NSW were a bowler down for much of the day after Sean Abbott split his webbing
Tasmania 7 for 258 (Paine 61*, Wade 57, Starc 3-65) v New South Wales
Matthew Wade and Tim Paine struck fighting half-centuries but New South Wales chipped away on the opening day in Hobart as Mitchell Starc took three wickets in the final session.
Starc and Trent Copeland shared five on a day where they had to shoulder an added workload after Sean Abbott was forced off during his seventh over having split the webbing of his right hand fielding a drive off his own bowling. New South Wales were also without David Warner, Moises Henriques and Josh Hazlewood who had been rested and won’t play another Shield match this season due to IPL commitments.
They began narrowly behind leaders Queensland and put Tasmania into bat but there was only one wicket to show for their morning efforts with Copeland producing a good delivery to find Jordan Silk’s outside edge.
Copeland struck again straight after lunch when Charlie Wakim edged low to Starc at fourth slip but the Blues had to work hard for their successes.
Wade reached his fifty from 128 balls with a textbook straight drive, in his first first-class match since the India Test series, and added 66 with Caleb Jewell but both fell in the space of eight balls to put a different complexion on the innings.
Jewell nicked behind against Harry Conway and then Wade was angry at himself for being lured into a drive by Nathan Lyon which he edged to slip.
It meant that Paine and Jake Doran were both fresh to the crease but for a period either side of tea they held firm until a brute of a delivery from Starc brushed Doran’s glove through to the keeper.
Paine then found a solid partner in Beau Webster as the pair added 67 for the sixth wicket, the best stand of the day, during which Paine went to his fifty off 92 balls with slashing square cut.
However, Tasmania’s hopes of crossing 300 were set back when Starc struck twice in three balls with Webster edging a drive to slip and Jarrod Freeman fending to short leg.