Victoria ended a crucial day of the Pura Cup season with a flourish here at the Sydney Cricket Ground today, when seventeen year old debutant Cameron White claimed the wicket of Michael Bevan in only his fifth over in first-class cricket. It helped the Bushrangers limit fellow Final aspirant New South Wales to a score of 3/111 as it set out after the imposing tally of 409.

With his slow, deliberate approach to the bowling crease and his ability to conceive ripping leg breaks, White (1/8) has a little of Shane Warne about him in his mannerisms as a spinner. Suffice to say that, even if Warne were here playing for his home state instead of representing his country in India, it is doubtful if any leg spinner in the world have produced a more crucial breakthrough at a more crucial time.

After the Blues had launched their own wicket-taking assault in the early part of the afternoon, finally ridding themselves of the Bushrangers just before tea, the locals' first innings got off to a shaky start. They lost Greg Mail (2) and Graeme Rummans (28) in the early stages. But, with a determined Michael Clarke (13*), the in-form Bevan (62) had the Blues motoring toward an ominous position as they reached a score of 2/111 three overs before stumps. It was then that White lured the left hander into an ill-advised sweep which succeeded only in ballooning the ball behind him to Matthew Elliott at slip. And it was then that Victoria probably struck the most decisive blow of this match to date.

For all that, though, the Victorians also owed a big debt by the end of the day to Brad Hodge (125) and Michael Klinger (67). Before Nathan Bracken (5/68) finally brought the Blues' attack some relief by producing a quick clatter of wickets after lunch, that pair lit up the pre-lunch session with a tremendous fourth wicket partnership that realised 151 runs. Both played brilliantly, giving few chances until Klinger was finally removed by a delivery from Shane Lee (1/53) that ducked back off the seam and struck him in line with leg stump.

Bracken had been bowling very well all morning without reward so it should probably have come as little surprise that, in the 126th over of the innings, he finally managed to lure Hodge into spooning back a caught and bowled chance off a leading edge. Hodge misread a slower delivery that pitched on a full length, lifting it straight up in the air and back to the bowler for a simple catch. Bracken had possibly been buoyed by news of his selection into the one-day international squad that will leave for India shortly; whatever the cause, he embarked on a wicket-taking flurry, achieving the second best figures of his first-class career.

Bracken's spree continued just nine overs later when, in the 135th over, he claimed two wickets, taking Darren Berry (17) with the second ball of his twenty-seventh over, and captain Paul Reiffel (0) for a duck just two balls later. Berry tried a gentle push to an off side ball, but only attained the outside edge of the bat and sent it into debutant Nathan Pilon's waiting gloves. Reiffel was deceived by a ball which seamed away, also feathering a catch to Pilon. This took Bracken's figures to 3/66 and Victoria to 7/391.

Around a composed innings from another debutant, Jonathan Moss (32), the final three wickets also fell quickly.

But the Blues - who desperately need first innings points at the very least from this game to stay in the race for the 2000-01 Pura Cup - have always been on the back foot in this game and the late Victorian collapse didn't really alter that fact. On a pitch that showed a few more signs of life late on a generally sunny day, it was only Bevan's batting that would have inspired genuine confidence from a sparse local crowd.

© 2001 CricInfo Ltd