Bailey and Birt lead record-breaking recovery
A record partnership of 292 for the fourth wicket picked Tasmania up from a horrible start and moved them into a dominant position against South Australia
Cricinfo staff
12-Dec-2005
A record partnership of 292 for the fourth wicket picked Tasmania up from a horrible start and moved them into a dominant position against South Australia at Bellerive Oval. The Tigers suffered a disastrous opening when their first three batsmen were all dismissed caught behind by Graham Manou off Paul Rofe, but George Bailey and Travis Birt joined forces at 3 for 15 to drag their team to safety as they finished the day at 6 for 311.
Bailey struck his second hundred of the season and Birt secured the first century of his career as the pair first plugged the damage - they were 3 for 39 off 29 overs at lunch - and then opened up in the remaining two sessions. Batting in blustery conditions, they produced the highest fourth-wicket partnership for Tasmania, beating the 258 of Michael Taylor and Danny Buckingham in 1987-88.
Jason Gillespie finally broke the partnership on 307 when he dismissed Bailey for 155, which included 18 fours in 226 balls, and Birt followed one run later when he was run out for 140. Birt hit 14 fours and two sixes from his 231 deliveries. Paul Rofe chipped in again when he trapped Shannon Tubb lbw and was rewarded with figures of 4 for 57 on an ultimately disappointing day for the Redbacks.
South Australia experienced further discomfort before play with Matthew Elliott ruled out of the match and expected to miss six weeks with a suspected broken right wrist. Elliott suffered the injury while fielding in the ING Cup match on Saturday, although he was able to bat and scored an unbeaten 40 as they won by three wickets.