David Hussey says Victoria are still breathing. And he hopes they become long, drawn out breaths which thwart South Australia in their Sheffield Shield match.
The Bushrangers were 4-146 at stumps on Friday’s second day at Adelaide Oval, some 365 runs behind SA’s imposing first innings total.
Hussey (70 not out) led a scrap for survival, embarking on a rescue mission with Glenn Maxwell (42 not out) as Victoria’s grim Shield campaign continued.
Last week against NSW, the Bushrangers lost 6-9 – the worst start ever to a Shield innings – as they slipped to a fourth consecutive Shield loss.
This time, they lost 3-0 in 10 balls and crashed to be 3-12 against the rampant Redbacks.
But Hussey and Maxwell steadied the visitors with an unbroken 96-run union to give Victoria a pulse.
“We are in position to save the game,” Hussey said.
“South Australia batted us out of winning the game. They’re in control … but we are still breathing.
“You never know, something might happen in the last couple of sessions for us.
“We will just have to bat as long as we can … hopefully a nice long, drawn out draw.”
SA quick Chadd Sayers (3-35) was the chief destroyer with his canny outswing.
Sayers’ feats marked another red-letter day for the Redbacks, coming after SA stalwart Michael Klinger posted a double-century and Tim Ludeman cracked his maiden first-class ton.
Klinger’s 213 and Ludeman’s 100 not out allowed SA to declare at 6-511 some 45 minutes before tea.
By the adjournment, Victoria were in tatters with their top three batsmen dismissed.
Hussey said the latest batting collapse evidenced deficiencies in Victoria’s game, but maintained morale remained good despite their bleak Shield season.
“Last game was a separate issue, it was a totally different sort of wicket,” Hussey said of the debacle against NSW.
“This game, we have got to work on our defence a little bit more.
“South Australian bowlers, they attack the stumps and try and get lbw’s and bowled’s and the top four weren’t good enough to keep the good balls out.”
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