New South Wales 211 and 5 for 178 (Rohrer 62*, Mennie 2-37) need 87 runs to beat South Australia 298 and 177 (Head 44, Copeland 5-62, Abbott 3-51)
Scorecard
File photo – Trent Copeland’s five-for helped set his side a target of 265 © Getty Images
Right-arm pacer Trent Copeland‘s 5 for 62 helped bowl South Australia out for 177 after New South Wales had conceded an 87-run lead in the first innings. Ben Rohrer followed that up with an unbeaten 62 to guide NSW’s chase of 265, though five wickets lost meant an interesting final day should unfurl in Coffs Harbour: NSW need another 87, with half their side gone.
South Australia suffered a batting collapse on day three, losing nine wickets for 105. Copeland triggered the collapse by dismissing overnight batsmen Mark Cosgrove and Sam Raphael in quick succession, soon after they had started the day at 1 for 64. Sean Abbott and Doug Bolinger chipped in with three and two wickets, respectively, as South Australia were bowled out for 177. Travis Head was South Australia’s top scorer with 44.
New South Wales were hurt early in their chase of 265, losing 2 wickets for 17 runs by the tenth over. Ed Cowan provided some stability with a patient 31 after which Rohrer dropped anchor with an his unbeaten fifty. South Australia continued to fight with timely strikes that had New South Wales a wobbly 5 for 178 and the game in the balance by the end of day three.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo