Bollinger breaks Tasmania's spirits

Tasmania 6 for 165 (Bailey 86, Dighton 63, Bollinger 5-48) trail New South Wales 7 for 512 dec (Forrest 177, Haddin 100, Hughes 51, Katich 51) by 347 runs
Scorecard

Doug Bollinger's five wickets set Tasmania a major challenge to avoid the follow-on after Brad Haddin's century helped New South Wales post a threatening 7 for 512 declared. Bollinger snaffled three wickets from seven balls in his first spell and returned for two late additions as the Tigers reached stumps at 6 for 165, needing a further 198 to make the Blues bat again.

Luke Butterworth was on 3 and Brett Geeves had 4 at the close following an insipid batting display from all but George Bailey and Michael Dighton. The pair came together when Bollinger's new-ball efforts had felled Tasmania to 3 for 10 and their 144-run partnership guided the visitors out of the immediate embarrassment zone.

Bailey made 86 and Dighton scored 63 but their strong performances only served to highlight the disappointing results from the rest of the order - no other player reached double-figures. Bollinger initially trapped Michael Di Venuto lbw in the fifth over and three balls later had Travis Birt bowled for 0, before returning in the seventh over to add the Tigers' new captain Daniel Marsh (0) to his collection.

The steadying partnership lasted until late in the day when Grant Lambert bowled Dighton, at which time Bollinger came back to have Bailey caught behind and Sean Clingeleffer bowled two balls later. The Tigers' batting was all the more frustrating for them after they had seen the Blues post a huge score thanks in part to Haddin's 100.

Peter Forrest had set things up on the first day with 177 and Haddin took over the responsibilities on day two. He had good support from Lambert (32), while Beau Casson and Matthew Nicholson each finished unbeaten on 34. The Tigers desperately need a similar lower-order fightback to avoid a completely one-sided affair.