Melbourne, October 18: The opener Daniel Harris and Aaron O’Brien held South Australia together as the hosts fought to a respectable 9 for 249 against Tasmania.
After making the surprise decision to drop Michael Klinger, who was their leading batsman last season, the Redbacks lost regular wickets and were in trouble at 5 for 114 in the 27th over.
However, Harris stood up along with O’Brien in a 68-run partnership before Harris had his off stump clipped by Xavier Doherty when trying to sweep. Harris’ 68 came from 98 balls – there were only four boundaries, reflecting the seriousness of his side’s early situation – while O’Brien registered 54 off 65 before miscuing Ben Hilfehnaus to mid-off. O’Brien also joined in a valuable stand of 37 with Dan Christian, who continued the late fightback by racing to 35 from 26.
The debutant James Smith, who replaced Klinger after scoring 116 in their opening Sheffield Shield win, fell first for 6 before Mark Cosgrove drove lazily at a slower ball on 23. Graham Manou, a surprise entrant at No. 4, quickly edged behind on 2 to become the first of Doherty’s three wickets. Doherty finished with 3 for 46 off 10 while Brendan Drew and Luke Butterworth, who broke through on the final two deliveries, finished with a couple of victims each.
—–Agencies