Bulls squeeze past Tigers

Queensland 8 for 262 (Broad 92, Reardon 74*, Faulkner 3-56) beat Tasmania 8 for 257 (Cowan 65, Gulbis 62, McDermott 3-62) by 5 runs
Scorecard

Queensland grabbed a second domestic limited overs victory in as many matches by holding Tasmania's batsmen narrowly short in their chase for 263 at Harrup Park in Mackay.

The Bulls restricted the Tigers to 8 for 257 and so won by 5 runs, a slim margin made possible by the strong batting of Ryan Broad and Nathan Reardon at either end of the innings.

The young seamer Alister McDermott and the Test paceman Ryan Harris also deserved credit, bowling with variety and enough economy to take the early wickets that always had the Tigers' batsmen chasing the game.

Ed Cowan and Evan Gulbis did best among the visiting batsmen, while Jason Krejza made a desperate final charge towards the target.

Tasmania's chase began badly when Nick Kruger was lbw in the first over delivered by the Test paceman Ryan Harris, playing his first state match since recovering from a hamstring strain suffered on the tour of Sri Lanka.

McDermott then struck twice to remove George Bailey and Mark Cosgrove, forcing Cowan and Gulbis into a careful partnership to regather the ground. Both would be dismissed in the 60s, and though James Faulkner, Matt Johnston and Krejza fought hard, they were always likely to fall a handful of runs short.

Queensland had lost Steve Paulsen in the first over of the day after winning the toss and batting first, Ben hilfenhaus finding the opener's outside edge. Broad then shepherded the first part of the Bulls' innings, forming useful partnerships with Andrew Robinson, the stand-in captain Peter Forrest and Reardon.

Broad's departure at 4 for 167, lbw to a Faulkner yorker, was followed by a collapse as the hosts slid to 7 for 187. However Reardon, Brad Ipson - who retired hurt with a leg strain and could not bowl - and Harris helped Queensland to a decent total with a few lusty blows.