A five wicket haul to Ashton Agar has helped Western Australia dismiss NSW for 186 by lunch on day two of their Sheffield Shield match with NSW in Canberra.

The Warriors claimed six wickets in the first session on Wednesday but still face an uphill battle after being bowled out for their ninth lowest innings total of 82 on day one.

They will however be buoyed by keeping the first innings deficit to 104 runs on a tricky Manuka Oval pitch that’s seen 20 wickets fall in four sessions.

Warriors openers Cam Bancroft and Marcus North then survived a tricky 20 minute period before lunch to leave his side at 0-7 and trailing by 97.

Agar’s second first-class five-wicket haul (5-74) came with a large dose of luck, three dismissals slogs caught in the deep while another involved an extraordinary catch at short leg.

WA left-handed paceman Jason Behrendorff got things rolling early on the morning of day two, finding some good swing to dismiss both keeper Peter Nevill (8) and all-rounder Sean Abbott (4).

North then struck in his first over to dismiss Stephen O’Keefe, exposing the NSW tail.

Agar’s third wicket of the innings came in sensational fashion, Kurtis Patterson (44) slog sweeping directly into Bancroft at short leg, who somehow managed to clutch onto the ball.

The two-Test tweaker then finished off the innings with Josh Hazlewood and Doug Bollinger caught on the boundary rope.

The winner of the match will lock down a berth in next week’s Sheffield Shield final.