South Australia skipper Johan Botha believes the Adelaide Oval is shaping into a “result wicket”, but admits the bowlers may need a bit more help ahead of the second Ashes Test at the venue.

A rush of wickets forced the Redbacks to call a halt to their last day run chase in the Sheffield Shield clash against Tasmania on Monday – the hosts finishing at 5-208 in pursuit of the victory target of 285.

The Tigers declared at 7-390 just prior to tea, centuries to Jordan Silk (104) and Ed Cowan (123), and rapid-fire fifties to James Faulkner and Ben Dunk the driving force behind the target.

The Redbacks looked capable of snatching outright victory with Test aspirant Phil Hughes (67) and teenage star Travis Head (43) at the crease.

But Hughes’ dismissal sparked a collapse of 3-10 and forced the hosts to take the foot off the pedal in the hunt for maximum points.

Tom Cooper, who fought valiantly for an unbeaten 74, and wicketkeeper Tim Ludeman (18 not out), survived the late onslaught – Botha claiming a little more juice in the wicket could be required for next month’s Test.

“It’s getting towards a result wicket, but you would still probably want a little more out of it on day one and two instead of losing only three or four wickets,” Botha said as he reflected on the new drop-in pitch.

“We felt chasing today that a result could happen, we just had to be on toes and that’s why we probably closed down when we were five down with 20 overs to go.

“We backed Hughesy to get us close and he did a great job.”

While Hughes staked his claim for an Ashes recall with another classy knock, Botha felt Head was the star of the show.

“Travis has been great for us, playing the brand of cricket we want, taking the game on and taking the game forward,” he said.

“He is fast becoming a really dependable and solid player for us.

“He set the trend for us in Perth (win against Western Australia) and he did it here again it’s a credit to him, he’s played beautifully so far.”