A fine double by Shane Watson helped give Queensland almost total control of the Pura Cup match against South Australia at Adelaide Oval.

Watson (4-25) and Andy Bichel (4-71) routed the Redbacks for 150 before the Australian one-day allrounder scored 61 as he and Jimmy Maher (80) put on 146 for the second wicket at better than a run-a-minute.

The Bulls reached 4-237 in their second innings, an overall lead of 366 with two days remaining.

By stumps, 42 minutes after the scheduled 6pm finish and with the lights on, Andrew Symonds had belted a six and eight fours in a typically belligerent unbeaten 51 off 53 balls.

Watson's allround contribution was a welcome sight for the Bulls and national selectors, after a stress fracture in his back restricted him to just 58 overs in his 10 Pura Cup matches last summer.

The tall, strongly built 23-year-old's days as merely a spectating member of the Australian Test squad, as he was on the just-completed tour of India, are limited if he can keep producing something like the form he showed with ball and bat.

Watson has always been a capable batsman, as he proved with 983 first-class runs (av. 54.61) for Tasmania last season, and some of his booming drives were simply classical.

"I felt like I was hitting the ball really well so I was disappointed not to cash in and get a hundred," Watson said.

"If I'm hitting the ball not exactly as I want to, it doesn't take me too long to fix it."

But it was his lively fast bowling that really struck the eye.

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