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Once again, you couldn’t predict with much confidence what Australia’s batting line-up will look like come The Oval Test, and in what order the batsmen chosen will slot in

Brydon Coverdale in London19-Aug-2013Guessing at Australia’s batting order from Test to Test has become as difficult as tipping the Big 6 on a day at the races. There are always one or two dead certs, perhaps even enough for a quadrella. But correctly predicting all six winners? Good luck with that. So it is again as the Australians prepare for their final match of this campaign at The Oval, where they might become the first Australian team in 35 years to lose four Tests in an Ashes series.Chris Rogers will open, that much is clear. David Warner will presumably partner him. Michael Clarke will probably bat at No. 4, but who’s to say he won’t shuffle down or up a position. Shane Watson will slot in somewhere; he suffered a groin injury in the fourth Test but bowled unscathed in the nets at The Oval on Monday, albeit largely below full pace. Usman Khawaja is unlikely to hold his place at No. 3. Steven Smith is no certainty.Phillip Hughes might be recalled, or he may not. Ed Cowan could be, though that is highly improbable. Matthew Wade is being considered by the selectors as a specialist batsman, which in some ways makes sense given his record of two centuries and three fifties from 12 Tests. The inclusion of Wade, perhaps at No. 6, is just one of many possible Australian team permutations for The Oval Test.Wade was bowling alongside Watson in the nets on Monday, sending through his skiddy seamers at a much nippier pace than would be expected of a small gloveman. The national selector John Inverarity has made no secret of the fact that he likes “multi-skilled” cricketers, but including Wade as a non-keeping batsman who could send down the occasional over would be something different, even for him.Australia have occasionally played two keepers alongside each other in one-day cricket – Haddin played nine ODIs as a specialist batsmen when Adam Gilchrist had the gloves, and five of Gilchrist’s early one-dayers came when Ian Healy was keeping – but it is a rarity in Test cricket. Not since Tim Zoehrer kept and Wayne Phillips batted at No. 3 in Auckland in 1986 have Australia had two glovemen in the one Test team.Ironically, if Wade does play it will leave James Faulkner as the only man from the 18-man Ashes squad not to play a Test on the tour – ironically, that is, because taking the tour matches into account, Faulkner has topped the batting averages having been dismissed only once for 111 runs. But his only real chance of playing at The Oval would have been had Watson struggled to bowl. The Australians need to see how Watson recovers on Tuesday but they are confident he will play.Whatever the case, it seems certain that the batting order will change – again. Not since the first two Tests of the tour of India earlier this year have they used the same top six in the same order in consecutive Tests. Not surprisingly, during that same period Australia have lost seven of eight Tests, though whether the losses cause the flux in the batting order or vice-versa is much like the chicken-or-egg debate.From Chennai to Chester-le-Street, every specialist batsman but Rogers and Khawaja – neither of whom were in the side in India – has moved positions at least once, perhaps more. Staying still has helped Rogers, who has averaged 43 on this Ashes tour, but not Khawaja, who has 114 runs at 19.Allan Border, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Ian Healy have all spoken out in the past couple of weeks about the need for Australia’s selectors to show patience, to pick their best line-up and stick firm with it. In a losing outfit, that’s easier said than done. Not to mention, how can they be sure of their best line-up if the players they choose fail to perform?Whatever the case, if the team keeps losing and the batsmen keep failing, the order and the personnel will keep changing. Whether it’s Wade, Smith, Khawaja or Hughes, this Test will be a chance for someone. Eventually at some point, someone somewhere will stand up. Somehow.

Pakistan left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman is confident of contributing to his team, even as he plays with Saeed Ajmal

Umar Farooq05-May-2013Picked in the Champions Trophy squad alongside Saeed Ajmal and part-time options like Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik, Abdur Rehman may not be a certainty in Pakistan’s first-choice XI. However, the left-arm spinner who last played an ODI in September 2012, said he was optimistic about his chances of playing in England because of his county experience.”I am not concerned about being in the playing XI, as it is a decision they [coach and the captain] take after reading the conditions before the match,” Rehman said during the ongoing training camp in Abbottabad. “But spinners have a definite role in England. Every team has at least two spinners and they have as equal an opportunity to take wickets as fast bowlers. If I get a chance to play, I will definitely make a difference.”Rehman, 33, had experience of English conditions during his short stint for Somerset last summer. In four championship matches he took 27 wickets at an average of 14.18. His best performance came against Worcestershire, when he picked up nine wickets in the first innings and finished with a 14-wicket haul in the match. He also took nine wickets in three CB40 matches, with a personal best of 6 for 16 against Nottinghamshire.”I have gained plenty of experience from my county stint last year and this gives me an edge,” Rehman said. “Though I haven’t played international cricket in a long time, I have been practising regularly. I know I will play in the shadow of Saeed Ajmal, but I will try my best to contribute to the success of the team.”Rehman made headlines last year when he was banned for 12 weeks after testing positive for cannabis during the county season. He completed his ban in December, but missed the tour to India and the Champions League T20 for his side Sialkot Stallions. He was part of the squad for the tour to South Africa but was not picked for any of the Tests or ODIs.”During the South Africa tour, I didn’t play in the team as it was a decision taken by the team management and I have no hard feelings,” Rehman said. “The combination that played there was the best possible one. As far as I am concerned, I didn’t lose hope and was equally active in South Africa and here.”On the third day of the Abbottabad camp, there were a few rain interruptions but the batsmen had ample practice. Mohammad Hafeez’s back-foot punch, perhaps his favourite shot, has brought him many runs but he has generally struggled against seam bowling outside the subcontinent. On Saturday, Hafeez had an individual batting session with assistant coach Shahid Aslam and worked on facing swinging deliveries.”I am working on my normal technique,” Hafeez said. “It’s not like we are here to do something special in these five to six days, but the main objective is to acclimatise with the conditions that we will face in the next one-and-a-half months.”As players, we have to improve performances ourselves with the help of the support staff. We have a good blend of young and experienced players in the team who are capable of producing a good result.”

Rangana Herath’s 4 for 37 and an unbeaten 82 for Lahiru Thirimanne took Sri Lanka to a 28-run Duckworth-Lewis victory

Andrew Fidel Fernando12-May-2013
ScorecardLahiru Thirimanne’s unbeaten innings guided Sri Lanka in their chase•Getty ImagesRangana Herath’s 4 for 37 and an unbeaten 82 for Lahiru Thirimanne took Sri Lanka to a 28-run Duckworth-Lewis victory in the opening match of the tri-series in Kandy. The tournament is primarily aimed at preparing the Sri Lanka side for the Champions Trophy in June but only six of the players picked to travel to England can participate, as the remainder are playing in the IPL. Sri Lanka, captained by Dinesh Chandimal, were well ahead of the D/L par score, at 195 for 3 from 35.1 overs, when bad light stopped play.Sri Lanka Combined began strongly, having been sent into bat, as Mahela Udawatte and captain Dimuth Karunaratne combined for a 111-run opening stand, which came at 5.5 an over. Udawatte made 63 from 76, while Karunaratne hit 49, but both men were undone by Herath, who trapped them lbw in his first spell. Herath also quickly dismissed wicketkeeper-batsman Kaushal Silva, who had been in supreme form during the first-class competition that finished in April.A 91-ball 79 for Jehan Mubarak helped restore calm to SL Combined’s innings, as he built a partnership with Sachithra Serasinghe, before stepping up the tempo alongside Chaturanga de Silva. At Mubarak’s demise in the 49th over, SL Combined were on 260, and a burst from de Silva before his dismissal for 42 from 31, helped elevate the score to 277. Nuwan Kulasekara took two wickets for Sri Lanka but went at more than six an over, and Chanaka Welegedara took the other scalp.Sri Lanka began poorly in response, losing both openers inside the first five overs, but Chandimal joined Thirimanne at the crease to contribute 52 from 63 to a 124-run stand. Notable in Chandimal’s innings was that he only made 12 runs in boundaries, which may be evidence of technical improvements, owing to the work he had foregone the IPL to do. He has in the past relied on boundaries for a large percentage of runs – often to his detriment in limited-overs cricket.At his fall in the 26th over, Sri Lanka were at 135, and would not lose another wicket. Thilina Kandamby was unbeaten on a run-a-ball 34 alongside Thirimanne, who had hit seven fours and a six in his innings. The teams play again on Monday, at 9.45am, before Sri Lanka play Sri Lanka A on Tuesday and Thursday.

Mahela Jayawardene has lauded the efforts of his seam bowlers in the ongoing ODI series, and is confident Sri Lanka can achieve a successive bilateral series win in Australia, having also won there in 2010

Andrew Fernando22-Jan-2013Mahela Jayawardene has lauded the efforts of his seam bowlers in the ongoing ODI series, and is confident Sri Lanka can achieve a successive bilateral series win in Australia, having also won there in 2010. Sri Lanka have earned an unassailable position in the series, leading 2-1, with the final match to be played in Hobart on Wednesday.The visitors looked likely to wrap up the series in game four in Sydney, but an hour’s drizzle rendered playing conditions unfair, by the officials’ reckoning, and that was deemed just cause for abandonment. Sri Lanka have gained the ascendancy in each of the last three ODIs through their bowlers, who have restricted Australia to 170, 74 and 222 for 9, primarily through skilful swing bowling.Jayawardene praised his fast bowlers’ exploitation of the two new balls in ODIs, as he cut a relaxed and assured figure ahead of his final match as captain of Sri Lanka. “Given the way we have played and how we’ve controlled things, the boys will be pretty happy and I’m pretty confident that we’ll be able to close this series in Hobart,” Jayawardene said. “The quality of the bowling has been pretty good. A lot of the batsmen in world cricket will struggle with the way our guys have delivered. With the two new balls, that’s always going to happen going forward. That’s something we’ve spoken about as well – how we’re going to navigate the new rules. All over the world, you’re trying to get wickets up front and it’s vital that you bat well in the top four.”Nuwan Kulasekara has been the best of Sri Lanka’s bowlers, having reaped 10 wickets at an average of 12.90 and an economy-rate of 3.30. His astonishing spell of inswing bowling consigned Australia to their third-worst ODI total ever in Brisbane, and he was again the best of Sri Lanka’s bowlers in Sydney, taking 3 wickets for 30 from his 10 overs. But although he has been the series’ most penetrative bowler, Kulasekara had gone wicketless in the Hobart Test match at the beginning of the tour. Jayawardene said Kulasekara’s return to his favoured format likely sparked a resurgence in form.”He had the control in the Test match, but not the success,” Jayawardene said. “He had a two-week layoff with injury, but he’s come back into the one-dayers very strongly with the white ball. He’s got a lot of confidence with what he’s doing with it. Both he and Lasith [Malinga] have a very good partnership for us, and I’m looking forward to how he’s going to go about it in Hobart as well.”Sri Lanka view this series as a chance to build familiarity with Australian conditions in preparation for the 2015 World Cup, and Jayawardene was pleased with the results his side had been able to put together in their last three limited-overs series in the country. Sri Lanka followed up their 2010 series win with a finals appearance in the 2012 tri-series, and have beaten Australia 8-5 at home in that time.Encouragingly for the visitors, it has largely been the younger players, who will likely feature in the 2015 World Cup, who have been the primary architects of their success. Dinesh Chandimal scored heavily in last year’s tri-series, and also notched a 73 in his only innings in the ongoing one, while Lahiru Thirimanne made a maiden hundred at No. 3, to close out the second match in Adelaide. Angelo Mathews has also played some memorable innings in Australia, in addition to impressing with the ball, and even Kushal Perera has been assured with the bat and behind the stumps in his appearances so far.”The last three or four tours that we’ve come here with the one-day squad, we’ve been pretty consistent,” Jayawardene said. “We’ve played a lot of good cricket. That’s something very positive for the team. The youngsters like Chandi, Thiri and Angelo have learnt a lot playing here. That’s a great investment for the future.”Jayaywardene was also pleased at his side’s mettle to come back from a poor Test series and a heavy defeat in the first ODI, to now be in a position where they cannot lose the series.”I think the turnaround has been fantastic. The Test series was disappointing and we never played to our potential. In the one-dayers, we had new guys coming to a settled set-up, but the Melbourne game was disappointing. But the guys have shown determination and character over the last few one-dayers. Hopefully we can finish it on a very positive note.”

Australian opener Ed Cowan has said he raised concerns with the coach Mickey Arthur and captain Michael Clarke about the slipping standards within the squad

Brydon Coverdale in Delhi20-Mar-2013Australian opener Ed Cowan has said he raised concerns with the coach Mickey Arthur and captain Michael Clarke about the slipping standards within the squad in the lead-up to the sacking of four players in Mohali. Arthur, Clarke and the team manager Gavin Dovey collectively took a hard line as a result of the general slide in behaviour and told four players, including the vice-captain Shane Watson, that they would not be considered for the Mohali Test after failing to complete a task set by Arthur.However, the team management has been at pains to explain that the decision was not the result of a one-off lapse and that standards within the wider squad had been unacceptable during the tour. It later emerged that some of the minor infractions that had built up included players being late to meetings or physio appointments, wearing the wrong uniforms and giving back-chat.Arthur has spoken of the way senior players like Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey helped maintain standards by their own work ethic and their retirements had left a gap in experience and example. As a result, Arthur said the developing group needed to be brought into line, and Cowan said he had spoken to Arthur and Clarke about what he felt were “little things” that were not being done.”A few little things had crept in,” Cowan said. “I had a few conversations with the coach and the captain and the manager about those little things and I’m sure a few other guys did as well. It wasn’t just, ‘right, this is the moment’, there had been a build-up and there always comes a time where there is a breaking point and that happened in Mohali. But now it feels there is some solidarity behind the team moving forward and we’re excited by that unity and why it has been created.”Nine days ago, unity was about the last word that would have been used to describe Australia’s squad. Not only had four players been unceremoniously stood down for a Test, one of those players, the vice-captain Shane Watson, flew home for the birth of his first child and voiced his displeasure on the way. That led to a public exchange of words between Watson and Cricket Australia’s general manager of team performance Pat Howard and questions were raised about Watson’s status as a “team player”.However, over the past few days the tensions have eased and Watson rejoined the squad in Delhi for training on Wednesday and could yet captain the side for the fourth Test if Clarke is ruled out due to his back injury. Howard has also appeared in Delhi and the vibe at training on Wednesday was good, all things considered.”We have been unified by what happened in Mohali and there is no doubt the tough decisions needed to be made if we aspire to be the best team in the world, which we do,” Cowan said. “There had to be some tough decisions. It showed immense courage by the leadership group to make those decisions and the group is right behind that. It feels as though we have come together behind that and we feel quite buoyed by the concept of moving forward together.”Moving forward as one has been a key focus for the Australians over the past week, and part of that is senior men needing to show the way in a relatively young group. Although he has played only 16 Tests, Cowan is one of the leaders and if Watson does take charge in Delhi, Cowan would be a natural contender for the vice-captaincy given his mature approach. He said if the opportunity ever arose for him to captain Australia he would jump at the chance.”Everyone in the team would love to given the opportunity,” Cowan said. “My focus is to be a leader around the group, to make sure that Michael has adequate support, to be a leader in terms of how I prepare, how I carry myself on and off the field and how I contribute to bringing guys through and if the opportunity arises because a few people fall over or are injured or whatever then that’s something you would love to do, you would never turn that opportunity down.”For me leadership is much more than having a ‘c’ next to your name. It is about living the values and ideals that the team have put in place and hopefully people migrate to that. It’s not just one or two people, it’s five, six, seven core guys contributing to the team moving forward culturally and on the field.”

Nathan Reardon and Chris Hartley saved Queensland from embarrassment on the first day against New South Wales in Canberra, where the Bulls stumbled to 4 for 18 after choosing to bat

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2012
Scorecard
Nathan Reardon and Chris Hartley saved Queensland from embarrassment on the first day against New South Wales in Canberra, where the Bulls stumbled to 4 for 18 after choosing to bat. At stumps, Queensland had recovered to 7 for 198, with Ben Cutting on 23 and Cameron Gannon on 4, after the loss of Reardon for 71 late in the day.Doug Bollinger picked up two wickets from the first three balls of the match, trapping Wade Townsend lbw for a golden duck and Usman Khawaja lbw for a second-ball duck. Bollinger’s fellow left-armer Josh Lalor then got rid of Joe Burns for 1 from 30 deliveries and Peter Forrest for 17 to leave the Bulls in serious trouble, before Reardon and Hartley staged a recovery.Their 117-run partnership put the match back on a slightly more even keel, although both men had lives early – both dropped by Steven Smith. Reardon was put down on 2 and Hartley on 8 off the bowling of Bollinger, and the misses proved costly for New South Wales.Eventually it was the debutant legspinner Adam Zampa who removed both batsmen, before the captain Steve O’Keefe chipped in with the wicket of Nathan Hauritz.

ESPNcricinfo previews the third T20 international between England and South Africa at Edgbaston

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan11-Sep-2012Match FactsSeptember 12, 2012, Edgbaston
Start time 6.30pm (1730GMT)England’s batsmen could do with a good showing in the third and final T20I•AFPThe Big PictureEach of the series played between these two teams this season has come down to a final-match decider but, as with the Test matches, the best England can hope for is a share of the trophy. Given they needed 13 off five balls at Old Trafford to be ahead of the D/L target that is probably a position they are fortunate to be in.The Nine9 in Manchester was a hectic affair: batsmen swinging from the hip, the ball skewing off edges, fielders slipping on a wet outfield, a couple of wonderful catches, another England drop and some impressive quick bowling. On balance it is South Africa who still hold an edge, particularly with the strength of their batting, which is in sharp contrast to the problems England have.It was instructive to watch Hashim Amla’s approach to what was basically a slog-fest. He barely slogged. Sure, he tried to hit the ball hard, and occasionally lost his shape, but his boundaries were well-timed, well-placed shots and not just the wild hacks attempted by Craig Kieswetter, Alex Hales and Luke Wright.Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn were a handful on a lively pitch – unlike what is expected in Sri Lanka – while most of England’s bowlers performed well, too. Two-over spells are difficult to analyse, but Graeme Swann did not conceded a boundary and Jade Dernbach just the one.For both sides this is their final outing before departing for the subcontinent and whoever wins will feel they can take a little bit of momentum and confidence – although it is difficult to gauge much from either camp with no players having spoken for three days. But whatever happens at Edgbaston it won’t count for much when the World Twenty20 starts.Form guide
(Most recent first, completed matches)
EnglandL WWWL
South Africa WWWWLWatch out forJade Dernbach is a bowler to watch with an open mind. When it goes wrong it can get very ugly but he has a unique set of skills that can make him a match-winner. He took wickets at Chester-le-Street but was expensive, then two overs at Old Trafford cost just 12 runs. On the slow pitches in Sri Lanka his ability to bowl yorkers and slower balls will be invaluable. However, it will not always go to plan.Dale Steyn has bowled beautifully since returning to the side midway through the one-day series, with a combination pace, control and swing. He had a wry smile on his face at Old Trafford when Alex Hales outside edged him for six over third man. With South Africa keen to manage Steyn’s workload he has not always been a regular in the T20 side – playing 23 matches – but bowling like he is, makes the attack formidable.Team newsThe indications are that England are settling on their main bowling attack having played the same combination in both matches, supplemented by Luke Wright in place of Ravi Bopara in Manchester, although they may yet decide to tinker when they get to Sri Lanka. Michael Lumb, Danny Briggs and Tim Bresnan are the three of the World Twenty20 squad yet to play.England (possible) 1 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Luke Wright, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Jos Buttler, 7 Samit Patel, 8 Graeme Swann, 9 Stuart Broad (capt), 10 Steven Finn, 11 Jade DernbachEarlier in the series, AB de Villiers indicated he would like to give all his players a game at some point, which would mean bringing Wayne Parnell and Farhaan Behardien into the side – but they will also want to win the series.South Africa (possible) 1 Richard Levi, 2, Hashim Amla, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt & wk), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Johan Botha, 9 Robin Peterson, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Morne MorkelPitch and conditionsEdgbaston has suffered as much as anywhere from all the rain this season and the forecast suggests a risk of interruptions. When players did get on the pitch for a full Friends Life t20 innings, scores ranged from 149 to 173, which is ideal for the format.Stats and trivia If England level the series they will jump above South Africa to the No. 1 spot in the Twenty20 rankings Graeme Swann became England’s leading T20 wicket-taker when he clung on to the caught-and-bowled to remove JP Duminy in the second game England have not played a Twenty20 international at Edgbaston

The fast bowler Jackson Bird has kept Tasmania firmly in the race to make the Sheffield Shield final with a five-wicket haul in Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2012
ScorecardIt was another excellent day for Jackson Bird•Getty ImagesThe fast bowler Jackson Bird has kept Tasmania firmly in the race to make the Sheffield Shield final with a five-wicket haul in Hobart. The Tigers skittled the competition leaders Western Australia for 142 and by the close of the first day they were already halfway to first-innings points, having reached 1 for 72 with Ed Cowan on 46 and Nick Kruger on 5.Tasmania need at least two points from the match to have any chance of making the final, while the Warriors can still miss out should they lose the game outright. They faced a challenge when they were sent in by the stand-in captain Ricky Ponting on a Bellerive Oval greentop and Bird removed both openers for single-figure scores.Shaun Marsh and Adam Voges steadied for the Warriors until Marsh edged behind for 32 off the bowling of James Faulkner, who picked up Travis Birt two balls later. But it was Bird who really troubled the batsmen, collecting Luke Ronchi, who top-edged a bouncer, and Jason Behrendorff, who was caught at mid-off.The big wicket was that of Voges, who on 49 was taken at slip off the bowling of Bird, having already had two lives in the difficult conditions. Bird finished with 5 for 32 off 19 overs, an outstanding effort and his fourth five-wicket haul this summer, remarkable for a man who did not make his first-class debut until November.In reply, Tasmania’s top order got through until stumps for the loss of only one wicket, that of Steve Cazzulino for 18. The Tigers had made three late changes due to a food-poisoning outbreak in the side but that didn’t seem to affect their performance on the first day, and the Warriors face an uphill battle to secure their place in the final.

Malaysia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are among the countries Pakistan are considering as options to host their limited-overs series against Australia

Umar Farooq20-May-2012Malaysia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are among the countries Pakistan are considering as options to host their limited-overs series against Australia in August. The series was set to be held in Sri Lanka, but SLC pulled out last week due to a clash in the series schedule with the first season of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL). The PCB said that a final decision on the venue will be taken within a week.”It was indeed a setback to our plans when Sri Lanka pulled out,” Intikhab Alam, PCB director international cricket, told reporters in Lahore. “But they have their own reasons and we have no problem with it however and have been searching for alternatives. Malaysia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are the options we have marked. A decision will be taken within next one week.”In March this year, the SLC had agreed in principle to host the series. At that time, there had been no decision on the SLPL. The proposed first season of the league had been cancelled last year and it was only earlier this month that a new deal was signed by the Sri Lanka board to hold the SLPL this August.Pakistan and Australia are due to play five ODIs and three Twenty20 internationals against each other. The original plan was to play just one Twenty20, but with the World T20 immediately after the series, the countries’ boards have agreed to play two extra matches.Pakistan have had to play their home series in neutral venues since the attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in March 2009. While the United Arab Emirates has been Pakistan’s usual “home” venue since then, the venue was ruled out due to the extreme heat and the month of Ramzan.Pakistan’s last home series against Australia was played in England, in the summer of 2010, after which they have hosted all their home series, including one against Sri Lanka and England, in the UAE.Malaysia last hosted an international series in 2006, when India, Australia and West Indies played a tri-series in Kuala Lumpur.

Ricky Ponting was at the forefront as Tasmania made up for a washed out day one by clambering all over South Australia in the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Mar-2012
ScorecardRicky Ponting was at the forefront as Tasmania made up for a washed out day one by clambering all over South Australia in the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval.Having bowled the Redbacks out for 126, the visitors strode to 3 for 199 by the close, Ponting unbeaten on 91 after his captain George Bailey had collected 65 only to be dismissed shortly before stumps by Nathan Lyon.Needing outright points to give themselves the best chance of qualifying for the Shield final, the Tigers orchestrated a dramatic tumble after SA had reached 1 for 83 via a solid half century from the young top order batsman Tom Stray. From that point the Redbacks lost 9 for 43 either side of lunch, as James Faulkner and Jackson Bird sliced through the hosts.When the Tigers batted, Ed Cowan was out early, dragging Joe Mennie onto the stumps, and Mark Cosgrove retired hurt after he was struck a heavy blow on the hand by a ball from Gary Putland. However Ponting and Bailey were fluent in taking Tasmania to a dominant position.