Brendon Julian has produced an erratic yet effective display of swing bowling, along with a remarkable run-out, to put the Western Warriors in the box seat after day one of the Pura Cup match with the Victorian Bushrangers at the WACA Ground.

Despite bowling more no-balls (12) than the rest of the Warriors have all season, Julian (4/87) took four scalps in the second session of play to help remove Victoria for 254 on a good batting pitch.

But the Warriors could not escape the last seventeen overs without falling foul of the returning Shane Warne (1/1), who struck in the second last over when he trapped Mike Hussey (35) lbw to leave the home team at 1/76 with Murray Goodwin (30*) and Mark Walsh (0*) unbeaten.

It was a timely strike by Australia's leading wicket-taker, who bowled two overs before stumps and immediately reduced the Warriors' quick flow of runs after being passed fit to play before the match.

Were it not for several dropped catches by the Warriors - including two from Julian's seven overs - Warne and company may have been defending an even more ordinary total. But they were unlucky to lose the wicket of Ian Harvey (41), the third Bushranger out in the forties after Julian produced the play of the day late in proceedings - a superb direct hit from backward square leg to find him short of the crease.

The home side started well after captain Tom Moody won the toss and elected to give Jo Angel and Gavin Swan the ball, in the process delaying the prospect of facing an opposition attack that included a fit Warne but not Damien Fleming.

With the first ball of the twelfth over, the Warriors drew blood when Matthew Elliott (18) gained a genuine edge from Swan and was caught by the safe hands of Damien Martyn at first slip.

But the Bushrangers dug in from then until the break as they looked to post a big score, and Jason Arnberger and Matthew Mott guided them to 1/77 at lunch.

The next session almost completely belonged to the Warriors, and more specifically Julian, despite the fact that Victoria lifted their run rate. Moody started with a surprise when he chose to partner Swan (2/59) with cameo medium pace bowler Martyn.

Martyn (0/8) almost repaid his captain's faith with the very first delivery when he beat Mott (42) down the leg side, only to see a strong appeal for the catch turned down. But his appearance was indeed short-lived and, with the Bushrangers positioned at 1/98, he was replaced by Angel (1/49) after three overs.

Mott and Arnberger (45) looked increasingly comfortable against the flagging bowling attack and passed the century mark in the forty-third over. Yet, just when Arnberger looked set to build on a worthy start, he found an outside edge trying to drive Swan down the ground and was caught behind by wicketkeeper Walsh.

Brad Hodge arrived at the crease averaging 83.14 from his nine Pura Cup innings this season, but was first forced to watch Mott do the attacking, the twenty-seven year old hoisting a full-length Swan delivery off his shins to mid wicket and then reaching the deep fine leg fence.

Swan was subsequently replaced by Julian but the left-arm seamer continued to struggle for consistency, following four dot balls with two short deliveries. Hodge paid him the ultimate compliment by hooking both to the boundary.

But Hodge then saw his partner desert him as Mott became Julian's first victim, caught by gully fielder Hussey while trying to blaze a shot away on the off side at a wide ball.

With Victoria stumbling slightly at 3/134, Julian and Angel tried to press the advantage, although Clinton Peake (10) managed to move off the mark with a mistimed cover drive from the same Julian over. The confident Hodge then saw him slap the left arm seamer over mid wicket.

However, Julian struck back to remove dangerman Hodge who, with five boundaries in his twenty-two runs, tried to prod a ball to the fence but snared an outside edge and guided the ball straight to Walsh.

Just ten balls later, Peake became Julian's third scalp, caught by Moody at second slip and forcing Harvey and Darren Berry to start afresh.

Berry (4) too was given a chance when he pulled Stuart Karppinen to square leg and was dropped by Simon Katich. Yet moments later, a Julian outswinger extracted the nick and carried to first slip Martyn.

The Warriors seemed ready to give Julian his fifth victim when a hectic Warne (27), trying to drive square of the wicket, hit a low-flying shot straight to Marcus North in the gully.

But North put down the tough chance and left a narrow window of opportunity for the Bushrangers to target some sort of an escape. Warne, for one, took aim, pasting a Julian delivery to the fence with a superb square cut.

The Bushrangers notched 200 in the sixty-fourth over when Harvey smacked Julian through the covers, just moments after a lofted shot by Warne evaded Swan's outstretched arms.

Warne and Harvey went on to register the half-century partnership in just under eleven overs, and were then thrown a lifeline four runs later when a leaping Goodwin failed to grasp an Angel delivery cut to point by Warne.

Warne's good luck ran out on the very next delivery, however, as he was caught at second slip by Moody from the bowling of veteran Angel.

Harvey's confidence rose late in the day, as evidenced by a glorious cover drive from Angel's bowling which helped the Bushrangers to 7/224. But eighteen runs later he was brought unstuck by Julian's outstanding throw from the deep while returning for the third run.

Paul Reiffel (19) then became Karppinen's first Pura Cup victim when he tried to escape a rising delivery but succeeded only in snicking the ball to Walsh. Moments later Karppinen (2/34) ended the innings with his second wicket, catching tailender Mathew Inness lbw in front of the stumps for a duck.

Eager to nab a late breakthrough, the Bushrangers opened their attack with Reiffel (0/12) and Inness (0/23) at either end. Michael Lewis (0/31) soon replaced Reiffel in the seventh over and responded to a pair of Goodwin boundaries with a near-miss lbw appeal.

But Goodwin, with just thirty-nine runs from five Pura Cup innings to his name this season, was determined to stick around and soon passed his season-high score of fifteen with some cracking boundaries.

Although matched against a batting line-up which has struggled to find a stable opening partnership this season, Warne's breakthrough proved that the pitch will offer some encouragement for the bowlers in the days to come.

After the Warriors seven-run victory in Mercantile Mutual Cup match on Tuesday Evening, Warne himself said that, while the WACA deck was typically flat, he was pleased he managed to spin a few well past the wayward bat.

Fleming's omission appears a combination of Lewis' good form on Tuesday, when his pace genuinely bothered some Warriors batsmen, and concerns about his own four-day match fitness while returning from injury.

© 2001 CricInfo Ltd