Queensland threw the gauntlet down on day three but Tasmania refused to come to the party, leaving the sides to share the spoils.
Former Test star Usman Khawaja admits the anti-climactic end to Queensland’s clash with Tasmania left him feeling “rattled” and “disappointed”.
By declaring on day three, 145 runs shy of Tasmania’s total, Khawaja’s Bulls issued the Tigers with a challenge: Throw caution to the wind and post a score that we can try to chase down in a race against the clock.
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As day three reached its pointy end, the Queenslanders must’ve sensed their foes weren’t going to come to the party. Just when Tasmania needed to be putting runs on the board to secure victory and avoid a draw, specialist bowler Lawrence Neil-Smith came in as a nightwatchman.
Despite the batter-friendly wicket, Neil-Smith’s innings began at a snail’s pace.
On day four, he picked up exactly where he left off, managing just one run from his first 54 deliveries. It was the slowest scoring rate of any batter in a Shield innings since the summer of 1995/96.
The laggard nightwatchman simply refused to be dismissed by the Queensland attack, which boasts would-be Test bowlers Michael Neser and Mark Steketee as well as all-rounder Marnus Labuschagne.
“I was actually quite surprised (that the nightwatchman was sent out) because their openers came out with quite good intent (on the afternoon of day three), and I thought ‘All right, they’ll put on some quick runs and then send us in tomorrow’,” Khawaja said at stumps.
“So when they sent the nighty in, I was really rattled.”
When they could have been playing no-guts-no-glory cricket in pursuit of a result, the Tasmanians did just the opposite and posted only 120 runs across the first 50 overs on the final day.
Neil-Smith’s slow start was only made more frustrating when he finally did decide to pick the pace up. By the time he slogged 11 boundaries on his way to his maiden first class half-century, though, there wasn’t enough time for either side to claim victory.
Khawaja came in for a rare bowling spell as the contest’s fate had well and truly been sealed.
“We declared and put the ball in their court,” Khawaja said.
“I had moral rights, I could have kept batting if I wanted to.
“I felt they batted for a session too long on the second day, I thought they could have pushed the game on more expecting them to declare around lunch (on day two).
“I’m a little bit disappointed.
“It was always going to be hard to get lots of wickets on that (pitch), so it had it be a sporting declaration and get them to set us a total and us try to chase it down.
“That was the only way there was going to be any result.
“But they obviously didn’t want to play that way, so that’s just how it was.”
The commentary team echoed Khawaja, saying at stumps that the match had “ended in a fairly dull, lifeless draw.”
During his spell in the box, cricket legend Merv Hughes termed the fourth day of the clash “frustrating”.
One major positive to come from the match was the emergence of Tasmanian batter Tim Ward.
Unwanted by New South Wales, the 23-year-old already appears as if he will add huge value to Tasmania’s 2021/22 campaign. In just his second first class match, he stupefied the Queenslanders with 144 runs in the first innings before backing that monster effort up with 81 in the second.
A star was born at Adelaide’s Karen Rolton Oval.
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