Nine out of ten times if you win the toss you have to bat first, the 10th time you have to think about bowling and then somehow you have to bat first – or so the saying goes.
Tasmania captain Matthew Wade sidestepped the old adage at Park 25, sending the NSWs to bat and knocking the Blues to 64 in 30.4 overs.
This is NSW’s Sheffield Shield’s third-highest score to date and the state’s all-time low of 53 against Tasmania in 2006-07 and just 13 higher than its 56 against Western Australia in 1998-99.
Watch live on 2020/21 Marsh Sheffield Shield Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your free trial now and start streaming right away>
South Wales on 64 runs!
1:10
Golden run over? When the test opener flops again, Labuschen comes for another duck
Only three batsmen reached double digits for the team, with Moses Henriques (12) lone in the top six.
No. 8 Mitchell Starc hit three fours for 18 and teamed up with Sean Abbott for the team’s 21-run partnership – No. 7 was NSW’s leading run-scorer with 15 and the last batsman was out.
Peter Siddle (-17–17) and Jackson Bird (was-1-14) were the biggest losers, taking a combined seven wickets.
Siddle started the procession when he found the outside edge of Daniel Higgs in the sixth over – the NSW opener left with two runs off 23 balls.
Hughes soon joined the pavilion through opening partner Nick Larkin, who trailed Bird in five of 11 overs.
Get the latest cricket news, highlights and analytics delivered directly to your inbox with Fox Sports Supportmail. Sign up now !!!
Bird didn’t have to wait long for his second wicket as Curtis Patterson (7) lost a wicket to take a catch in 13th place. Gabe Bell (2-30) then went into action, Daniel Solvey’s edge on the score of two and then Henriques on 12 runs in the 18th over to leave NSW 5-29.
After lunch the Blues were 8-57, with Siddle joining the party with Peter Neville (0) and Stark (18) before Riley Meredith (1-13) with Trent Copeland (2).
The innings didn’t last long after the lunch break, with Bird scoring Nathan Lyon and Abbott to make it 4-14.
