Neser takes five to keep Bulls in Shield final picture
Joel Gould |
Ashes star Michael Neser has continued his strong form with a five-wicket haul to help keep Queensland’s Sheffield Shield final hopes alive.
The 35-year-old Test seamer claimed 5-37 to restrict Tasmania to 198 all out at Bellerive Oval on Saturday.
The Bulls batters have been out of touch in recent Shield matches and it will be up to them to make the most of Neser’s incisions when they resume on a precarious 3-48 on day two.
Big guns Matt Renshaw (10) and Marnus Labuschagne (20) fell cheaply as Tasmania’s seamers Beau Webster and Lawrence Neil-Smith applied the pressure.
Queensland, in third position on the ladder, must win outright against Tasmania and hope ladder leaders Victoria can account for second-placed South Australia in order to make the Shield final.
The Bulls won the toss and went in search of quick wickets. They got them.
Neser found the edge of Caleb Jewell’s bat with the bucket hands of fellow international paceman Xavier Bartlett doing the rest at first slip. Bartlett then had Tim Ward lashing to gully and the hosts were 2-29.
Test opener Jake Weatherald (39 off 46 deliveries) was going along at a decent clip when he drove crisply to extra cover. Hugo Burdon dived to his right and while on his knees threw down the stumps at the striker’s end after Weatherald had turned back in a forlorn attempt to make his ground.
Labuschagne has been in rare form with the ball of late and his wicket-taking ways continued when he cleaned up Charlie Wakim (28) with a classic offcutter on the cusp of lunch.
Neser found a lovely rhythm at the bowling crease and after lunch snared the key wickets of Beau Webster (23) and Jake Doran (31) with deliveries that moved away to take the edge. He then cleaned up the tail.
AAP