Tigers miss chance for big shield finish

TASMANIA s q uandered near perfect bowling conditions for a second straight home Sheffield Shield match as it looks to finish its campaign on a positive note.

The Tigers went wicketless in the opening session against NSW after captain Matthew Wade won the toss and elected to bowl on an overcast, humid morning yesterday, a week after squandering a similar chance against Western Australia with its season on the line.

Blues openers Daniel Hughes and Nick Larkin compiled a 99-run stand before they both failed to kick on, and by stumps honours were evenly shared as the visitors — who need an outright win to secure a spot in the final — finished at 7-311.

South Hobart-Sandy Bay teammates Simon Milenko (2-39) and Hamish Kingston (1-42) dragged the hosts back into the contest with three wickets between drinks and tea, while a double strike with the second new ball from Jackson Bird (3-71) separated a dangerous stand between Jason Sangha and Jack Edwards.

However on both occasions Tasmania was unable to completely rip the momentum its own way, with Trent Copeland (30 not out from 31 balls) hitting out late to put some quick runs on the board.

“They were great bowling conditions, we didn’t utilise them as best we could but at the end of the day we still got seven wickets and we are still in the game,” said Milenko, who came into the side alongside Kingston.

“They played and missed at a lot of balls, a few of those edges go our way you never know what can happen.

“We had patches where we were good, we probably just didn’t maintain it for long enough, consistently enough but there were some positives out of it … but just weren’t quite where we wanted to be or needed to be in that first session.”

Despite having its final aspirations dashed with the loss to Western Australia last week, Milenko insisted the Tigers still have plenty to play for, both individually and as a team.

“There are guys playing for all different stages, there is an Ashes tour coming up that is relevant for a few guys probably, other guys, contracting, there is always stuff going on and everyone wants to do well.

“We want to win to finish the season well and finish as high on the ladder as we can.”