Harris eases his way back to cricket

Ryan Harris bowled 14 overs and took the wicket of Ryan Carters in his first outing at first-class level since the Cape Town Test against South Africa in March. Harris' early strike, along with those by Luke Feldman left New South Wales tottering at 5 for 87 before Nic Maddinson and Sean Abbott staged a fightback. Maddinson finished the day on an unbeaten 115, leading New South Wales to 6 for 217.

Maddinson and Abbott added 126 for the sixth wicket before Abbott was dismissed by Feldman for 58, his maiden first-class fifty. Abbott was Feldman's fourth wicket, while Ben Cutting finished with 1 for 34. Harris, who was recovering from a knee surgery, bowled two spells of six overs each before sending down a couple of overs towards the end of the day.

Earlier, Queensland, who began at a strong 3 for 326, declared their innings at 9 for 472. Overnight batsmen Peter Forrest and Nathan Reardon both missed out on centuries, falling on 93 and 95 respectively. Forrest and Chris Hartley were dismissed in the first session, but Reardon strung useful partnerships with Ben Cutting and James Hopes to take the side past 400. Abbott was the most successful bowler for New South Wales, taking 3 for 113, while Gurindher Sandhu, Doug Bollinger and Steve O'Keefe took two wickets each.

Harris said he would have liked to bowl better towards the end of the innings: "The first few overs were ok but the end was disappointing, not being able to put enough dots in the right spots. The new ball wasn't too bad. There was probably a bit of match fitness as well. The legs were a bit heavy, the knee is a bit sore but it was a good day for the team anyway."