SIMON Katich scored a brilliant 306 to guide New South Wales to first-innings points late on day three of the Pura Cup match against Queensland.
In reply to Queensland’s 467, NSW made eight for 601 declared. Fourteen overs remained in the day’s play with Queensland 134 runs behind on the first innings.
Katich’s 351-ball masterpiece was the highest individual first-class score at the Sydney Cricket Ground since Don Bradman’s Australian record score of 452 not out against Queensland in January 1930.
Katich, who has lost his national contract and has not played a Test since November 2005, shared a partnership of 334 for the fifth wicket with wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, who hit 10 fours and two sixes in his four-hour knock of 123.
But it was Katich who stole the show.
With national selector Jamie Cox looking on from the stands, Katich hit 30 fours and nine sixes in an explosive display, giving one difficult chance to wicketkeeper Chris Hartley on 181 off Mitchell Johnson’s bowling.
Test prospect Johnson had no joy, taking 0-134 off 32 overs, while his Queensland new-ball partner Ashley Noffke went for 31 runs off three overs at one stage during the heavy hitting.
But Noffke later claimed the wickets of Katich caught at long off and Haddin lbw at 5-569 and 6-579 and finished with the well-deserved figures of 5-108 off 35.3 overs.
Katich’s 18th Pura Cup hundred took 204 balls with 11 fours. The 32-year-old left-hander was stuck in the nineties for 54 balls.
But Katich, who went to lunch on 104, emerged from the break in a far more attacking frame of mind, breezing from 100 to 200 in 75 balls and 200 to 300 in 67 deliveries.
It’s the seventh-highest first class score by a NSW batsman, the fifth-highest by a NSW player at the SCG and the first triple century in the Pura Cup since Darren Lehmann’s unbeaten 301 for South Australia against Western Australia at the Adelaide Oval two summers ago.
Asked if he had boosted his Test prospects, 23-Test veteran Katich said: “I’m not sure about that.
“The guys who are going to be picked for Brisbane (November 8-12 against Sri Lanka), guys like Phil Jaques and Stuie MacGill, hopefully will get the nod and they thoroughly deserve to be looked at,” Katich said.
“I’m just happy making runs for New South Wales and leading by example hopefully.
“I thought after lunch (at 4-259) we would try to up the ante a bit, get the 60-odd runs that we need to get to the follow-on.
“Then as things progressed, initially we had spoken as a team about maybe pulling out a hundred runs behind. But the momentum that Brad and I had in our partnership, we felt it was an opportunity to really keep them down.
“We got messages back from the dressing room saying just keep going. I don’t know how to describe it. It was a lot of fun. I don’t think I could hit the ball much better than that.”
Katich said the significance of his 306 “hasn’t sunk in”.
“Everything seemed to happen so quickly in that middle session,” he said. “Brad and I looked up and all of sudden we had put on 300.
“It has blown both of us away because we just tried to keep playing with good intent and it’s amazing what can happen in that situation.”
Katich said losing his national contract left him keen to make the most of every cricket opportunity.
“I was in England at the time. I was disappointed,” said Katich, 32.
“I just had go back and make plenty of runs. It’s as simple as that when you are a batsman.
“Look at guys like Matty Hayden, his last 12 months have been fantastic.He is four years older than me so it just goes to show if you are mentally right and you keep working hard, there’s no reason why you can’t keep playing well.”
AAP
Source: foxsports.com.au
