Tom Straker produced his career-best innings and match hauls in first-class cricket to help Queensland beat Victoria in the Sheffield Shield.
Straker’s career-best trumps Brasher’s valiant debut effort
In 2024, Straker had taken 13 wickets to help Australia win their fourth U19 World Cup. He made his first-class debut later that year, and had 18 wickets in nine games in the format when Queensland took field against Victoria in the Sheffield Shield game at the MCG.
After being shot out for 160, Queensland hit back to reduce the hosts to 11-5 and then 48-7 before they recovered to 144. Straker finished with 3-43.
Queensland then posted 236 to set a target of 242. Straker then took out the first three Victoria batters to reduce them to 34-3, but the hosts recovered well to finish the day on 150-6 in 70 overs.
In conditions that assisted seam, visiting captain Marnus Labuschagne turned to his spinners while waiting for the second new ball. However, Mitchell Swepson struck twice even before he could claim it: he had Fergus O’Neill leg-before and Sam Elliott caught at mid-off, and Victoria became 182-8.
Match 20, Victoria vs Queensland
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As the fast bowlers returned, new man Todd Murphy lofted Straker for six over mid-wicket before Michael Neser beat his bat and hit the off-stump. Debutant Dylan Brasher, who had come out at No.5, now had little option but to go for the runs. With 43 left, he hit Straker to Labuschagne to deep extra-cover.
Brasher made 72, an innings lauded by coach Chris Rogers: “It wasn’t just the fact he got 70-odd, it was the manner in which he did it, and the calmness and the composure and even the game style, I thought, is suited to to first-class cricket”.
Straker, meanwhile, finished with 4-32 and match figures of 7-75. Both are his career-best returns in first-class cricket.
