Victoria recorded a thumping Sheffield Shield win over NSW at the MCG

NSW used to be the nursery for Australian players but things have gone from bad to worse at the MCG

A winless streak which has now grown to 20 months is going to force NSW players to “look deep” and answer some “ age-old cricket questions” after a Sheffield Shield thumping from Victoria at the MCG.

Winless in 15 matches since February 2022, the Blues managed just 275 runs in two innings at the MCG against the previously winless home side and remain the only team without a victory in three rounds of matches this season.

Not even the return of Test spinner Nathan Lyon, who took just a single wicket for the game, could help arrest a worrying form slide for the one-time domestic powerhouse who were all out for 173 in their second innings.

Todd Murphy, the man next in line to both bowl with and potentially take over from Lyon, took three second innings wickets after not being needed in the first when NSW were all out for a paltry 102.

On a bowler-friendly Melbourne wicket, which bodes well for an entertaining Boxing Day Test, the game was over before lunch on the final day leaving NSW skipper Moises Henriques searching for answers.

“We‘re going to have to look deep and an analyse and learn; see what we’re doing and see what the best are doing and see how we can adapt better,” Henriques said.

“They‘re the age-old cricket questions but unfortunately we’re just not doing it very well at the moment.

Nathan Lyon took just one wicket at the MCG (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)

“It was a pretty poor batting performance, especially in the first innings. It’s a team issue at the moment, we are not quite doing what we need to be doing in both batting and bowling.”

For new Victorian captain Will Sutherland, the home ground win was finally something to get excited about after back-to-back losses by an innings to start the season.

Better for the Vics too was the performance of 22-year-old fast bowler Fergus O’Neill who not only took four first-innings wickets but made an invaluable 70 not out in his team’s second innings on a tough wicket for the batters, and was named player of the match.

“We knew it was going to be pretty much impossible for (NSW) to chase that total,” Sutherland said after NSW fell 205 runs short of the 378 needed for victory.

“We could have dropped the bundle after the first couple of games. I’m really proud of the way the boys responded.”