Hayden Kerr 87* rescues New South Wales after Rainbird three-for

Emerging allrounder Hayden Kerr dug New South Wales out of major trouble on day one against Tasmania as he closed in on a maiden first-class century.

A confident Kerr rescued NSW from a precarious 5 for 106 with an impressive unbeaten 87 to lift the Blues to 8 for 272 at stumps at the SCG, where just three weeks ago he memorably smashed 98 not out to power Sydney Sixers into the BBL final.

The powerfully-built Kerr started slowly with just five runs off his first 23 balls in a bid to stabilise a wobbly NSW batting effort after their top order had been ripped apart by quick Sam Rainbird.

When Trent Copeland fell for 9, NSW slumped to 7 for 154 but Kerr found support through Chris Tremain (38) as the pair upstaged their top-order batters with an enterprising 70-run partnership. They counterattacked against the old ball and took advantage of a flagging Tasmania attack amid warm conditions in Sydney.

Kerr, who went unsold in the IPL auction, made a cautious start before an aggressive approach against spinner Nivethan Radhakrishnan sparked his 125-ball knock as he compiled his second Shield half-century in his third match.

They released Tasmania's stranglehold after NSW sunk to 3 for 41 after electing to bat. Rainbird was superb with his 3 for 26 from his opening five-over burst marked by a pearler of a delivery to dismiss NSW captain Kurtis Patterson, who was caught behind for a second-ball duck.

Until falling away late in the day, Tasmania had chipped away with regular wickets, including Radhakrishnan removing Peter Nevill to claim his maiden scalp in first-class cricket on debut. The India-born ambidextrous allrounder starred for Australia in the recent Under-19 World Cup and didn't look out of place in his Shield debut with 1 for 29 off seven overs.

With just one win from four Shield matches, NSW desperately need a victory to remain in the mix for next month's final.