Two days after being fined for a case of whiteline fever, Alex Ross has harnessed his firebrand spirit to guide South Australia to a thrilling one-wicket one-day cup win over Queensland.
Ross plundered 88 off 87 balls including 18 off the final over as the Redbacks snuck home with just one ball to spare at North Sydney Oval on Sunday.
Five wickets from man-of-the-match Kane Richardson restricted Queensland to 9-279 off their 50 overs before Ross smashed nine fours and two sixes to help his side grab their second victory of the tournament.
On Friday, Ross was fined 20 per cent of his match fee and reprimanded for showing dissent at an umpire's decision after standing his ground when dismissed in his side's loss to NSW.
That same competitive instinct was on show as he put on a masterful display of power hitting as South Australia chased down the rain-revised total of 275 off 49 overs.
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When Callum Ferguson (58) was dismissed in the 32nd over the Redbacks were 5-132 and with rain closing in, they looked like they had too much work to do.
But Adam Zampa chimed in with a quickfire 61 while Ross held his nerve to get them over the line.
"I try to be pretty calm," Ross said.
"Gary Putland has been in that situation before with that Ryobi Cup final where he bowled that yorker to win the game.
"He was really good down the other end and I'm speechless."
Towering Queensland paceman Billy Stanlake put in an intimidating display, taking 3-43 from nine overs.
The Queenslanders looked at long odds to claim victory when they slumped to 2-0 from two balls after man-of-the-match Richardson dismissed Joe Burns and Marnus Labuschagne.
After surviving Richardson's hat-trick ball, Nathan Reardon (87) put on a patient 168-run stand with Chris Hartley (79) to resurrect the Bulls.
With Australian coach Darren Lehmann in the stands, Richardson gave a reminder of his worth, taking 5-35 from his 10 overs and running out Bulls skipper Peter Forrest in what proved a decisive performance.
