NSW paceman Harry Conway has continued his remarkable record this Sheffield Shield season against Queensland with a four-wicket over and there has been more disappointment for dropped Test batsman Usman Khawaja.
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After Khawaja won the toss, the Bulls suffered a late collapse on Saturday's opening day of the Shield top-of-the-ladder SCG clash, rolled for 240, with the skipper falling for 20.
Khawaja, who has scored just 81 runs at an average of 11.57 from seven Shield innings this season, made a start and faced 56 balls, but didn't hit a boundary before being caught behind off seamer Trent Copeland.
Impressive NSW Shield debutant Liam Hatcher made the early inroads and finished with 3-40.
Fellow paceman Conway obliterated the Bulls' tail, taking 5-15, and ending the innings with a quadruple-wicket maiden.
"To get four in an over is something really special and something I'll remember for a long time, but I was just really happy that we bowled them out today," Conway said.
It was Conway's third five-wicket haul in as many innings this season against Queensland. He has taken an astonishing 15-71 across the two matches.
NSW had just one wicket at lunch and three by tea, but a probing attack - minus four Test bowlers - were rewarded for their perseverance on a good wicket.
"I know a few of the guys, we get offended when people call us the second string attack, and it's just a force of nature that we have all of the Australian (Test) bowlers usually," Conway said.
"We love it when they play - we usually win. But we want to make a name for ourselves and, if we're winning whilst they are away, we're in a great place."
All of Queensland's top eight reached double figures and six of them made at least 20.
Opener Bryce Street top-scored for the Bulls with a dogged 58 off 200 balls.
Jimmy Peirson finished 38 not out and Matthew Renshaw scored 36 but an opening partnership of 50 and a seventh-wicket 62 were the only significant stands in the innings.
"That was probably the story of our batting today. We just kept losing wickets; we didn't get that one big partnership to set up the game," Street said.
"Losing four in one over at one point wasn't great there, but it shouldn't be up to the tail to score the runs and it's on our top order."
The ground resembled a patchwork quilt after the turf was re-laid last week and bushfire smoke, blanketing Sydney, was again present.
"For the second half of the day, it was really hazy, orange and purple," Conway said.
Australian Associated Press
