What a match. What a season. What a climax.

At the end of what might come to be remembered as one of the all-time great matches in Australian first-class history, Queensland has prevailed here at the 'Gabba ground in Brisbane to win a thrilling Pura Cup Final against Victoria by a margin of four wickets.

But the Bulls didn't grasp a fourth domestic first-class title - one which gave them back-to-back victories for the first time in their history - without weathering close to three hours of extraordinary drama on the final day of this memorable 2000-01 summer.

Controversy hit the Final in the fifth over of the last day when Queensland captain Stuart Law (47*) was awarded the benefit of the doubt - courtesy of a series of inconclusive television replays - after it had appeared that he had been wonderfully caught by a diving Michael Klinger at third slip from the very first ball that he faced.

Around a series of incisions made by a remorseless Victorian bowling attack at the other end, Law then proceeded to lead not only a charmed existence but to determinedly lead his team to the finishing post as well.

He was caught behind off a no-ball with his score at 4, frequently played and missed, and was dropped by Matthew Elliott and Matthew Mott on 10 and 39 respectively when he edged strokes behind the wicket. In the end, though, he was there to hit the winning runs in mid-afternoon. And, to a captivated crowd of 1374, that was all that really mattered.

"It was probably the toughest game of cricket I've ever played in," confessed a drained Law shortly after the seal had been set on his record-breaking fourth first-class success as a captain.

"The Victorians never let up, they never said die out there. They knew that they were only a couple of wickets away and that it could have turned on a knife-edge at any stage. To their credit, they stuck at it right until the last runs were hit. (To win) was total and utter relief."

"I'll remember it for the circumstances but not for the execution - it was pretty ordinary. It was very ugly but it became effective in the end," he added of his innings.

Even by the time that his back foot cover drive from the bowling of Michael Lewis (0/82) finally settled matters, this had not ceased to remain the gripping contest that it had proved for each of the preceding four days as well. Virtually every ball was loaded and, while there were not a huge amount of them occupied, it was the edges (rather than the bases) of most chairs in the stadium that were being utilised. The result hung in the balance until close to the very end; even the conclusion of the match didn't dramatically alter the tense atmosphere: heartfelt relief predominating on one side and heartbreak on the other.

By stumps on the fourth day, the Bulls had worked themselves into a winning position at a score of 2/137 as they pursued a fourth innings target of 224. But this match had been so tight, so absorbing and such a struggle that it did not deserve a tame finish. Happily, it never came close to such.

Key batsman Martin Love (52) was removed in the fifth over of the day when Mott, reaching high above his head at gully, held the remains of a forcing cut stroke off the back foot at Paul Reiffel (1/34). And then massive controversy erupted.

Having been dismissed for a golden duck in the first innings, it appeared that Law had suffered the ignominy of recording a king pair when Klinger dived athletically to his right and appeared to clutch a magnificent one handed catch. Simon Taufel, umpiring at the bowler's end, was not immediately convinced that the catch had been taken on the full, though, and the decision was referred to third umpire, Peter Parker.

Obvious disgust from the Victorians - so obvious that Reiffel was later fined $200 after being found guilty by Match Referee Peter Burge of conduct unbecoming, intimidation of umpires, and dissent - ensued as a series of inconclusive television replays failed to either prove or disprove the validity of the catch.

"We obviously thought he'd caught it; (the fact that it was given not out) was very disappointing. It was a clear catch to us," said Reiffel.

The worth of using the third umpire as the final arbiter to rule on catches has been debated many times in Australia this season. There is no doubt that this latest incident will only add fuel to the fire, coming as it did at such a defining moment of such an extraordinarily tense arm-wrestle. It added to simmering Victorian resentment that still carries over after Law also profited handsomely from another controversial no-catch decision on the first day of last season's Pura Milk Cup Final.

"It's impossible to know," added Reiffel, when pressed to comment on how crucially today's decision impacted on the outcome. "Stuart, with his experience, has steered them home in the end. To have got him out first ball … who's to know?"

Ultimately the one thing that was clear by the end of the match was that Queensland has reaffirmed its dominance and extended what has become a golden era of success for a state that took sixty-nine long years to even win the trophy once.

This victory did not have the tears of 1994-95, not the emotion of 1996-97, not quite the same brow-beating dominance of 1999-2000. But what it did possess was resolve, character and application … and indeed many of the same players who have been such a key to making Queensland such a good side.

The bottom line, all controversies aside, is that there are five other state teams and five other sets of supporters which remain inordinately envious of the Bulls this afternoon. The modern-day kings of Australian first-class cricket have triumphed once more; long may they rule if their cricket remains as inspiring as this.

© 2001 CricInfo Ltd