The crowd at Bellerive Oval, Hobarat witnessed a last-ball thriller between Tasmania and South Australia. The Sheffield Shield 2024-25 game was alive till the last ball was bowled with all three results possible but a mix-up between Tasmania lower order batters Lawrence Neil-Smith and Riley Meredith led to them losing the match instead of a draw.
In the last over, Tasmania needed seven runs to win the match. They had two wickets in hand. Wes Agar was given the responsibility to defend the target. On the first delivery, Neil-Smith took a single. Gabe Bell faced a dot delivery and got knocked over for a three-ball duck on next. Meredith walked out to bat and took a single. On the penultimate delivery, Neil-Smith managed just a single.
Meredith faced a tough task to hit a boundary on the last ball. However, a draw was on the cards as well. Meredith could not hit the ball off the middle of the bat and completed one run. However, the two had a mix-up and it led to a run out. Tasmania were bowled out for 426 and lost the match by just two runs. Tasmania were in good situation with 400/5 but they suffered a collapse. Pacers Nathan McAndrew and Agar turned the game upside down in the final few overs of the day.
This is the fourth win in Sheffield Shield history where the team has won by two runs with no balls remaining in the match.
High-scoring encounter and collapses
Earlier, South Australia were put to bat first by Tasmania's Jordan Silk. Opener Henry Hunt and Jason Sangha's centuries helped South Australia post 398/6 before declaring. In reply, Tasmania were bowled out for 203. Only Jake Doran scored a half-century. Conor Mclnerney and Sangha's half-centuries helped South Australia post 233/9 before declaring and set a target of 429. Left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann took four wickets.
In the run chase, Tim Ward led the charge with 142-run knock. He was supported by half-centuries from Jake Weatherald, Silk, Bradley Hope and Mitchell Owen. However, a collapse led to them losing the match by just two runs.
