Queensland have made steady progress to be 1-72 at lunch on day one of their Sheffield Shield match against Victoria in Alice Springs.

Having won the toss and electing to bat first, Queensland seemed set to go into the break without having lost a wicket, only for Fawad Ahmed to strike in the third last over of the session.

The Pakistani-born leg-spinner had Chris Hemphrey trapped lbw for 31.

Recently-capped Australian Test batsman Joe Burns is unbeaten on 40 with Peter Forrest on 1.

Victoria opened with James Pattinson, after the Test spearhead missed the last game as part of his ongoing rehabilitation from a back injury.

Pattinson went wicket-less but bowled with pace and accuracy leaking just 16 runs from his eight overs.

The first-ever Shield match to be played in Alice Springs could have a crucial bearing on the ladder, with the winner likely to move into second spot, dependant on the result between ladder leaders NSW and Western Australia.