Bulls Seek Speedy Rebound

A pair of five wicket hauls from Nathan McAndrew and Liam Scott were the difference in a match that was up for grabs until the final morning, where Queensland’s middle and late
order disintegrated in one hour of carnage. It was a clinical effort with the ball from the Redback’s, while Jake Lehmann top scored to pinch a seven-wicket win at the Bulls’ Gabba fortress. The
victory now sees South Australia draw level with Queensland on wins but remain third on the table.

Day-by-Day

Day 1
Ball dominated bat on Day 1 as both states traded blows. The match began at a frenetic pace with 14 wickets falling on the first day as the weekend rains subsided. South Australia sent the home team in and reaped the rewards of a new ball pitch, leaving Queensland stunned at 6/75 and key wickets Usman Khawaja (15) and Marnus Labuschagne (8) back in the sheds.

An 88-run partnership from Jimmy Peirson (52) and Hayden Kerr (41) salvaged Queensland’s first dig, cobbling together a first innings total of 185 before four South Australian wickets in the final session had the game delicately poised.

Liam Scott took five for the Redbacks, adding merit to his meteoric rise as a dual threat with leather and willow. The 25-year old has clocked in from a depth player to an integral part of
SA’s Shield charge, scoring 397 runs at 39.70 and 20 wickets at 24.55 in the 2025/2026 season.

Day 2
Lehmann’s 74 and McAndrew’s new ball burst gave SA the ascendancy despite Lachie Hearne’s defiant half-century.

In-form bat Jake Lehmann loomed as the key wicket for Queensland as the Redbacks resumed on 4/62. The Bulls got the start they were after with two wickets in the first hour, courtesy of a crucial take by Hugh Weibgen in the cordon, leaning sharply to his left with more precision than a Olympic speed skater.

Lehmann, together with Liam Scott, helped South Australia surpass the Bulls’ total and secure a vital first innings’ lead. There was a touch of fellow state star Travis Head about Jake Lehmann’s artistry, heavily favouring the bottom hand as he slashed his way to an attacking 74. It wasn’t without chances, surviving a close LBW shout on 31 and several bottom edges, but Lehmann seized his luck to carve out another potentially match-winning knock.

Mitch Swepson was the pick of the bowlers for the Bulls, creating the most chances as the ball lost its lacquer and the pacers toiled from the Vulture Street End. On another day, the wrist spinner would have taken five, but most false shots seemed to fall just short of the fielder.

Trailing by 29 runs with an extended three-hour session stretching into the afternoon, the temperament of Queensland’s spluttering lineup was tested again. Burdon, Khawaja and Labuschagne fell in the first five overs, and with two unproven bats at the crease and the Bulls in arrears, the visitors could perceive victory. 

Lachie Hearne, batting at no. 5, produced a sensational hour of batting under pressure to lift the Bulls out of immediate danger. Hearne’s form had tailed off after a maiden century in Round 2, but the Queenslander’s ability to produce a match-saving knock is undeniable. He looked in scintillating touch until he fell on 53 in the last hour of play, paddling an innocuous delivery from Hanno Jacobs off his hip to deep square-leg.

Young gun Hugh Weibgen, tasked with a greater responsibility at number 4, saw the Bulls to safety with a lead of 81.

Day 3
The first hour of Day 3 was crucial to Queensland’s hopes with a lead of over 200 setting up an intriguing chase. Liam Scott and Nathan McAndrew were thrown the ball to make an immediate impact, and wickets fell faster than Jakara Anthony tearing through the moguls in Milano Cortina. In the third over of the day, Scott ended Hugh Weibgen’s pained vigil (33 [125]) when he trapped him in front with a delivery that kept low and cannoned into the knee roll.

It was an ominous sign for Queensland, with Nathan McAndrew hurling down grenades from the Stanley Street End. He tempted Neser with a textbook outswinger and cleaned up Kerr and
Swepson with vicious bumpers as Queensland’s tail utterly capitulated, losing 6/8 from 11.5 overs.

The stunning collapse was a result of Nathan McAndrew’s uncanny ability to extractthe most bounce from the eleven bowlers used in the match. The Bulls went from 4/110 at stumps to 119 all out, leading by a meagre 90 runs. The Redbacks polished off the chase three wickets down, grafting away to reach a potentially tricky target of 91 in 37 overs. Nathan McSweeney enjoyed some valuable time in the middle (17* [60]) while Alex Carey finished off the game and a strong personal performance, taking five catches behind the stumps.

Talking Points

Rookie pacemen impress with the new ball
Both lineups came in with relatively inexperienced bowling lineups; the Redback’s brigrade included debutant left-armer Campbell Thompson and four-gamer Hanno Jacobs, while second gamer
Jem Ryan and 2025-26 recruit Hayden Kerr were the pick of the bowlers for Queensland.

The 22-year-old Thompson was particularly impressive against Queensland’s international-calibre top order, tying up Khawaja with four consecutive maidens in the first innings before
taking just three balls to knock over the recently retired test opener in the second innings. With a quick arm action accentuated by a front arm that coils like a loaded spring, the
debutant never strayed and was methodical in working over a vastly more experienced opposition. He finished with 2/16 (14) and 1/28 (7) in an impressive showing.

Jem Ryan, coming off a 3-wicket debut for the Bulls at the MCG last week, was a handful on the wearing Gabba pitch, especially on the final day. Ryan’s release point comes past the perpendicular, angling the ball into right handers. Coupled with his hulking stature and a barrelling run-in, there are shades of Scott Boland in Ryan’s awkward length that hits the seam and nips both ways. He bowled one of the great spells of the match as South Australia neared victory, taking 2-16 from 10 uninterrupted overs in a situation where he could have
easily put the feet up.

A mirrored 1st innings
Both first innings started with a flurry of wickets, followed by a rear-guard partnership that wrestled back momentum. Jimmy Peirson, playing his 88th consecutive Sheffield Shield match, got to work with Hayden Kerr to curb the damage for the Bulls on the opening afternoon. They were in the middle for 173 balls, ensuring South Australia would face a testing final hour in which the visitors subsequently lost four wickets. Kerr has been a valuable asset since joining from New South Wales this season, strengthening Queensland’s tail and new ball stocks.

In response, South Australia were 6-81 when Jake Lehmann and Liam Scott put on 90 in 32 overs. The pair allowed South Australia to have a full final session at Queensland’s top order, taking four wickets to harness momentum into Day 3. Both sides face high calibre pace attacks next round and will want to rectify their top order woes.

State of Play
The Bulls currently sit in second spot, but the loss to South Australia bridges the gap to third (Redback’s) by a mere 0.98 points. A tricky two matches await Queensland, with last-placed Western Australia playing for pride at Allan Border Field while Tasmania are always a tough proposition in Hobart.

Notoriously a true batting wicket at Allan Border Field, Queensland’s bowling attack will have to procure twenty wickets otherwise first innings bonus points will decide the order of the post-season. Victoria have already sewn up a spot in the Final, but the Bulls will be confident should they progress, having beaten the Vics at the MCG last week.

With Australia’s World Cup campaign ending prematurely, Queensland will welcome back Matt Renshaw and Xavier Bartlett while Jack Clayton and Jack Wildermuth could potentially return from injury. It continues a constant rotation of players this year; Queensland have used 23 players in the 2025/26 Sheffield Shield season with five making their debut.