Australia great's son slams century in Sheffield Shield final, looks to follow father's footsteps to end 29-year drought
Jake Lehmann, son of Darren Lehmann, scored a century in the Sheffield Shield final as South Australia hope to win their first trophy in nearly 30 years.
Something special took place during the ongoing Sheffield Shield final, as Jake Lehmann marked a moment in history with his century at the Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide. The South Australian batter is the son of former Australian batter turned coach Darren Lehmann, and is trying to help South Australia win the Sheffield Shield for the first time since 1996 — a team that his father was a part of.
Jake Lehmann has big shoes to fill. Nobody has more centuries in Sheffield Shield cricket than Lehmann Sr., with 45, or scored close to as many runs. This was only the younger Lehmann’s 13th century, but his third in as many matches, and certainly the most crucial.
South Australia are looking to end a near-three-decade drought in the Sheffield Shield. While the Redbacks have thoroughly dominated the league stage this year with some terrific performances across the board, they needed someone to step up after a shaky start in the final vs Queensland. Who else except the son of their greatest batter?
Coming in at 65-4, hunting down a first innings score of 95, Lehmann ensured that a stellar bowling performance by Brendan Doggett didn’t go to waste. The 32-year-old batter scored 102, stitching together tidy partnerships with the lower order to take South Australia to a 176-run first innings lead.
Speaking about living up to his father’s achievement in the red South Australian cap, Jake had said in the lead-up to the final: "I always knew it was going to be the case, and obviously at times it's probably difficult. But he's been a great mentor to me, and never pushed me into cricket.”
‘If I ever got to be half as good as the old man…’
Lehmann relinquished captaincy of the SACA this year after a stretch of poor team and personal performances. Nathan McSweeney stepped in and guided the team to its best finish in several years, while Lehmann himself has managed to average 42+ in the season. This has only improved as he has delivered in clutch moments in the month of March.
"One of the things I realised early on was if I ever got to be half as good as the old man, I'll be going okay and I've kind of stuck to that mantra a little bit lately,” explained Lehmann to cricket.com.au.
"It releases that pressure, because obviously the pressure is there externally. But internally, between me and him and my family, it's not there,” he concluded.
In response to this big deficit, Queensland ended day 2 on 177/3, with just a single run’s lead. Marnus Labuschagne scored 61, but was dismissed before stumps. South Australia are heavy favourites from here, and will be looking to close out the match, and help another Lehmann get their hands on the coveted Sheffield Shield.
