Bulls bowlers fight back well in Adelaide heat

ADELAIDE, Feb 4 AAP - Queensland's bowling attack showed great perseverance in extreme heat to overcome a poor start and finish day one on level terms with South Australia in their Pura Cup match at Adelaide Oval.

The Redbacks were 7-283 in their first innings at stumps, with former Queensland all-rounder Mick Miller unbeaten on 48 and Brad Young on six.

On a day when the temperature climbed to 41 degrees and two drink breaks were needed each session, SA skipper Greg Blewett would have been very happy when he won the toss and forced Queensland into the field.

The Redbacks then made the Bulls toil hard, batting to conserve wickets in the opening session, crawling to 1-49 at lunch, with opener David Fitzgerald on 13 from 93 balls and Blewett on 14.

Blewett and Fitzgerald then pushed SA into a position of apparent command, adding 65 runs in the first 13 overs after lunch to take the Redbacks to 1-114, at which stage the bowlers could have wilted under the strain.

Fitzgerald, who scored 15 runs without a boundary in the first 100 balls he faced, broke the shackles with 25 runs from 29 balls, including five boundaries, during this period.

But Queensland hit back, with medium pacer James Hopes breaking the 84-run second-wicket stand, having Fitzgerald caught at gully for 40 in the 42nd over, and Blewett was caught at first slip for 49 off Ashley Noffke's bowling three balls later.

By tea, SA was 5-142, having lost 4-28 in the last 15 overs of the middle session.

"Through that middle session I think all the guys bowled pretty well on a pretty even wicket," Noffke told reporters.

Noffke had the day's best figures of 3-63 to be the only multiple wicket-taker in his return after missing two Pura Cup games with a finger injury.

In the final session, second-gamer Mark Cosgrove and wicketkeeper Graham Manou showed some fight for SA with a 67-run sixth-wicket partnership, Cosgrove top-scoring with 52 in an innings which included two sixes over mid-wicket from off-spinner Nathan Hauritz's bowling.

Hauritz had his revenge, having Cosgrove caught in the deep two balls after he brought up his 50 with a six.

Manou (30) fell four overs later, lbw padding up to an in-swinging delivery from left-arm medium pacer Lee Carseldine.

But Miller and Young put on an unbroken 60-run eighth-wicket stand to help SA back to level terms by the close of play and make tomorrow's opening session crucial.

"It was disappointing maybe not to get the last three wickets wrapped up but we've got to come back here tomorrow morning with a job to do, get that done quickly, and get out there batting ourselves," Noffke said.