Wade and Finch lead Victorian crawl

Victoria 6 for 265 (Wade 84, Finch 73, Jewell 51, Hopes 3-52) v Queensland
Scorecard

Matthew Wade and Aaron Finch posted fighting half-centuries to push Victoria to 6 for 265 at stumps on a tightly-contested first day at the Gabba. On a pitch that offered the seamers some movement, James Hopes picked up three wickets but Queensland couldn't stop the Bushrangers from compiling a couple of handy partnerships.

After Hopes accounted for Chris Rogers and Lloyd Mash, both lbw early in the day, Finch and Nick Jewell knuckled down for a 73-run stand that ended when Jewell played on to Ben Cutting for 51. Victoria's stand-in captain Andrew McDonald departed cheaply, the third of Hopes' wickets, before the major partnership began.

Finch and Wade came together with the score at 4 for 121 and put together 115 for the fifth wicket, showing that Victoria's middle-order has some depth in the absence of Cameron White and David Hussey due to national duties. Finch was bowled by Luke Feldman for 73 and Wade fell late in the day for 84, lbw to Chris Simpson.

At stumps, the Bushrangers were relying on the debutant Michael Hill, who was on 8, and John Hastings, who was yet to score. If Victoria win the match they are guaranteed to host the Sheffield Shield final but a Queensland victory would give the Bulls a good chance to hold the decider at home.