Victoria 261 and 102 for 5 (Harris 35, McAndrew 2-33) need 94 to win against South Australia 198 and 258 (Carey 103, McAndrew 60, Boland 3-78)

Marcus Harris and Peter Handscomb steadied the chase with a 67-run stand to put Victoria on track. But both fell in the shadows of stumps with two nightwatchers sent in to see Victoria to close, still needing 94.

Carey produced an innings of the highest quality to give SA hope. He survived a difficult final hour on the third evening after entering at 35 for 3, but batting didn’t get any easier in the early part of day four.

He could only watch helplessly at the non-striker’s end as Boland threatened to rip the Shield away from South Australia in one vintage burst, which left the visitors 122 for 7, leading by just 59. He trapped Liam Scott lbw with an excellent delivery that nipped in sharply off the seam. His next ball was unplayable and Ben Manenti was unfortunate after it reared away from a similar length to scratch the outside edge.

Carey had to face the hat-trick ball as there was a change of strike in the over in between. But he calmly knocked it to the leg side for a single. It was emblematic of his innings.

He found an ally in McAndrew. The ball softened and Victoria’s seamers found it hard to get through McAndrew’s solid defence while Carey was gifted singles to a deep field. Carey cruised from 40 into the 80s without needing to take a risk. Victoria’s decision to get Carey off strike and focus on McAndrew did not pay off as he settled into a groove. He struck eight fours and a six in his 60, two more boundaries than Carey scored in his century. The six McAndrew hit was a brilliant upper cut off Sutherland while he nailed several other cut shots.

He had one major slice of luck. On 43, he tried to force Boland off the back foot through the off side, the thick edge flew at head height between Sutherland and Peter Handscomb at first and second slip. Both moved to catch it and both left it late to let it go untouched to the fence.

The Victorian players’ shoulders slumped as McAndrew reached his first first-class half-century in 30 innings and his first in the Shield since 2023.

SA reached lunch at 204 for 7 with the lead swelling to a defendable total. Sutherland found something after the break to end the stand. He got one to stay low from back of good length and shoot through the previously impregnable defence of McAndrew.

That opened the door for Murphy to return, having been held out of the attack for most of the morning. Carey was fortunate to survive and inside edge that looped up off the pad with Harper slow to see that it was landing within reach.

But he got the reward when Henry Thornton tried and an ambitious back-foot punch against the turn and Harper held the thin edge. It left Carey on 92 with only Jordan Buckingham for company. Carey farmed the strike and inched to his century. He turned one single down on 99 and got to his century trying to steal two but was held to a single. That gave Buckingham licence to swing hard after defending stoutly for 17 deliveries and he picked up two boundaries off Murphy. Ironically, he was the one left not out when Carey gloved an ambitious scoop to slip off Fergus O’Neill against the second new ball.