Sam Whiteman lifts Western Australia from trouble with superb century
Josh Philippe and D'Arcy Short played their parts in an impressive recovery from 4 for 47
AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff
21-Nov-2021
Sam Whiteman batted throughout the opening day • Getty Images
Western Australia 6 for 350 (Whiteman 151*, Short 67, Philippe 53) vs Tasmania
West Australian captain Sam Whiteman notched a valuable Sheffield Shield century against Tasmania as his side reached 6 for 350 at stumps on day one.
Whiteman, who was recalled following a bout of concussion and given the captaincy after Shaun Marsh suffered a calf injury against Queensland last week, essentially batted the day to finish unbeaten on 151.
He came to crease in the second over and dug his side out of trouble from 4 for 47 with a 105-run stand with Josh Philippe (53) for the fifth wicket. After grafting to 37 at lunch, Whiteman lifted the tempo late in the day with D'Arcy Short(67 off 74 balls), who teed off with a number of blistering cover drives.
Whiteman, who played for Australia A seven years ago, survived a missed stumping chance in the 90s before posting his eighth first-class century.
Short, who calls Bellerive Oval home for the Hurricanes in the Big Bash, passed his previous first-class best of 66 before falling to a juggling caught-and-bowled by innocuous part-time medium pacer Jordan Silk.
Lawrence Neil-Smith was the pick of Tasmania's bowlers and got rid of Test allrounder Cameron Green and Hilton Cartwright in quick succession in the morning session.
Fellow paceman Gabe Bell did the damage early after Tasmania won the toss, removing former Test opener Cameron Bancroft with his first ball - via an excellent catch at fourth slip - and youngster Jayden Goodwin in an impressive new-ball spell.
WA quick Jhye Richardson, who is pushing hard for a Test berth, raced to 43 from 41 balls in the hour before stumps in an unbroken stand of 80 with Whiteman.
Former Test captain Tim Paine is a notable absentee for Tasmania, with the wicketkeeper having opted to make his return from a neck injury via a four-day second XI match in Hobart on Monday.
Paine stepped down from Test captaincy on Friday after it was revealed he sent lewd messages and an inappropriate image to a female former Cricket Tasmania employee in 2017. He is still available for Ashes selection and was slated to play a grade game for club side University on Saturday but play was washed out.
WA have two wins from their four matches and sit atop the Shield ladder, while Tasmania are fourth with one win.