Victoria faced a tough start in their Sheffield Shield match against Queensland at the MCG. Usman Khawaja chose to bowl first on a tricky, green pitch. Marcus Harris, a potential Test player, scored a solid 73 in challenging conditions, impressing national selector Tony Dodemaide. Despite his previous century, this innings, lasting 212 balls, was considered even better due to the difficult playing conditions.

Harris, a contender to replace David Warner in the upcoming Test, was unfortunately bowled out when the ball deflected off his pad into the leg stump. Another Test hopeful, Peter Handscomb, contributed with 66 runs before getting caught behind by Jack Wildermuth. Victoria’s run rate is currently low, just above two runs per over, and they’ll need to improve significantly on Friday to have a chance at winning the four-day match.

Queensland faced setbacks with the absence of key bowlers Michael Neser and Mark Steketee, both withdrawing from the match. Neser returned to Brisbane for the birth of his child, while Steketee pulled out due to illness. Liam Guthrie, a former Western Australian bowler, replaced them and took the important wicket of Will Pucovski for 5.

In the absence of Test spinner Todd Murphy, Victoria handed a first-class debut to left-armer Doug Warren. Both Queensland and Victoria currently occupy the bottom two spots on the table, each winning only one game in their first four matches of the season.