A rare domestic one-day cricket hat-trick by paceman Nathan Bracken wasn't enough to prevent NSW losing a helter-skelter ING Cup match against Victoria at the MCG today.

Bracken's dismissal of Cameron White, Darren Berry and Shane Harwood - all for ducks - from successive balls left Victoria reeling at 8-88 chasing the Blues' meagre total of 120 in sweltering conditions.

But the steady Simon Dart (10no) and swashbuckling tailender Ian Hewett (29no) survived some anxious moments to get the Bushrangers home for a two-wicket win and off the bottom of the ING Cup standings.

NSW wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and first slip Mark Higgs were both unable to hold on to an edge from Hewett off Stuart Clark's bowling with Victoria 11 runs short of victory, while Michael Bevan was inches short of reaching a skied Hewett with three runs needed.

"It was just one of those days," said Hewett, who earlier conceded 12 wides in an erratic five-over spell with the new ball.

"I got dropped and as soon as that happened I thought 'this is our day'."

Hewett and Dart put on an unbeaten 33 for the ninth wicket - the third-highest partnership by either side on a day when the fast bowlers took full advantage of a bouncy MCG wicket.

Early on, the Blues looked anything other than the team topping the ING Cup table as they capitulated to be all out for 120, with only Graeme Rummans (30) outscoring a sundries tally of 23 which included 19 runs conceded to wides.

Shane Harwood worked up a good head of steam to finish with 3-22 and had two catches dropped off his bowling, while Ian Harvey and Damien Fleming chimed in with two scalps apiece as the Blues lost their last eight wickets for 63.

The Blues gave themselves a chance of victory by running out both Victorian openers Rob Bartlett (1) and Matthew Elliott (18) - the latter to a brilliant throw from Bevan with only one stump to aim at.

Then Bracken went to work.

After dismissing highly rated duo Brad Hodge (18) and Harvey (17), he began the hat-trick by clean bowling White.

He then had Berry controversially caught behind from the following ball, before skittling Harwood's stumps.

The left-armer finished with 5-38, although there were several eyebrows raised by skipper Bevan's decision not to give him a 10th over with the game in the balance.

"Really I don't think we were ever in a position where we should have won," said Bracken.

"Even when we had them eight down there's still two wickets to get and anything can happen."

The only other players to have taken hattricks in Australian domestic one-day cricket were Victorian paceman Alan Hurst in 1978-79 and WA's Rob Baker two years ago.

Bracken's excellent limited-overs international form last year earned him a berth in the 2001 Ashes squad, but he has only been selected in the Australia A squad for the upcoming one-dayers.

"I didn't expect to be in the (Australian) one-day side, in my opinion I wasn't bowling well enough," he said.

© 2002 AAP