Gutsy Hughes shows his class with 108

Tasmania 127 (Denton 48, Bracken 5-28) & 1 for 7 trail New South Wales 172 & 173 (Hughes 108) by 211 runs
Scorecard

Phillip Hughes led New South Wales' batting efforts for the second day in a row and made up for narrowly missing a century in the first innings by posting 108 as New South Wales increased their hold over Tasmania. Rain interrupted proceedings a couple of times, but the Blues had a crucial 211-run advantage at stumps after being dismissed for 173.

Hughes, who scored 93 out of 172 in the first innings, stood firm again as the Blues repeated their collapse on the opening day by falling to 4 for 51. This time Hughes found help from Steven Smith and the two 19-year-olds guided the team away from trouble during a partnership of 101. The third best score was Nathan Bracken's 7.

Nobody has come close to matching Hughes' batting in the game - he has 58% of his side's runs in the match - and he hit 14 fours and a six during his 152-ball stay. His innings ended when he pulled Dan Marsh to midwicket and was caught by Dane Anderson, becoming part of the collapse of 6 for 21 that ended the innings.

Smith was bowled on 42 by Ben Hilfenhaus, who followed up three balls later to remove Moises Henriques when he hit to cover on 0. Hilfenhaus captured 3 for 35 in an encouraging performance while Marsh collected 3 for 33. At stumps the Tigers were 1 for 7, having lost Rhett Lockyear to Bracken, and need another 212 runs to win a frenetic match.

After an action-packed opening day, which included 17 wickets, Gerard Denton calmed things down on the second morning with 48, but it was not enough to drag the Tigers close to New South Wales' total. Marsh departed without adding to his overnight 21 and Henriques finished things off with two breakthroughs to secure the first-innings points. Bracken delivered another nine overs but could not capture another wicket and finished with 5 for 28 from 20.