Injured South Australian all-rounder Bradley Young was tonight unbeaten on 102 after playing a major role in a South Australian fightback on day one of the Pura Cup match against New South Wales at Adelaide Oval.

The Redbacks were 6-291 at stumps, a position of relative strength that was almost unimaginable when SA was 2-9 after the opening 65 minutes and 4-77 soon after lunch, with star batsmen Darren Lehmann (11) and Greg Blewett (38) already dismissed.

Young, who rated himself only a 20 per cent chance of playing after injuring ligaments in his right wrist in a one-dayer against NSW on Saturday, was involved in the two major lower order partnerships that swung the game SA's way.

Young and Ben Higgins, who made his highest first-class score of 80, put on 102 for the fifth wicket.

Then wicketkeeper Graham Manou, who was unbeaten on 37 at stumps, joined Young in an unbroken stand of 94 in 98 minutes for the sixth wicket to put the Redbacks in control.

Young, whose wrist was heavily bandaged, had to take anti-inflammatory medication and pain-killers in order to take his place in the side after a pre-game fitness test this morning, before scoring what was just his second first-class century.

"I told blokes yesterday I had no chance of playing, but it settled down fairly quickly," he said.

"It jars a bit if you swing with your lower hand...I had to play today without hitting with the bottom hand, which makes a difference."

The NSW pace attack of Stuart Clark, Don Nash and Nathan Bracken had SA looking very cautious in the opening session, with Clark and Bracken taking two wickets each of the first four.

But batting got easier in the second session and there was little assistance for the spinners.

Blues captain, leg-spinner Stuart MacGill, took the wickets of Higgins and Mike Smith (nine), but he also gave away plenty of runs through loose deliveries which were struck to the boundary, conceding 101 runs in his 23 overs.

A waist-high full toss from MacGill on the third-last ball of the day which Young belted through mid-wicket for three ensured the all-rounder was not stuck on 99 overnight.

© 2002 AAP