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Jubilant Redbacks face nervous wait

Despite routing Tasmania by an innings inside two days, South Australia face an agonising 48-hour wait to see if they will end a 20-year Sheffield Shield final drought.

Mar 17, 2016, updated Mar 17, 2016
SA dispensed with bottom-rung Tasmania inside two days. Photo: saca.com.au

SA dispensed with bottom-rung Tasmania inside two days. Photo: saca.com.au

SA went into the final-round match in fourth place but victory by an innings and 78 runs against the bottom-placed Tasmania, combined with the current standings in other matches, gives the Redbacks a chance of sneaking into the season decider for the first time since winning the competition in the 1995/96 season.

“We will have to watch the live streams for a few days and wait on a few results,” said SA captain Travis Head of matches in Brisbane and Alice Springs which are both due to conclude on Friday.

“To win inside two days doesn’t happen too often and I think we played brilliantly… we have kept being positive and aggressive with the way we bat, bowl and field. The last two games have been exactly that.

“We needed a lot of runs to earn bonus points, and we tried to put the pressure back on the bowlers.

“We haven’t been in one [Shield final] for a while, so if the opportunity arises we will take it on.”

Having bowled out Tasmania for 91 on day one, South Australia replied with 346 off just 74.2 overs, before once again ripping through Tasmania who were dismissed for 177 at Glenelg’s Gliderol Stadium.

The one-sided win was built around career-best performances from Head with the bat, and seamer Chadd Sayers with the ball.

Sayers claimed 3-31 yesterday to add to a remarkable 7-46 in the first innings, for his first ten-wicket match.

Head narrowly missed a maiden first-class double century in the opening session on day two, after he was dismissed for an impressive 192.

Head, who scored 134 last week in Perth, hit his runs off just 176 balls and cracked five sixes.

“The positive thing for me is consistency with back-to-back innings now which I perhaps haven’t done this season,” he said.

“If we get another opportunity this season, hopefully I can do it again.”

The only highlight for Tasmania amid a dismal showing was a 108-run fourth-wicket partnership between Alex Doolan (67) and George Bailey (58).

-AAP

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