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HARD-nosed discipline and a relatively tame Blundstone Arena pitch has seen Tasmania crawl to stumps at 2-176 after an intriguing first day of the Sheffield Shield final in Hobart. After George Bailey won the toss and opted to bat, Tigers’ openers Jordan Silk (82 not out) and Mark Cosgrove (58) batted stubbornly for five hours in adding 133 to keep a frustrated Queensland attack at bay for two-and-a-half sessions.
Silk’s unbeaten 291-ball innings featured nine boundaries and was another indication of his rising star and evidence of a player with huge potential, coming hot on the heels of his maiden first class ton against Victoria last week.
While the late scalps of Cosgrove and Alex Doolan (six) meant the day wasn’t completely lost for the Bulls, their position could have been even better had Chris Hartley clung on to a tough chance to remove Silk in the last half-hour of play.
Having grafted his way to 74, Silk was almost cut in half by a jagging James Hopes (0-28) delivery that feathered the inside edge and flew low to Hartley’s left, the ‘keeper wrong-footed and unable to grab a hot chance.
The 20-year-old opener also had a reprieve on four when Ryan Harris dropped a chance at first slip from Nathan Hauritz during the first session, but was an image of concentration throughout and showed immense maturity for a player in just his third Shield match.
The first hour had provided Queensland with some hope of making inroads into the Tasmanian line-up, both Harris (1-46) and Hopes generating enough sideways movement for a couple of close leg-before-wicket shouts.
But once the shine went off the ball the visitors were forced to work hard in the face of stubborn Tasmanian resistance and a game plan that appeared to value time spent at the crease more than runs.
Having seen off the new ball, the blossoming Tasmanian opening combination continued in circumspect fashion, seemingly content with slowly grinding the Bulls down as they reached lunch at 0-41.
Playing in just their third match together, Cosgrove and Silk posted their second century stand shortly after tea and continued in the rich vein of form that saw them combine for partnerships of 120 and 98 against Victoria.
The partnership was eventually broken when Michael Neser (1-40) enticed a false shot from Cosgrove, a full ball travelling back onto leg stump via the left-hander’s inside edge to end his 217-delivery stay.
While Hopes was relatively defensive in his field settings for most of the day, the Tigers pair were certainly in no hurry and seemed content to blunt the attack at every opportunity.
Doolan may have missed the memo, however, caught by Peter Forrest at first slip after wafting at a lifting delivery outside off stump to gift Harris his first scalp of the day.
This brought Ricky Ponting to the crease, the veteran Tiger unbeaten on 20 at stumps having opened his account with a first-ball boundary through point.
With showers forecast in Hobart during the weekend, the Bulls will need to make significant inroads today to stop the Tigers batting them out of the final before they’ve even had a chance to reply.
Silk’s unbeaten 291-ball innings featured nine boundaries and was another indication of his rising star and evidence of a player with huge potential, coming hot on the heels of his maiden first class ton against Victoria last week.
While the late scalps of Cosgrove and Alex Doolan (six) meant the day wasn’t completely lost for the Bulls, their position could have been even better had Chris Hartley clung on to a tough chance to remove Silk in the last half-hour of play.
Having grafted his way to 74, Silk was almost cut in half by a jagging James Hopes (0-28) delivery that feathered the inside edge and flew low to Hartley’s left, the ‘keeper wrong-footed and unable to grab a hot chance.
The 20-year-old opener also had a reprieve on four when Ryan Harris dropped a chance at first slip from Nathan Hauritz during the first session, but was an image of concentration throughout and showed immense maturity for a player in just his third Shield match.
The first hour had provided Queensland with some hope of making inroads into the Tasmanian line-up, both Harris (1-46) and Hopes generating enough sideways movement for a couple of close leg-before-wicket shouts.
But once the shine went off the ball the visitors were forced to work hard in the face of stubborn Tasmanian resistance and a game plan that appeared to value time spent at the crease more than runs.
Having seen off the new ball, the blossoming Tasmanian opening combination continued in circumspect fashion, seemingly content with slowly grinding the Bulls down as they reached lunch at 0-41.
Playing in just their third match together, Cosgrove and Silk posted their second century stand shortly after tea and continued in the rich vein of form that saw them combine for partnerships of 120 and 98 against Victoria.
The partnership was eventually broken when Michael Neser (1-40) enticed a false shot from Cosgrove, a full ball travelling back onto leg stump via the left-hander’s inside edge to end his 217-delivery stay.
While Hopes was relatively defensive in his field settings for most of the day, the Tigers pair were certainly in no hurry and seemed content to blunt the attack at every opportunity.
Doolan may have missed the memo, however, caught by Peter Forrest at first slip after wafting at a lifting delivery outside off stump to gift Harris his first scalp of the day.
This brought Ricky Ponting to the crease, the veteran Tiger unbeaten on 20 at stumps having opened his account with a first-ball boundary through point.
With showers forecast in Hobart during the weekend, the Bulls will need to make significant inroads today to stop the Tigers batting them out of the final before they’ve even had a chance to reply.
