Doolan guides Tigers after Clarke ton

Tasmania 2 for 182 (Doolan 75*, Cowan 70) trail New South Wales 8 for 420 dec (Clarke 106, Khawaja 80, Jaques 66, Katich 62) by 238 runs
Scorecard

Alex Doolan and Ed Cowan gave Tasmania hope against a star-studded New South Wales as Tasmania reached 2 for 182 at stumps on the second day. After Michael Clarke posted his century and Usman Khawaja scored 80 for New South Wales, the Tigers batted their way to within 238 of the Blues' total with Doolan unbeaten on 75 and George Bailey on 22.

Stuart Clark picked up both the wickets for New South Wales, trapping Jon Wells for 6 and having Cowan caught for 70. In his first Sheffield Shield match against his former state, Cowan struck ten boundaries in a 106-ball stay that indicated the depth of talent in New South Wales, which was precisely the reason Cowan departed Sydney during the off-season.

That strong talent pool was on display earlier in the day as Khawaja combined with Clarke for a 144-run stand. Khawaja eventually fell when he top-edged an attempted pull off Brendan Drew and Clarke, whose 106 was a timely comeback after two months out of action, drove a catch to cover off Tim Macdonald.

But the runs didn't stop there, as Brad Haddin breezed to 44 from 64 deliveries before he holed out off Jason Krejza from the final ball before lunch. The Blues batted on after the break until the fall of Clark for a duck, when Simon Katich closed the innings at 8 for 420.