Twin tons from Marsh and Green put Western Australia on top

South Australia took just four wickets on the opening day of a new season with Green warming up for the Ashes in fine style sharing a 199-run stand with the ageless Marsh

Western Australia 4 for 31 (Marsh 118, Green 106) lead South Australia

A new Sheffield Season brought the same old story for South Australia as the evergreen Shaun Marsh and the run machine Cameron Green plundered centuries to put Western Australia on top on the opening day at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide.

Marsh, 38, produced a vintage masterclass to score his 20th Sheffield Shield century in his 21st season for WA and passed 8000 Shield runs in the process joining Justin Langer, Tom Moody, and Michael Hussey as the only WA players to have achieved that feat.

Green, 22, is well on his way to joining those greats scoring his seventh Shield century and his eighth first-class hundred in his last 35 innings. The pair shared a 199-run stand on a beautiful batting surface. The duo scored with ease all around the ground striking 25 fours and six sixes between them. They were particularly savage on South Australia’s three spinners Travis Head, Lloyd Pope, and Sam Kerber.

The Redbacks attack looked toothless despite identifying their bowling as a key area of improvement during the off-season. They didn’t help themselves in the field either. Green was dropped at slip on 63 off David Grant. Head was the culprit grassing the sharp chance low to his left. Pope later dropped Marsh on 115 but it didn’t cost them as much with Marsh falling to a spectacular catch at cover from Kerber shortly after.

They were fortunate to nab Green for just 106 as he looked determined to add to his four career scores of 150 plus. He made a strange error getting his gloves too close to the ball in an attempt to leave and was caught behind. Nathan McAndrew toiled hard on Redbacks debut to pick up three of the four wickets to fall. He struck early in the day trapping Cameron Bancroft lbw with a ball that nipped back sharply off the seam. Sam Whiteman played nicely for his 44 but was bounced out by Grant.

Hilton Cartwright and Josh Philippe negotiated the second new ball late in the day giving WA a chance to push for a huge first innings total on day two.