The Queensland Bulls, with a dogged draw against Tasmania behind them, will have to make a sharp adjustment this weekend when they host Sheffield Shield leaders Victoria in a day/night clash at the Gabba from Sunday.
Pink Ball Challenge Looms
After bad weather prevented any play on day two of the clash with Tasmania at Allan Border Field, the Bulls held on for a draw late on day four earlier this week after following on.
Opener Matt Renshaw's 12th first class century for Queensland, and his 22nd career ton, was a highlight for the home side in the first innings while Ben McDermott and Jimmy Peirson were resolute in the second innings as Queensland fought back to avoid a costly outright loss.
Coming into the Victoria clash, the Bulls have yet to register a win in the Shield although they remain close to other teams on the ladder.
Queensland will finalise its team tomorrow for the clash with Victoria, which completed a strong win over defending champions Western Australia at the MCG earlier in the week.
It will be the first game at the Gabba this season for the Bulls, with the venue hosting the Australia- Pakistan T20 international and the WBBL Gabba Smash presented by Ward in recent weeks.
The Bulls have two Shield games remaining before the competition pauses for the KFC Big Bash League in December and January where the Brisbane Heat will seek to go back-to-back.
The day/night round will feature a pink Kookaburra ball for the first time in seven years, with states to play under lights at the Gabba and Adelaide Oval ahead of upcoming day-night Tests at those venues over the next two summers.
The games between South Australia and Western Australia in Adelaide, and the Queensland-Victoria match in Brisbane, will be day-night matches.
The other round-five fixture between Tasmania and New South Wales will remain a day game given the unlikelihood of the SCG hosting day-night Tests.
But the return Blues-Tigers match scheduled for mid-March in Hobart, where a pink-ball Test was played during the 2021-22 Ashes series, will now be a pink-ball game to ensure all six states play one match under lights.
The Shield round will be played concurrently with the opening Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Perth where Queensland and Brisbane Heat players Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan McSweeney will be in action.