Under-19s: Vics suffer first loss of championships

With first innings points already claimed by Queensland on day one, Victoria found themselves in a difficult position at the start of the second day.

The morning session started positively however, as Victoria’s bowlers didn’t allow Queensland’s batsmen to significantly build on their over night lead.

Queensland resumed at 5-170 before Sam Grimwade (4-41) and Jackson Mockett (2-28) quickly picked up the five remaining wickets between them.

Victoria’s main hurdle throughout the innings was dismissing Queensland captain Sam Heazlett, who belted 110 off 128 balls and was the main contributor to his side’s 229 (72.2).

After being rolled for just 88 in their first innings, the Vics were seeking redemption in their second dig – although they were staring with a deficit of 141 runs.

Avoiding an outright loss was obviously the main priority.

Unfortunately, Victoria’s top-order batsmen again failed to spend significant time at crease, losing five early wickets with just 45 runs on the board.

Matt Short did his best to hold up an end, but was eventually trapped LBW to Sam Rowley (4-20) for 26 off 49 balls.

Victorian skipper Ejaaz Alavi (8 off 24) and Shea Gribben (2 off 49) were again left to carry the burden of the innings as they attempted to survive the outright defeat.

The same pair batted together for an extended amount of time in the first innings as they were put in a similar situation: stemming the flow of wickets.

The runs simply weren’t being scored however, and Victoria was again all out before the score reached triple figures (91) – still 50 runs short of Queensland’s first innings total.

This Victorian performance certainly comes as a surprise after two comprehensive wins to begin the tournament, but it is this success that will allow the team to

recuperate and return to its best in its next game starting on Sunday.