Di Venuto and Marsh lead Tasmania to victory

Tasmania 276 (Marsh 68, Mason 58, MacGill 5-79) and 4 for 386 (Di Venuto 174*, Marsh 107*) beat New South Wales 5 for 453 dec and 8 for 208 dec (Mail 107*) by six wickets
Scorecard

Michael Di Venuto smashed an unbeaten 174 to lead Tasmania to a thrilling six-wicket victory against New South Wales at The Bellerive Oval.

Di Venuto and Dan Marsh, who scored 107 not out, shared an unbroken 220-run partnership to guide their team to 4 for 386 in front of a small crowd, which included Tasmania's new Governor, Richard Butler.

Di Venuto, the Man of the Match, smacked 18 fours and one six in his innings, and he was well-supported by Marsh, who hit 10 boundaries. Tasmania's successful run-chase was the 11th most successful in domestic first-class cricket history, and they did it with over two overs to spare.

"We have had some good run chase victories before, so there was belief there," Marsh said. "We knew it was going to be hard work and we had to play the game of our lives, but it turned out like that."

Steve Waugh, NSW's captain, praised Tasmania's performance on a wicket that offered few opportunities for bowlers. "We gave it our best shot," Waugh said. "I've got no complaints with our bowlers. We toiled away pretty hard. We thought there would be some chances at some stage, but they just didn't happen. Full credit for the way they played, they batted very well."

NSW, who led by 177 after the first innings, had the upper hand as Tasmania resumed their second innings on 1 for 26. The target of 386 looked a daunting task when Jamie Cox was out seven minutes into the first session, lbw to leg Stuart MacGill for 18.

But Di Venuto proved inspirational for the Tasmania, who finished last season with the wooden spoon. His third-wicket partnership with Shane Watson (42) delivered 103 vital runs as he went from strength to strength.

Watson, meanwhile, failed to replicate his century against South Australia at Bellerive earlier this month and was caught by Mark Waugh in the slips off MacGill's third ball after lunch.

Tasmania picked up six points for the win, mnaking them joint leaders of the table with NSW.