Maher, Bichel guide Bulls home in a thriller

An amazing, unbroken, seventh wicket partnership of fifty-five runs between Jimmy Maher (52*) and Andy Bichel (40*) has seen Queensland scramble home in a Mercantile Mutual Cup thriller against the Tasmanian Tigers here at the 'Gabba ground in Brisbane tonight. The Bulls' win came after a fluctuating contest in which the advantage tilted from one side to the other around a series of annoying stoppages for rain.

In a game in which batting was made treacherous as the result of days of heavy rain in Brisbane, the Tasmanians were held to a moderate 8/134 from thirty-nine overs after being invited to bat by rival captain Stuart Law. It looked to have given the home team a decisive advantage by the time it began its chase. But the complexion of the match changed several times during the evening, particularly after the Queenslanders crashed to scorelines of 3/2 and 7/67 at different moments.

The Bulls opted to take into the evening session a reshuffled batting line-up but the strategy proved far from successful. Regular opener Matt Hayden (16) was joined by wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe (0) at the outset but the wicketkeeper-batsman was dismissed from the third ball of the second over for a duck. Lee Carseldine (0) then joined Hayden and immediately headed back to the dressing room given out lbw without playing a shot. Queensland was suddenly reeling at 2-0, the tight medium pace of Shaun Young (3/16 from six overs) having accounted for both wickets. Late inclusion Clinton Perren (0) joined Hayden but, on the other side of a short rain delay, edged a ball to the waiting slips cordon and incredibly became the third player to be sent back to the pavilion without a run against his name.

The regular opening pairing of Hayden and Maher finally restored some sanity to the innings with a defiant stand of forty-three before the former was run out. More handy runs were added to the total by Maher and Law (11) before a series of bowling changes turned things back Tasmania's way again. Medium pacer Scott Kremerskothen (1/33 from five overs) continued his reign as the competition's leading wicket taker by snaring the prize scalp of Law in the seventeenth over.

Debutant Brendan Nash (1) then became yet another of the match's run out victims as he set about trying to inspire the acceleration in the run scoring that the Bulls required by this stage to overhaul the revised target of 119 off twenty-eight overs. He pushed a little too hard as it turned out, trying to take a risky second run to Young at fine leg following a misfield.

When James Hopes (0) fell lbw to Adam Polkinghorne (1/22 off four overs) only minutes later, the Tasmanians looked to have the game - one crucial to their Mercantile Mutual Cup hopes - in the bag.

Yet, with Maher still at the crease and the hard-hitting Bichel joining him, the Bulls were about to inspire another twist. Maher reverted to the role of anchoring as Bichel launched a sizzling attacking spree, charging bowlers, spraying shots around the ground liberally, and even nearly claiming the jackpot of $210,000 for hitting the advertising signs at long off. In the twinkling of an eye, he combined with Maher to bring the game back under the control of the Bulls, and chalked up the winning runs with a hit to third man with some ten deliveries still remaining.

Maher's innings - which helped in no small measure to break the Bulls' sapping one-day losing streak - was also a beauty and ended in a fitting display of emotion when he embraced Bichel enthusiastically at the conclusion of the game.

Earlier, Bulls' paceman Michael Kasprowicz (3/22 off eight overs) made a welcome return to form as he helped put the skids under the Tasmanian top and middle order. Around a defiant innings from former Queensland Colts captain Shane Watson (28*), the Tigers were never really able to engender significant momentum into their display with the bat. In the end, the visitors' inability to mount one or two sizeable partnerships proved crucial.