Victoria have lost 6-9 in the worst ever start to a Sheffield Shield innings and are plummeting towards a humiliating defeat against NSW on day three of their clash at the SCG.
The Bushrangers limped their way past 27, the lowest total in the 121-year history of Australian domestic first-class cricket, but at lunch is still in perilous trouble at 7-92.
Last place on the ladder, Matthew Wade’s Victorian’s still need 142 runs to make NSW bat again in the match after giving up a 234-run first innings lead.
From the first six wickets which fell within 14 overs, five Victorian batsmen made ducks, with nightwatchman James Muirhead top scoring with one.
It eclipsed the previous worst start to an innings of 6-11 nearly 50 years ago.
Glenn Maxwell came to the crease with Victoria still 18 runs shy of avoiding an unwanted place in the record books, and dealt with the situation the only way he knew how – blasting his way to 40 not out off 43 balls.
He and Dan Christian (26no off 50 balls), the only two batsmen to pass double figures, put on a 50-run eighth-wicket stand off 57 balls which reinstated some semblance of respectability after the horror show that was the opening hour.
On an SCG green-top with cloudy skies overhead, NSW fast bowler Josh Hazlewood (2-14) was in terrifying, Mitchell-Johnson type form, as he sent Scott Boland and Wade packing for ducks.
Wade was trapped lbw by an absolute corker.
Ironically it was off the most vicious ball of the day from Hazlewood that Victoria passed the 27 mark, as a rocket whizzed past Cameron White’s head and over wicketkeeper Peter Neville for four.
Victoria resumed at 3-0, only the third time such a remarkable scorecard has occurred in Shield cricket, with Trent Copeland (2-18) and Doug Bollinger (1-13) doing all the damage late on day two.
The visitors got off the mark on day three courtesy of four byes, but then reality set in.
Muirhead was the first to go, trapped lbw by spinner Steven O’Keefe’s second delivery, before Hazlewood – left out of Australia’s squad for the World Twenty20 – delivered his devastating spell of 2-2 off six overs, including four maidens.
White made it to nine before inexplicably running himself out for 9 to leave the Bushrangers 7-32 – just one run better than Victoria’s lowest ever total, also recorded at the SCG in 1907.
The four lowest totals ever in Sheffield Shield have been recorded at the SCG – the most recent when Nathan Bracken took 7-4 as South Australia capitulated for 29 in 2004.
Despite the green conditions, NSW skipper Nevill made an unbeaten hundred in their first innings total of 9(dec)-452.
