Centuries to Henry Hunt and Jake Lehmann have nudged South Australia into a healthy position on day one of their Sheffield Shield clash with Victoria at Adelaide Oval. The home side, jolted to 58 for 3 in the first session, rallied to 270 for 3 by stumps—an unbroken partnership of 212 doing all the heavy lifting.
Victoria skipper Peter Handscomb rolled the dice at the toss, sent the Redbacks in and, for half an hour, everything went to plan. Mitchell Perry found just enough seam movement to remove Kelvin Smith, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Nathan McSweeney, finishing the day with 3 for 61 from 20 tidy overs. At that point Victoria had South Australia wobbling; Scott Boland kept one end tight, Fergus O’Neill probed, and the decision to bowl first looked sound.
Then Hunt and Lehmann settled. Hunt, opening, moved slowly but surely to a fourth-hour hundred—his slowest Shield ton, 121 from 300 balls. The opener was almost gone on 33, edging David Moody straight to first slip; Blake Macdonald spilled the chance and Victoria never regained the momentum.
“The momentum shifted when he came out – his presence at the crease, to put some pressure back on [Victoria],” Hunt said of Lehmann. “To be 270 for 3, that’s almost a perfect day for us.”
Lehmann’s fourth century in as many Shield matches—107 from 180—pulled the initiative away from the visitors. Only seven boundaries came from his bat on a sluggish outfield; most of his runs arrived via clip, nudge and the occasionally brisk single.
Redbacks coach Jason Gillespie, speaking after play, praised the pair’s composure. “They kept it very simple, trusted their defence and waited for the loose ball. That’s exactly what you want on a fresh Adelaide surface.”
Victoria will rue that dropped catch and a couple of half-chances that skirted through the cordon late in the afternoon. Boland, fresh from Test duty, went wicket-less in 18 overs; he bowled with typical control but without luck. O’Neill’s 21 overs also drew a blank, although his consistency at the top of off stump offered Handscomb a measure of control when the partnership threatened to gallop.
South Australia, the defending champions, now have a platform. Hunt and Lehmann will resume with a chance to push the total well past 400, putting the onus back on a Victorian line-up that looked short of batting time in their opening match.
For Victoria, early breakthroughs on the second morning are non-negotiable. A new ball is only nine overs old, the pitch remains true, and the forecast says clear skies—conditions, in truth, neither side can blame.
