victoria's advantage in the JLT Sheffield Shield final to a massive 375 runs over the NSW Blues after three days of play.

It would take a record-breaking run-chase over the final two days for the Blues to overhaul Victoria and on a Junction Oval surface with inconsistent grass covering that has offered plenty of assistance to the Dukes ball seamers, only one result – another Shield title to the Vics - seems likely.

At stumps, Victoria had moved to 7-207 with James Pattinson (9) and Peter Siddle (2) at the crease on a day in which just 57 overs had been bowled due to a combination of wet weather and poor light.

Pucovski's 51 from 99 balls featured eight boundaries - the first of which burst through the hands of Nick Larkin at second slip.

But some of the back-foot cuts he unfurled showed the class of a promising batsman on the rise.

"Good to have some luck as a batter, you've got to make the most of it," Pucovski said.

"It's been tough going all game for the batters. Both teams have bowled really well in pretty challenging conditions.

"Obviously we're in a pretty strong position and now it's one of those things where two days out you're just going 'I don't care how we do it, I just want to win'.

"We're in a position where things are in our favour and hopefully we can capitalise on that.

"It was good to get some runs on a personal level and contribute to a team performance that has been pretty strong over the first three days."

Pucovski was eventually lbw to Sean Abbott for his third wicket of the innings, one of 13 lbw dismissals so far in this game.

"It's just one of those wickets where it's shooting (through) a bit and that dismissal is more prominent than the faster bouncier wickets where there might be more edges," Pucovski explained on Fox Cricket.

Five of Victoria's seven second-innings wickets have been lbw, and the Peter Siddle and James Pattinson inspired carnage on Friday saw five lbw dismissals in the Blues' top eight.

NSW quick Harry Conway, who has 2-13 from 16 overs, said the Blues had adapted to conditions to reap the rewards in the second innings.

"There's a little bit of variable bounce that worked in our favour and we bowled fuller and straighter in this innings," Conway said.

"We assessed the conditions really well and it was just hard work.

"We spoke about showing a bit of character as a group and we held our heads high and have given ourselves a chance in this game."

Conway said the Blues had started the day hoping to restrict the Victorian advantage to "around the 375 mark" – a lead they now hold with three wickets in hand.

"We know we have to win the game," Conway said.

"I think I've really owned my skills and my discipline this year. I got challenged by the coaching staff at the start of the year and I went away and got my body into tip-top shape so I could fire on all cylinders at the back end of the season.

"I pride myself on finishing the season strong. To contribute consistently has been a massive positive for me."

Just 6.3 overs were possible in a frustrating first session, and Sunday's forecast also forebodes the prospect of further interruptions.

A drawn match won’t be enough for NSW, either; Victoria are ahead by 1.88 to 0.90 if the first-innings bonus point tiebreaker is required.

Victoria XI: Travis Dean (c), Marcus Harris, Will Pucovski, Cameron White, Matt Short, Seb Gotch (wk), James Pattinson, Chris Tremain, Peter Siddle, Scott Boland, Jon Holland

NSW XI: Nick Larkin, Daniel Hughes, Kurtis Patterson, Moises Henriques, Jason Sangha, Jack Edwards, Peter Nevill (c/wk), Trent Copeland, Sean Abbott, Stephen O'Keefe, Harry Conway