Ferguson fights rampant Blues with half-century

South Australia 135 & 4 for 155 (Ferguson 70*) need 340 runs to beat New South Wales 298 and 7 for 331 dec (Phelps 127*, Thornely 102, Tait 4-62)
Scorecard

Callum Ferguson finally gave South Australia something to smile about when he joined Nathan Adcock in an 84-run stand as they battled for an unlikely draw against New South Wales at Adelaide Oval. Hopelessly out-played through the first three days, the Redbacks were set an improbable 495 for victory and were 4 for 155 at stumps after their first fifty partnership of the match.

Ferguson remained unbeaten on 70 while Adcock was 32 after the second innings started badly. Luke Williams was run out in a terrible mix-up and Stuart Clark removed Greg Blewett, the side's real hope for a big innings, in his first over and then bowled Mark Cosgrove as the Redbacks tumbled to 3 for 29.

The Blues racked up the massive lead before Brad Haddin's declaration, with Matthew Phelps finishing unbeaten on 127 to add to Dominic Thornely's aggressive 102, including 12 fours and two sixes from 131 balls. Shaun Tait was again the pick for South Australia with 4 for 62.