A CLASSY 71 from Tim Paine has helped Tasmania kick off their KFC Twenty20 Big Bash campaign in style with a 63-run win over Western Australia at the WACA on Thursday night. Chasing 190 to win, the Warriors were bowled out for 126 in the 19th over as Tasmania’s Pakistan import Rana Naved-ul-Hasan wrapped up the tail by taking three late wickets.
While the Warriors fizzled, the Tigers sizzled as Payne and Travis Birt (43) combined for an 86-run third-wicket partnership off just 48 balls as Tasmania took the game away from Western Australia during the first 10 overs of their innings.
After WA’s English recruit Sajid Mahmood was hammered for 23 in the 10th over, Tasmania were at 2-106 and looking at a record score in this competition.
The Warriors responded with some increasingly tight bowling in the second half of Tasmania’s innings, restricting the visitors to just 6-189 and a reachable target on a perfect evening for cricket in Perth.
But WA’s chances of reaching it took an almighty hit in their first over as Jason Krejza had Shaun Marsh trapped in front for a third-ball duck and the hosts just kept on losing wickets at regular intervals from then on.
Stand-in Warriors’ captain Adam Voges top-scored with 38 runs off 24 balls, but his innings was just a slight shining light in a poor showing from the Warriors, where even their star import Chris Gayle appeared somewhat subdued, scoring just 22 off 19 balls.
Instead, Gayle’s efforts were eclipsed by Paine on his return from a broken index finger.
The star opener hit two boundaries and four sixes as he took to the Warriors’ attack, belting his 71 off just 57 balls.
He was more than ably assisted by an aggressive Birt, who smashed his 43 off 22 deliveries, which also include two boundaries and four sixes, the pair of them combining at 2-44 and effectively taking the game from the Warriors from then on.
Birt’s dismissal by the impressive Nathan Coulter-Nile (1-30) slowed the tempo of Tasmania’s innings, although the visitors may have had themselves to blame as they looked for the big hits instead of taking the singles and doubles that were readily available.
While the Warriors’ international recruits Gayle and Mahmood failed to inspire, their Victorian one, veteran fast bowler Mick Lewis, claimed three wickets, although he was expensive, conceding 46 runs from his full spell.
Lewis clean-bowled Mark Cosgrove (13) with his very first ball in Warriors’ colours before having Rhett Lockyear (7) caught later in the over, while his third wicket was Paine’s in the 19th over as the Tassie opener fell to a brilliant Tom Beaton catch.
In response, the Warriors were immediately on the backfoot when Marsh was trapped in front by Krejza (2-24) with the third ball and things didn’t get much better when Luke Ronchi (12) lost his wicket just two overs later.
Gayle and Luke Pomersbach (7) looked like patching the innings back together before Tasmania’s Dutch import Ryan ten Doeschate took both their wickets in one over, to finish with figures of 2-3 from just a single over bowled.
As they had in a recent One-Day Cup match, Tom Beaton (16) and Voges looked to fire-up the run chase, but when Beaton struck a Xavier Doherty (2-22) full toss straight down the throat of James Faulkner at long-on there appeared no coming back.
Rana had enjoyed a quality match last year against the Warriors in Hobart, taking four wickets, and he almost levelled this by claiming three scalps at the end for just 19 runs as WA’s innings imploded. (Cricket Australia)