Sheffield Shield: Marnus Labuschagne's ton helps Queensland beat NSW, clinch title

Brisbane: A dominant Queensland thrashed New South Wales by an innings and 33 runs to win the Sheffield Shield final Sunday on the back of Test star Marnus Labuschagne’s high-class 192. Having bowled the Blues out for 143 on day one at Allan Border Field, with Michael Neser grabbing 5-27, the Bulls responded with an ominous 389. Player-of-the-match Labuschagne led the charge against a quality NSW attack boasting Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, smacking 21 boundaries in his 353-ball knock. [caption id=“attachment_9206021” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Marnus Labuschagne scored 192. AP[/caption] With NSW on the back foot, Mitchell Swepson, Xavier Bartlett and Brendan Dogget each took three wickets to skittle them for 213 in their second innings and seal the win on day four. Daniel Hughes top-scored with 40. It was Queensland’s ninth Shield title and second in four seasons. “We’ve got an excellent dynamic (in the team),” said skipper Usman Khawaja. “It wasn’t a very easy wicket on the first day, it was hard to drive, but you still have to execute, and our bowlers did it beautifully. “They did exactly what I asked of them and it put plenty of pressure on the Blues boys.” Blues’ skipper Kurtis Patterson, whose side was without Steve Smith, David Warner, and Moises Henriques, who are playing in the Indian Premier League, admitted their day-one batting cost them dearly. “It was going to be a great learning curve with a young batting line-up, and we couldn’t deliver the goods out there on day one and were probably behind the game and chasing our tails,” he told reporters. “But having said that, the Bulls … have been the benchmark all year and fully deserve it. And Marnus, really well played, certainly the difference.” Labuschagne called his 192 “one of the better innings I’ve played”. “I felt like I stayed a bit more patient than I have been usually. It was good to get the team in a good position and to finish off the win today,” said the right-hander.