Faulkner ton helps Tasmania hold on for draw

Tasmania 209 and 4 for 266 (Faulkner 100*, Webster 80*) drew with New South Wales 5 for 495 dec and 1 for 128 dec
Scorecard

James Faulkner scored his maiden Sheffield Shield century and his second in first-class cricket to help Tasmania bat out a draw on the fourth day against New South Wales in Hobart. Set an unlikely target of 415 for victory, Tasmania's hopes faded even further when they fell to 4 for 81 on the final day, as Trent Copeland and his bowling colleagues ran through the top order.

But Faulkner and Beau Webster settled in for 72.1 overs for an unbeaten 185-run partnership, and if their stand didn't look like delivering Tasmania to their target, it at least prevented New South Wales from romping to victory. After the Blues declared on 5 for 495 in their first innings and rolled the Tigers for 209, a draw would have seemed an excellent result for Tasmania.

Faulkner struck 12 fours during his 222-ball innings, which was his longest in first-class cricket, and he arrived at triple figures late in the day. His only previous first-class hundred had come for Lancashire in county cricket last year, and in this match he bettered his previous best Sheffield Shield score of 89.

Webster ran out of time to push for what could have been a third first-class century, finishing unbeaten on 80 from 214 deliveries. Copeland finished the match with eight wickets but Man of the Match was Peter Nevill for his unbeaten 179 and five catches.