South Australia 307 (Hunt 62, Scott 53) and 270 for 8 (Manenti 62*, Lehmann 60, Siddle 4-63) Victory 232 (Harper 89, Manenti 5-73, Conway 4-39) and 207 (Kellaway 80, Chandrasinghe 52, Papa 6-74)
In a thrilling and somewhat controversial finish at the Adelaide Oval, Pope scored 6 for 74 as Victoria made 207 in pursuit of an improbable target of 346.
Pope took four wickets in 13 minutes to win the match, after Victoria looked likely to claim a draw with four wickets in hand with 30 minutes remaining before stumps.
The victory marked South Australia’s first victory over Victoria since 2015-16, and the two teams have played 18 matches since then.
From there, it seemed inevitable that Pope would lead South Australia to victory, before concluding the match by catching Cameron McClure lbw trying to lay the ball down.
Pope’s figures represented just the third five-wicket haul of his Sheffield Shield career, and his first in four years after bursting onto the scene as a cult hero in the 2017 Under-19 World Cup.
Pope had always looked the most threatening of the South Australian bowlers on a deteriorating fourth-day wicket. The leg-spinner was the only bowler to threaten Victoria’s batsmen in the opening session, with Ashley Chandrasinghe and Kellaway well positioned.
Henry Thornton finally made the breakthrough midway through the session when he caught Chandrasinghe slipping with a rapidly rising ball. And although Thornton also removed Tom Rogers soon after, it was always Pope who seemed most likely to take charge of the game.
And after Mitchell Perry chewed up 80 balls in a 25-over partnership with Kellaway, it was Pope who got the crucial wicket in the final hour.
The 24-year-old swung a ball from outside the left-hander’s off-stump, bowling Perry for 9 as the No. 8 returned to cut. Kellaway’s wicket came in Pope’s next over, before Peter Siddle slipped to leave Victoria nine wickets down.
And when No. 11 McClure failed to offer a shot on a ball that was heading straight, Pope ensured South Australia remained second in the standings with a rare victory over their old rivals.
