NSW hold the aces after Sandhu-Lyon show

Tasmania 237 and 6 for 147 (Webster 65*, Lyon 3-44) trail New South Wales 394 (O'Keefe 87, Sandhu 98*, Lyon 42, Rose 3-110) by 10 runs
Scorecard

Gurinder Sandhu, Steve O'Keefe and Nathan Lyon propelled New South Wales to a weighty first-innings score before striking with the ball to leave Tasmania trailing by 10 runs with four wickets in hand in their second innings at the Bankstown Oval.

Resuming on 7 for 226, the home side continued to ride on the 89-run partnership between Sandhu and O'Keefe. When O' Keefe missed out on his maiden ton, bowled by Beau Webster, New South Wales were 8 for 293 and a score of 400 or thereabouts seeming improbable.

But Sandhu, who scored his maiden first-class fifty in the previous game, and Lyon raced away to a 100-run stand in 19.5 overs. Sandhu, who struck eight fours and five sixes, was left stranded two shy of a hundred after Lyon, whose 53-ball effort comprised three fours and two sixes, and Doug Bollinger fell inside two overs.

Sandhu returned with the ball to strike first, removing Dom Michael in the sixth over. Ed Cowan and Jordan Silk, too, frittered away starts before Webster and Alex Doolan chipped in with 38 runs. But Lyon got into the act, removing Doolan, Ben Dunk and Tim Paine in the space of eight overs.

Webster, scoring his second fifty in as many matches, remained unbeaten at stumps.