Blues win despite Rimmington ton

New South Wales 6 for 441 dec and 4 for 78 beat Western Australia 150 and 365 (Rimmington 102*, North 73, Robinson 51, Hazlewood 4-111) by 6 wickets
Scorecard

A remarkable century from the fast bowler Nathan Rimmington was not enough to save Western Australia as New South Wales wrapped up a six-wicket win in Sydney. In a tense finish, the Blues were set 75 from 14 overs and they reached their target with four balls to spare, Tim Cruickshank and the debutant Kurtis Patterson at the crease.

After his heroics with the bat, Rimmington took two top-order wickets to give the Warriors hope of denying New South Wales the win, but in the end his work went in vain. The Blues needed two runs from the final over, bowled by Rimmington, and the runs came with a leg bye off the first ball followed by a boundary struck by Patterson.

It was quite an effort for the Warriors to make the Blues bat again, which only happened thanks to a 112-run partnership between Rimmington and Marcus North. They came together with the score at 7 for 177 and their efforts allowed Western Australia to reach 365, with Rimmington remaining unbeaten on 102.

His performance was especially surprising given he had not previously scored a half-century in first-class, one-day or Twenty20 cricket. North (73) also played well despite back complaint, and Josh Hazlewood picked up 4 for 111 for the Blues, his final wicket helping his side fight back into the game after the North-Rimmington stand.