Victoria have secured a memorable Sheffield Shield victory over Western Australia, pulling off a tricky run chase of 195 late in the final session at the MCG.
Unheralded opener Blake Macdonald posted his maiden first-class century to guide Victoria home by six wickets in the final minutes of day four on Sunday.
The 27-year-old, who grew up in Canberra and played for NSW before moving to Melbourne, capped off a breakout Shield performance to finish unbeaten on 109 off only 116 balls.
Macdonald also top-scored with 79 in Victoria's first innings of 255 to comfortably claim player of the match honours.
Victoria fell into early trouble in their chase at 3-46 when captain Peter Handscomb was knocked over for a duck.
But Macdonald combined with Australia white-ball batter Matt Short (62) for a 137-run stand to steer the Vics to their fifth win from six Shield matches this season.
With time against them going into tea at 3-99, Victoria scored at five runs an over to motor to the target and avoid a draw.
Going into the Big Bash League break, they are well clear on top of the ladder and in the box seat to qualify for the final.
It was only Macdonald's second Shield match for the season, since he was dropped after scoring 45 and 30 against South Australia in October.
Macdonald was averaging 26.23 with a top score of 61 in seven Shield matches before this game.
Earlier, an outstanding century from captain Sam Whiteman appeared to go a long way towards helping Western Australia avoid defeat.
After slumping to 4-52, still trailing the Vics on day three, WA were on track for a heavy defeat.
But with rain halting Victoria's charge on Saturday, Whiteman stepped up to score his 17th first-class century early on day four.
Whiteman fell for 103, while valuable contributions from veteran Hilton Cartwright (43), allrounder Aaron Hardie (33) and wicketkeeper Joel Curtis (28) helped WA to 255.
Victorian seamer Sam Elliott (5-33 and 2-51) worked tirelessly as he enjoyed one of the best games of his first-class career.
It was a forgettable return to Shield cricket for Mitch Marsh, with the Australia white-ball star making only four and nine.
Marsh had been hoping to press his case for a Test recall, with Australia considering using him for shock value at the top of the order in the Ashes.
WA will remain on the bottom of the ladder until at least the Shield's resumption in February, virtually already out of contention for the final with four matches remaining.
