Victory 373 (Rogers 76, Crone 62, Handscomb 56) and 122 for 2 (Harris 56*, Handscomb 56*) Western Australia 167 (Murphy 4-37) and 325 (Curtis 119*, Cartwright 78, Elliott 4-47)
Victoria raced to a crushing eight-wicket Sheffield Shield victory despite a rare hat-trick off Western Australian spinner Corey Rocchiccioli.
With the hosts chasing 120 for victory on the final day at Junction Oval, Marcus Harris and Peter Handscomb went on the attack in an unbroken 103-run stand for the third wicket after an early scare.
Rocchiccioli bowled Ashley Chandrasinghe and Campbell Kellaway with his first two deliveries to take the hosts 19 for 2. Two days earlier, Cameron Bancroft caught Peter Siddle off the last ball of the first innings.
Rocchiccioli’s feat was reminiscent of that of former West Indies bowler Courtney Walsh against Australia at the Gabba in 1988, when he took the last wicket to fall in the first innings and then snared two with his first deliveries in the second. It was also WA’s second hat-trick in two rounds after Brody Couch’s against Tasmania, having never had one before in Shield cricket.
The door was ajar for an improbable victory in Western Australia after Rocchiccioli’s heroics, but Handscomb was having none of it. The captain negotiated the hat-trick and went on the attack. Harris was a willing accomplice and ensured there was no miracle victory for the three-time reigning Shield champions.
WA were dismissed before lunch for 325. The key wicket was pacer Brody Couch, who had stayed with centurion Joel Curtis for 36 overs in a stoic 103-ball innings.
Curtis remained unbeaten with a brilliant and challenging 119 to add him to the list of wicketkeepers in good form with the bat in Australian domestic cricket.
Spinner and last man in Ashton Agar epitomized the fight between the visitors when he came out to bat with an AC joint injury in his left shoulder. Agar, who had his arm in a sling the day before, could barely hold the bat with his bottom hand and didn’t bother the scorers, but his team-first attitude was there for all to see.
All-rounder Sam Elliott took four wickets in another impressive display. It was the bowlers who set up victory for Victoria with pacer Fergus O’Neill taking six for the match and spinner Todd Murphy chiming in with four wickets in the first innings to help dismiss Western Australia for 167.
