A far more even contest between bat and ball on day two has left Victoria and Queensland on a knife's edge in their top-of-the-table Sheffield Shield clash at the MCG.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The iconic venue's pitch was firmly back in the spotlight when 17 wickets fell on a dramatic opening day of the Shield fixture on Thursday.
It followed a Boxing Day Test debacle that ended inside two days and cost Cricket Australia more than $10 million.
But only nine wickets fell on Friday as Victoria's stand-in captain Peter Handscomb (67) and Sam Elliott (23) led the hosts' first-innings fightback.
Victoria were reduced to 5-11 on day one but recovered to be bowled out for 144, just five runs shy of Queensland's tally.
The Bulls reached 6-173 at stumps on day two, for a lead of 178.
Michael Neser (22) and Hayden Kerr (one) are the unbeaten batters after captain Marnus Labuschagne (41) threw away his wicket with a mistimed pull-shot.
Labuschagne had looked like being a possible match-winner but fell to David Moody (1-40) not long before stumps.
"It was a disappointing way to get out with what was on the line there with us to be able to push and get a really nice lead," Labuschagne said.
Handscomb and Neser both defended the MCG pitch after day one, declaring good bowling was the major reason so many wickets fell.
Test star Labuschagne, who played alongside Neser for Australia in the infamous Ashes Test in December, declared the surface "all right" during the Shield clash.
"At times it's just a wicket that you're never really in on," Labuschagne said.
"Today felt like it sort of came down a little bit.
"Tough to score if you bowled a good length because there's up-and-down bounce (and) there was consistent swing for both teams the whole game.
"The surface is all right. It's just you've got to sit in, you've got to be patient, you've got to grind."
Elliott, who was Victoria's leading wicket-taker with four in the first innings, has 2-27 after removing Lachlan Hearne (five) and Jimmy Peirson (three) in successive overs.
Elliott and Labuschagne were involved in a heated exchange on day two after the Victorian seamer's send-off for the Queensland skipper following his first-innings dismissal.
Handscomb also got involved on Friday and umpires were forced to intervene in the verbal stoush.
"He had some choice words and it's great," Labuschagne said.
"I love it. That's why you play Shield cricket - the contest.
"You want both teams to want it ... you're playing, you're in a contest and you want to win."
Handscomb's half-century lifted the veteran right-hander into fourth spot on Victoria's all-time list of first-class run-scorers, moving above David Hussey.
He has 7706 runs at an average of 40.77 for his state, still well short of Brad Hodge's record 11,350 runs.
Australian Associated Press
