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Gabba wicket leaves Bulls and Tigers battered
Michael Crutcher - 13 December 2001

The Gabba wicket left Queensland and Tasmania battered today but no one complained after the first day of an eventful Pura Cup match.

Queensland emerged with first innings points from the batting carnage, making 132 in reply to Tasmania's 100.

The Tigers were 0-6 in their second innings after facing one over before stumps on a day which seemed it would never end for the batsmen.

They had to cope with a Gabba greentop but Queensland skipper Stuart Law and Tasmanian wrecker Shane Jurgensen defended the pitch.

Law put some of the wickets down to lazy shots while Jurgensen, who claimed 4-16 from 10 overs for the Tigers, couldn't comprehend the constant procession to the pavilion.

Throw in Joe Dawes' 3-4 from nine overs and Andrew Bichel's 4-54 for Queensland, and you would think the batsmen were dancing around a minefield.

"It's not as juiced up or grassy as it has been here in previous years - some people just don't like playing at the Gabba," Law said.

"I remember when you could hear a slurp when you marked your guard here in years gone by but there was nothing like that today.

"At the start of the day, I wouldn't have worried too much if we had to bat."

Law has seen the Gabba more than any other player - today becoming Queensland's most capped player with 134 first-class matches.

He won the toss and the wicket certainly wasn't an issue when the Tigers scooted to 2-45 in 43 minutes.

But Dawes, Bichel and Michael Kasprowicz (2-34), who became the state's second highest wicket-taker with 350, tied a parachute to the visitors.

Tasmania only scraped into triple figures thanks to Michael Di Venuto (28), Jamie Cox (20) and Damien Wright (18), and they were staring at a certain outright loss against the competition's most ruthless team.

Queensland even reached 1-52 before Jurgensen began the best day of his short career with his Brisbane-based parents in the stands.

The 25-year-old lived in Brisbane until five years ago but he showed no remorse towards the team he once wanted to play for.

His first two wickets came in successive balls - Martin Love (10) and Clinton Perren (zero) - but the hat-trick ball was a shocker.

The 25-year-old rebounded with the wickets of Bichel, who slapped 23 from 19 balls, and Nathan Hauritz (four).

He would have taken five wickets if he was awarded a certain LBW against Dawes, but Jurgensen was still smiling at stumps.

"I really couldn't sleep last night, even after I had a couple of beers to settle the nerves," Jurgensen said.

"I was jittery this morning because Queensland have such good batters and it really is tough to get out blokes of that quality."

The first session tomorrow could determine the path of this match, with Queensland's quicks hoping the wicket regains some spice after a night under the covers.

The drama of the day almost made Queensland forget about the late losses of batsman Jerry Cassell (virus) and Ashes quick Ashley Noffke (bruised heel). If Noffke had played, Dawes would probably have carried the drinks, while Brendan Nash made a promising 19 replacing Cassell.

© 2001 AAP


Teams Australia.
First Class Teams Tasmania.
Players/Umpires Stuart Law, Shane Jurgensen, Joe Dawes, Andy Bichel, Michael Kasprowicz, Michael Di Venuto, Jamie Cox, Damien Wright, Martin Love, Clinton Perren, Nathan Hauritz, Jerry Cassell, Ashley Noffke, Brendan Nash.
Season Australian Domestic Season
Scorecard Pura Cup: Queensland v Tasmania, 13-16 Dec 2001


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