Harper and Banthorpe provide upper hand

In a show of strong leadership, a 178-run partnership from captain Harper (109) and vice-captain Banthrope (113) saw Victoria pile on a total of 9-341.

“The boys did the hard work before lunch and put on a great partnership,” Victorian coach Graeme Rummans said.

“Sammy batted beautifully and Liam did really well too.

“It was great to see them both get centuries.”

Having won the toss and electing to bat, Victoria got off to a shaky start losing 2-47 in the opening overs.

However, Banthorpe and Harper took to the crease and with some smart batting and well-timed stroke play, the pair compiled centuries to fly the Victorian flag.

Upon their dismissal, Kade Burns (30) and Blake Thomson (21) kept the scoreboard ticking, taking Victoria to a large total before declaring.

“Thomson has had a great trip and hopefully he has learned a bit from it,” Rummans said.

“It was also nice to see Burns get an opportunity with the bat.”

At stumps, Western Australia reached 0-21 after six overs with Brooke Guest (13*) and Corey Evans (4*) at the crease.

Play will resume this morning with Victoria looking to claim early wickets.

Image sourced from Fitzroy Doncaster