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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A delighted Stuart Clark lifts the Pura Cup© Getty Images

New South Wales clinched the Pura Cup with a thrilling one-wicket win against Queensland at Brisbane. Requiring 183 for victory in the fourth innings, New South Wales seemed to be cruising at 4 for 158. However, three wickets fell at that score, and then two more at 161, before Nathan Bracken and Stuart MacGill put together 22 for the last wicket to see the Blues home. It was Queensland’s third successive defeat in a Pura Cup final.Earlier, a splendid 116 by Martin Love lifted the Bulls to 268 in their second innings. Love’s knock came off 269 balls and included 19 fours, and was easily the stand-out effort in an innings in which the second-highest score was Shane Watson’s 39. Matthew Nicholson was the star bowler for the Blues, dismissing Love and then wrapping up the tail to finish with 5 for 60.The Blues lost wickets regularly in the run-chase, but Brad Haddin, who had made an unbeaten 68 in the first innings, followed it up with an aggressive run-a-ball 41 to put his team on the brink of victory, before Queensland fought back. Joe Dawes and Andy Bichel took five wickets for just three runs to swing the match Queensland’s way, before MacGill joined Bracken. Queensland had a final chance to snatch victory, but Wade Seccombe, the wicketkeeper, dropped a difficult chance from Bracken with only two required for victory.

Matthew Nicholson took five wickets to restrict the Bulls to 268 in their second innings© Getty Images

After the match, Jimmy Maher, the Bulls captain, was distraught, describing the defeat as the “toughest moment in his career”. “Everyone’s pretty emotional and pretty upset,” Maher said. “It’s like someone’s ripped a great big piece out of your heart. This hurts more than anything. Anyone with any sort of a brain knows that we gave it all we had but it still feels like we let everyone down.”Two points separated us all year and one wicket separated us in the last outing so, as I said before the game, it was the right final. Unfortunately we were on the wrong side of the ledger but full credit to them, they played well.”Haddin, meanwhile, indicated that the Blues had complete faith in the batting prowess of MacGill. “I knew there was a twist and he’s spent a lot of time on his batting. If he gets through the first couple [of balls] he’s got a very good eye and he usually does the job for us.”

Nasser Hussain: set to return at No. 4 after recovering from a viral infection © Getty Images

It may have been guarding Sri Lanka’s southern coastline for the best part of 400 years, but the old Dutch fort at Galle can rarely have witnessed a more magnificent backs-to-the-ramparts effort than England’s tailenders produced to save last week’s first Test. From a position of apparent hopelessness at lunch on the final day, England rallied sufficiently to cling to their positions until nightfall, before being airlifted to Kandy on Sunday in a military helicopter, with their spirits at a higher ebb than at any other stage this winter.It was a match in which an English defeat ought to have been a formality, especially after losing the toss at Muttiah Muralitharan’s most prolific hunting-ground. Instead, they held out, and for all the brave words being uttered publicly by the Sri Lankan players and officials, their failure to break through England’s defences has been a shattering disappointment. On a local radio phone-in on Sunday afternoon, the presenter referred bleakly to “Sri Lanka’s defeat” on more than half-a-dozen occasions, and not one single caller felt the need to correct him.By escaping with a draw, England are already in a stronger position in this series than they were two years ago, when Kandy was the venue for one of the most explosive Test encounters in recent years. England eventually won a nailbiter by just three wickets, although the result said nothing of the main incidents of the match – dodgy umpiring that brought even the mild-mannered Sanath Jaysuriya to the brink of apoplexy, a finger-jabbing face-off between Kumar Sangakkara and the rarely ruffled Mike Atherton, and most crucially of all for England, a hard-fought (if fortunate) century by Nasser Hussain, which brought an end to the most desperate run of form of his career.Two years on, and Hussain is once again at the centre of England’s thoughts for the match which starts tomorrow (0430 GMT). He withdrew on the morning of the first Test after succumbing to flu-like symptoms, but his return to the side was guaranteed as soon as he had come through a tough two-hour net session on Monday afternoon. “He’s a fighter and he has declared himself fit, so Nasser will play and bat at No. 4,” said Michael Vaughan. It will be Hussain’s 90th Test – 89 more than the man who stood in for him at Galle. But Paul Collingwood capped his debut with a crucial second-innings 35, and may yet retain his place if England opt to go into the Kandy Test with six specialist batsmen.That decision will depend on the management’s assessment of the pitch. “We might go in with six batters,” admitted Vaughan, “But we also have to try to get 20 wickets out there as well. We will just try to work out over the next few days what we think the best formula is.” At the centre of England’s considerations will be Andrew Flintoff, whose hit-the-deck bowling style has traditionally made more impression at Kandy than the approach favoured by, say, James Anderson, who is back in the reckoning after twisting his ankle before the first Test.Despite England’s eagerness not to overburden Flintoff, he was nonetheless the most hard-worked of their seamers at Galle, largely because of the measure of control he was able to exert from his high-kicking length. Flintoff sent down 40 overs in the match – almost twice as many as Richard Johnson – and with two more Tests in the next fortnight, this is bound to be a concern.Ironically, one of the best ways of limiting Flintoff’s workload would be to promote him to the new ball in place of Johnson, and hand the donkey work to the third spinner, Robert Croft. This option was considered but ignored at Galle, and is even less likely to be taken up at Kandy, for the simple reason that Johnson and Matthew Hoggard have overs under their belts and deserve another chance to cement their partnership. But Vaughan expects plenty of assistance for the spinners at Kandy’s Asgiriya Stadium. “This pitch is damper than last time,” he remarked. “It will probably dry out with a couple of days’ sunshine, and be a bit slower than last time and help the spinners more.”For a time on Sunday afternoon, Croft looked as though he might be vying for one of two spinning slots. Ashley Giles, the man who produced the most famous asterisk in Galle since Goscinny and Uderzo, was struggling with a throat infection and rated a doubt for Kandy. But he has since been fed some magic potion, and will resume his partnership with Gareth Batty. Giles missed Monday’s net session, but Vaughan termed his absence as “optional resting”.Sri Lanka’s permutations are equally numerous. Although they have announced an unchanged squad for this second Test, it would be a surprise if they entered the match with the same ill-balanced line-up they settled for at Galle. By anyone’s standards, the selection of five spinners was excessive, and it seems likely that one of these, Kumar Dharmasena, will make way for an extra batsman. The two men in contention are Tillekaratne Dilshan and Michael Vandort, who would open the innings if selected. Given the importance of the match, however, Sri Lanka are more likely to go with Dilshan and retain their tried-and-tested opening partnership of Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu.One further change is possible in the bowling department, with Dilhara Fernando fit and ready to resume the new-ball duties at the expense of his namesake Dinusha, who recovered from an ineffectual first innings to bowl a fearsome spell on the final morning at Galle. Muttiah Muralitharan caused a ripple or two when he appeared with his shoulder strapped in ice and failed to bowl during Tuesday’s nets session, but he was rated as a 100% starter by Sri Lanka’s coach, John Dyson.”Our morale is very good,” said Dyson. “On this tour, we gave England a whacking in Dambulla in the one-dayer, and we were the only team that looked like winning at Galle.”All the more galling, then, that they are not 1-0 up with two to play.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Marvan Atapattu, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Tillekaratne Dilshan, 6 Hashan Tillakaratne (capt), 7 Thilan Samaraweera, 8 Kumar Dharmasena, 9 Chaminda Vaas, 10 Dilhara Fernando, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.England (probable) 1 Michael Vaughan (capt), 2 Marcus Trescothick, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Nasser Hussain, 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Chris Read (wk), 8 Gareth Batty, 9 Ashley Giles, 10 Richard Johnson, 11 Matthew Hoggard.

LAHORE: Allied Bank and Pakistan PWD recorded victories in the first round action of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy but not a single ball was bowled in seven other matches on the final day on Tuesday because of rain.Allied Bank collected maximum points against Multan at Multan Cricket Stadium by an innings and 33 runs when they dismissed the home team for 251 in their second innings. Multan, who conceded a 284-run first innings lead, had resumed the day at 184 for seven. Off-spinner Arshad Khan picked up three wickets for 63 runs to finish the match with figures of seven for 117.Pakistan PWD outclassed Dadu at the UBL Sports Complex by 97 runs. Off-spinner Aftab Ahmad picked up four wickets for 13 runs while medium-pacer Shakeel-ur-Rehman bagged four for 52 as Dadu, chasing 246 for victory and starting the day at 117 for five, were shot out for 140.At the National Stadium in Karachi, hosts Karachi Whites were held to a draw by Bahawalpur, who after conceding a 160-run first innings, were 321 for five when the match ended. Opener Mohammad Rashid top scored with 80 that came after 205 minutes of batting during which he received 177 balls.Only 25 balls were bowled at the Saga Cricket Stadium in Sialkot where the home team progressed from an overnight score of zero for one to 10 for one against Gujranwala who had to settle with three first innings lead points.The second round action will begin from December 27.Scores in brief (close of play on day four of four):Group-IAt Sports Stadium, Sargodha:
National Bank: 171 (Sajid Ali 57, Akhtar Sarfaraz 39, Ahmad Hayat 4-50, Mohammad Sarfraz 3-21) and 89-4 (Saeed Anwar 22, Naumanullah 20, Mohammad Sarfraz 3-33)
Sargodha: 218 (Majid Saeed 62, Mohammad Farrukh 31, Mushtaq Ahmad 5-54)
Result: Match drawn (Points Sargodha 3, NBP 0)At LCCA Ground, Lahore:
LCCA Blues: 195 (Latif Gohar 40, Ali Hussain 39, Shahzad Butt 26, Farooq Iqbal 3-14, Moazzam Ali 3-65) and 28-0 (Musharraf Ali 17 not out, Ali Hussain 7 not out)
Faisalabad: 352 (Asif Hussain 121, Ijaz Mahmood 50, Sami-ul-Haq 42, Wasim Haider 42, Sajid Ali 6-82)
Result: Match drawn (Points Faisalabad 3, LCCA Blues 0)Group-IIAt Multan Stadium, Multan:
Multan: 158 (Zeeshan Khan 31, Arshad Khan 4-54, Ata-ur-Rehman 3-38) and 251 (Mohammad Fazil 91 not out, Mohammad Ali Niazi 82, Arshad Khan 3-63, Tanveer Ahmad 3-57)
ABL: 442-8 declared (Bilal Asad 151, Naved Latif 120, Aamir Hanif 50 not out, Usman Tariq 33, Azhar Abbas 4-114)
Result: ABL won by an innings and 33 runs (Points: ABL 12, Multan 0)At National Stadium, Karachi:
Bahawalpur: 167 (Ahsan Raza 31, Nasir Khan 3-42, Owais Athar 3-55) and 321-5 (Mohammad Rashid 80, Ahsan Raza 44, Hasnain Raza 36, Kamran Hussain 35, Bilal Rana 34 not out)
Karachi Whites: 327 (Maisam Hasnain 116, Fahadullah 85, Rizwan Saeed 36 not out)
Result: Match drawn (Points: Karachi Whites 3, Bahawalpur 0)At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi:
Pak PWD: 116 (Saad Wasim 53, Athar Laiq 4-39, Kashif Ali 4-46) and 196 (Iqbal Imam 34, Saad Wasim 31, Athar Laiq 6-34, Khair Ali 3-69)
Dadu: 66 (Shakeelur Rehman 5-15, Ali Raza 3-23) and 149 (Mohammad Saleem 52 not out, Shahid Qambrani 36, Aftab Ahmad 4-13, Shakeel-ur-Rehman 4-52)
Result: Pak PWD beat Dadu by 97 runs (Points: Pak PWD 12, Dadu 0)Group-IIIAt Lahore Country Club, Muridke:
Customs: 276 (Naseem Khan 92, Shadab Kabir 44, Azhar Shafiq 34, Danish Kaneria 5-71) and 165-8 (Naseem Khan 40, Hanif Malik 35)
Habib Bank: 244 (Akram Raza 43 not out, Khaqan Arsal 37, Atiq-uz-Zaman 33, Imran Ali 4-70, Abdul Rauf 3-86)
Result: Match drawn (Points: Customs 3, Habib Bank 0)At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore:
LCCA Whites: 353 (Aamir Sajjad 153, Mohammad Hussain 51, Wahab Riaz 31, Waqas Chughtai 4-111)
Sheikhupura: 397-6 (Mohammad Salim Mughal 137 not out, Mohammad Islam 69 not out, Waqar Ahmad 40, Maqsood Raza 33)
Result: Match drawn (Points Sehikhupura 3, LCCA Whites 0)At Saga Ground, Sialkot:
Gujranwala: 280 (Kamran Younis 61, Iftikhar Ahmad 51, Imran Tahir 5-88) and 275 (Mohammad Khalid 60, Fayyaz Ahmad 42, Asim Munir Butt 38, Tahir Mughal 4-89, Shahid Khan 3-85)
Sialkot: 231 (Faisal Khan 88, Shahid Khan 44, Naved Arif 5-67) and 10-1
Result: Match drawn (Gujranwala 3, Sialkot 0)Group-IVAt Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi:
Rawalpindi: 133 (Babar Naeem 91, Rao Iftikhar 4-37, Saad Janjua 3-22, Mubashir Nazir 3-36)
ADBP: 311-8 (Hafiz Majid 83, Faisal Naved 62, Javed Hayat 57, Mohammad Fayyaz 3-59, Mohammad Akram 3-62)
Result: Match drawn (Points: ADBP 3, Rawalpindi 0)At Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar:
Peshawar: 414 (Mohammad Jahangir Khan 168, Mohammad Fayyaz 68) and 125 (Imranullah 4-48, Sharif Asadullah 3-60)
KCCA Blues: 288 (Sajid Hanif 91, Khurram Manzoor 73, Imranullah 53, Nauman Habib 4-80)
Result: Match drawn (Points: Peshawar 3, Karachi Blues 0)At KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi
PIA: 196 (Kamran Sajid 52, Bazid Khan 45, Mahmood Hamid 32, Jaffar Nazir 5-44) and 1-0
KRL: 238 (Saeed Anwer Jnr 93, Intikhab Alam 42, Umer Gul 6-97)
Result: Match drawn (Points: KRL 3, PIA 0)
On Monday:
Wapda beat Service Industries by 10 runs at At Gymkhana Ground, Okara:
Wapda: 136 (Tariq Aziz 64, Imran Adil 3-38, Mohammad Irshad 3-49) and 177 (Adil Nisar 69, Mohammad Irshad 4-38, Asim Butt 3-36, Imran Adil 3-50)
Service Industries: 110 (Hammad Tariq 24, Faisal Irfan 6-29) and 193 (Rizwan Ahmad 51, Rehan Raffique 30, Mohammad Irshad 30, Kashif Raza 4-48, Waqas Ahmad 4-58)
Points: Wapda 12, Okara 0
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With confirmation that veteran fast bowler Paul Reiffel will play on for at least one more summer, Victoria is still leaving the way open to appoint separate first-class and one-day captains next season.In announcing its list of contracted players for the 2001-02 domestic summer today, the Victorian Cricket Association has confirmed that 35-year old Reiffel will again be one of its key players. But, as yet, there is still no official word as to the complexion of the side’s leadership team for either its Pura Cup or ING Cup campaigns.Before matters need to be finalised at the end of September, the Victorians still have the opportunity to add a maximum of three other players to join the list of fully contracted players – a list from which current Australian Cricket Board contract holders Shane Warne, Damien Fleming, Colin Miller and Ian Harvey are exempt. In naming their initial group of seventeen, though, they have only made marginal changes to the squad which has carried them into successive Pura Cup Final matches during the last two Australian seasons.Instead, it is principally from the signing of their first four ‘rookies’ (under the terms of the newly-introduced system that allows previously unsigned players under the age of 23 to be tied to twelve-month retainers) that the Bushrangers have sourced newcomers for the upcoming season.All-rounder Jonathan Moss and outstanding young leg spinner Cameron White are the two players to win elevation to the core group of contracted senior players for the first time. Each featured prominently in the state’s colours during the closing stages of 2000-01, not least of all in the Pura Cup match against New South Wales in Sydney as the Bushrangers clinched their berth in the Final.Moss, 26, only arrived in Melbourne part of the way through the season after crossing from New South Wales in a bid to advance his career. White, 17, originates from Bairnsdale and is an exciting hard-hitting batsman and accurate leg spinner who has already made a big impression in state underage teams and in district cricket with Dandenong.The four players who have won rookie deals are batsman Travis Birt and all-rounders Liam Buchanan, Andrew McDonald and Tim Welsford. Birt is a current scholarship holder at the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy and each of the quartet has played in both Victorian and Australian representative underage sides.Out of favour among the players contracted last season are batsmen Laurie Harper, Clinton Peake and Graeme Vimpani, and pace bowlers Simon Burriss and Lea Hansen. Off spinner John Davison is also not among the names to have been re-signed, although it is understood that it is merely his preparations for the upcoming ICC Trophy tournament in Canada that have delayed the negotiation of a new deal.Reiffel, for his part, is expected to be re-appointed as captain of the first-class team, thereby continuing to serve in a post that he has held for each of the last two seasons. But there has been conjecture in some quarters that he may not appear in the limited-overs arena again, leading in turn to suggestions that left handed opener Matthew Elliott may be elevated to the Bushrangers’ leadership position in that form of the game.The full list of players with Victorian state contracts for 2001-02 is: Jason Arnberger, Darren Berry, Shawn Craig, Simon Dart, Matthew Elliott, Shane Harwood, Ian Hewett, Brad Hodge, Mathew Inness, Michael Klinger, Michael Lewis, Jonathan Moss, Matthew Mott, Ben Oliver, Paul Reiffel, Peter Roach, Cameron White.Rookie contracts: Travis Birt, Liam Buchanan, Andrew McDonald, Tim Welsford.ACB contracts: Damien Fleming, Ian Harvey, Colin Miller, Shane Warne.

Alasdair Gold has dropped a promising injury update concerning Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Oliver Skipp.

What’s the latest?

In a recent video posted on his YouTube channel, the football.london journalist revealed that the 21-year-old – who has not featured for Tottenham since the 2-0 defeat to Chelsea back on January 23 due to an injury relating to his pubic symphysis – should be in contention for a return to the Spurs side when Newcastle United visit north London on April 3.

Speaking about the current condition of the England U21 international, Gold said: “There are positives from the two-week break. Oliver Skipp – I finally asked about him and got some positive news ahead of the [Newcastle] game.

“Conte said that he’s starting to feel less pain and he said he’d be back after the international break. So, I pushed that a little bit and said: ‘Do you mean the Newcastle game?’ And he said: ‘Let’s see. We need to see how he responds over the next couple of weeks.’ So, fingers crossed that get fixed.

“I think, definitely, Skippy will be the first substitute that comes on in those first few games he’s back. I think Conte will very quickly try and find a way to get him on, especially if energy levels are flagging because he loves Skippy – he trusts him.”

Supporters will love Gold’s update

Considering just how high hopes are for Skipp’s future at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Gold’s claim that the academy product could be set to make a return to first-team action against Newcastle in a little under two weeks’ time is sure to be an update that Spurs fans will love.

Indeed, despite the current campaign being the first season in which Skipp has been a regular for Tottenham, the £18m-rated dynamo has nevertheless proven that he is a talent with an extremely bright future in the game – with FBREF ranking the 21-year-old in the top 10% for passes completed by all defensive midfielders in Europe’s big five leagues, as well as the top 16% for progressive carries, the top 34% for progressive passes and the top 42% for blocks made per 90 minutes.

Furthermore, Conte is clearly a huge fan of the £25k-per-week sensation, stating of Skipp after Spurs’ 2-0 win over Brentford back in December: “This player is a very young. He has really a lot of space for improvement.

“He played with great intensity, great passion, with heart, with soul. I think it was important because, for me, he doesn’t care if he’s only 21-years-old, who deserves to play.

“Today he played well. I think that I can improve him a lot in possession and technically, to look before the play that they have to do. We’re talking about an important prospect and I’m very happy for him, but now he has to continue in this way.

“He has to improve with the ball, no? In possession. This player, without the ball, he works very, very hard. To have him in the midfield together with [Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg] is very, very important.

“For sure, the part that he has to improve is with the ball but in one month I have seen a lot of improvement about Skippy. He’s a player who wants to improve.

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“I think that the present and the future depends on him. If he wants to become a top midfielder. He could become a top midfielder, but he has to continue to work. He has this will, this desire to become an important player for Tottenham and for the present and for the future.”

As such, it is clear for all to see that the return of the England youth international will come as a huge boost to both Conte and his Tottenham side, as Skipp looks as if he will play an incredibly important role in Spurs’ bid to secure a top-four finish in the league this season.

AND in other news: Conte can unearth his next 19 y/o “killer” in THFC sensation who’s an “immense talent”

‘I’ll weep if I can’t play in the first Test’, said a frustrated Gayle © Imran Khan

West Indies face the prospect of going into the first Test against South Africa at Port Elizabeth on Boxing Day without the services of their captain Chris Gayle, who’s yet to recover from the hamstring injury he picked up during the recent tour of Zimbabwe. Gayle admitted his frustrations at having to sit out of the three-day tour game against South Africa A in East London, but also cautioned against making a hasty return.”I’ll weep if I can’t play in the first Test,” Gayle told . “I’m finding it very frustrating to see the boys play while I have to sit here in the dressing room. I’m not the kind of guy that wants to see others play while I sit out. It’s frustrating me endlessly.”However difficult it may be, I just have to try and be patient. If I play too soon and it hasn’t quite healed, I can only do more harm than good and then I’ll probably be out of the rest of the tour.”Gayle’s rehabilitation has progressed slowly, and he isn’t in a position yet to run or jog. His movements have been restricted to walking around the field, and Jacqui Mowatt, the team’s fitness specialist, said it was difficult to say at this stage if he would recover in time for the Test which starts on Wednesday.”At this stage I really cannot say whether Chris will be able to play in the first Test,” Mowatt said. “We’ll just have to wait and see. It is not an injury with which we can take any risks.”Dwayne Bravo has been leading the team in Gayle’s absence since the third ODI against Zimbabwe at Harare earlier this month. He led West Indies to a 3-1 series victory and a five-wicket win in the first Twenty20 international against South Africa at Port Elizabeth on December 16.

‘Mahendra Singh Dhoni is enough. If the other keeper is included, he would just be a passenger’ – Wadekar © AFP

Brushing aside suggestions of including a second wicketkeeper in the 15-member World Cup squad, Ajit Wadekar, the former Indian captain, said the team cannot afford to have two stumpers for the mega event.”We cannot afford to have two keepers in our World Cup squad. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is enough. If the other keeper is included, he would just be a passenger,” he said. “As far as Dinesh Karthik’s inclusion as a batsman is concerned, we have a lot of pure batsmen and if required we also have Rahul Dravid who can perform ‘keeping duties,”Dwelling on the batting department, particularly the openers, Wadekar – the first Indian captain to achieve series victories in West Indies and England in 1971 – said that seeing past performances and the stature of the event, Virender Sehwag should be a part of the squad. “Sehwag should be there among the three openers selected for the World Cup. Looking at his past performances and prowess, especially in the shorter version of the game, he should be included and the upcoming one-day series against Sri Lanka is an ideal opportunity for him to get back among the runs.”With pitches being relaid in the West Indies, two spinners will be sufficient for India to make a balanced bowling attack, Wadekar pointed out: “Two spinners in the form of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh will be sufficient for the World Cup. We already have four medium pacers and it would be the right composition.”

Phil Jaques reinforced his claim to a place in the national side with a superb century – a record fourth in the ING Cup this summer – that led New South Wales to a 12-run win against Tasmania. Jaques smashed 138 out of 311, but Tim Paine threatened to win it for the Tigers with a hundred of his own before a middle-order collapse.Paine and Travis Birt set up the ideal platform to chase the huge total with an opening stand of 179. Birt played the more aggressive innings, hitting two sixes and ten fours in his 89 before falling in the 31st over. Adam Polkinghorne and Michael Di Venuto added quick runs and when Di Venuto became Stuart MacGill’s second wicket, Tasmania needed only 85 off 77 balls. However, NSW managed to slow things down.MacGill dismissed Paine in the 46th over when the equation had risen to 40 off 25, and the pressure proved too much for Tasmania. They lost six wickets for 18 and finished on 9 for 299. MacGill took 3 for 44 but it was Aaron O’Brien’s three-wicket burst at the death that sealed the match for NSW.After choosing to bat, Jaques powered NSW in a 65-run opening stand with Craig Simmons. Matthew Phelps joined Jaques after Ben Hilfenhaus dismissed Simmons and Matthew Nicholson off successive overs and they added 130 in 134 balls. Phelps made 67 while Jaques motored along to a century that included 15 fours and a six. He fell for 138, taking his season tally to 658 in eight matches, and he overtook the three hundreds in a season of Stuart Law, Darren Lehmann, Matthew Hayden, Matthew Elliott and Brad Hodge.

Matthew Hayden’s shoulder injury at Christchurch was the latest in a long line of hiccups for him this season© Getty Images

A shoulder injury, a run drought and a bout of pleurisy have given Matthew Hayden a wretched summer, but entering the second Test tomorrow he feels as hungry as when he was pushing his way back into the Australia side five years ago. Despite being put under intense scrutiny this season he said careers ebbed and flowed and he had enjoyed the extra challenge.”I’ve heard all sorts of things in the last 12 months. It wasn’t an easy summer,” Hayden told the Courier-Mail. “When you first start, you’re battling to get in the side and I still feel I’m maybe at that stage. But that’s not a bad marker to have because it makes you feel sharp and hungry. But no matter what mental or physical state I’m in, I really do try hard when I’m playing cricket.”Hayden could have sat out the first Test last week, when he made 35 and 15, but he was desperate not to give up his place, and a solid training regime has him in better shape for tomorrow’s second Test at Wellington. “It’s a case of not cutting a sucker an even break,” he said. “Even as of the first Test I wouldn’t have been capable of playing a one-day game, but Test cricket is a little different. I just want to play.”Hayden has doubled the time spent in the nets by his teammates, but his shoulder injury will still affect his fielding, which was obviously hampered at Christchurch. “The last time in New Zealand [in 1999-2000] it was a waiting game and it hasn’t been dissimilar to this trip,” he said. “I’ve played pretty well and then I’ve been hanging back and waiting to go.”

Close New South Wales 408 for 5 (Katich 171, S Waugh 157) v Tasmania
Scorecard

Steve Waugh reaches his hundred © Getty Images

The spring run-scoring spree of NSW captain Steve Waugh and Simon Katich continued with a hard-hitting 270-run partnership against Tasmania at Bellerive Oval.The blistering Blues were 408 for 5 at stumps on the first day of the Pura Cup match thanks to the third wicket stand between Katich and Waugh on a pitch dubbed the “Bellerive belter”.An in-form Katich amassed 171 runs with 22 fours and two sixes before coming unstuck in the 73rd over. Dabbing the ball to the off side and racing through for a single, he was run out when left-arm quick Andrew Downton returned to Tigers captain Dan Marsh at the bowler’s end. Katich had earlier delivered his ton with two consecutive boundaries, also propelling the Blues beyond the 200-mark.Waugh was caught at mid-on by Michael Di Venuto for 157 off a ball from Tasmanian paceman Damien Wright, who finished the day with 3-72. Mark Waugh was unbeaten on 20 at stumps, with Brad Haddin on 18.