Tasmania emerged victorious but dissatisfied from a five-wicket thumping of New South Wales at Blacktown Olympic Park Oval, having failed to secure the double bonus points they required to maintained the slimmest possible hope of qualifying for the domest
The Report by Daniel Brettig20-Oct-2014
ScorecardTim Paine hit six fours and a six during his 69•Getty Images
Tasmania emerged victorious but dissatisfied from a five-wicket thumping of New South Wales at Blacktown Olympic Park Oval, having failed to secure the double bonus points they required to maintained the slimmest possible hope of qualifying for the domestic limited overs tournament finals.The Tigers required vast wins over the Blues and also South Australia on Wednesday to reach third place in the table and thus take part in Friday’s elimination final, and had some faint hope of doing so after Andrew Fekete’s pace and Xavier Doherty’s spin combined to limit NSW to 172.But run-scoring was difficult on a tiring Blacktown pitch, and though Tim Paine and Australia’s newest Twenty20 recruit Ben Dunk made an ideal start by adding 103, the prospect of piling up 173 in 25 overs was always unlikely.Tasmania remained to have some hope with Paine and Evan Gulbis at the crease, but a nifty spell of cutters from Gurinder Sandhu put the double bonus point beyond reach, leaving Ed Cowan and Jordan Silk to complete a pyrrhic victory.