Bulls join Blues on top with easy win over Tasmania

Queensland finished its pre-Christmas feast on Tasmania at the Gabba tonight as it stayed on track for a domestic trophy double.

The Bulls thumped the Tigers by 97 runs in the ING Cup day-night match, following their crushing 10-wicket win in the first-class Pura Cup match last Friday.

Tasmania was dismissed for 195 from 47.5 overs under lights after the Bulls posted 6-292 on the back of Martin Love's second consecutive century.

The Bulls scooped a bonus point from a match which was virtually over when the Tigers crashed to 4-35.

Queensland heads into a mini-break over Christmas sitting atop both the Pura and ING Cup points tables, aiming for its first double.

They share top spot in the one-day competition with NSW but sports bookmakers have the Bulls favourites to win both crowns.

Queensland looked unsettled today until Love and man-of-the-match Clinton Perren (96 from 89 balls) ripped into a 173-run stand which turned the match.

Love scored 107 from 124 balls, following his unbeaten 127 against NSW last month, to surely book his place in next month's Australia A team.

But man-of-the-match judges felt Perren had more influence on Queensland's fightback from a dull 3-46 after the loss of key trio Jimmy Maher (4), Stuart Law (6) and Andrew Symonds (9).

Perren was desperate for a solid knock during an unconvincing season and he found it today when the Bulls were wobbly.

He replaced his normally nervous start with an aggressive approach as the Bulls piled on 187 runs from 25 overs.

Perren was closing on his first domestic one-day century when he played across a yorker from Daniel Marsh (3-56 from 10), but the Bulls found some extra punch from James Hopes (28 from 34).

Tasmanian skipper Jamie Cox rated the winning target as "gettable" but it looked as remote as a space station when Hopes took two wickets in his first over.

The Tigers were left in the blocks and they are now in dire trouble in both competitions.

They remain fifth on the ING Cup table and last on the Pura Cup table, needing a Christmas miracle to figure in the domestic finals.

Their cause wasn't helped today by sloppy fielding, with former Queenslander Shane Watson dropping a sitter off Perren when he had scored 44.