Maher, Love plunder again before Blues' long-awaited recovery

More punishment from Jimmy Maher and Martin Love was followed by a long-awaited fightback as New South Wales finally produced some answers for Queensland in an otherwise one-sided Pura Cup match between the teams here in Sydney today.

By stumps on the second day, a good start to the Blues' first innings had seen the home team reach a mark of 0/95 in reply to Queensland's mammoth 4/528.

New South Wales has already tried five different opening batting combinations this season. The sixth brought it more joy: Matthew Phelps (48*) and Corey Richards (42*) playing with conviction as they launched the reply. Phelps benefited from dropped catches by Stuart Law and Brendan Nash, and Richards survived a confident lbw appeal from the bowling of Ashley Noffke (0/20), but the duo were otherwise untroubled as the Blues' innings began.

Phelps' score was 15 when Law, at short mid on, was slow to react and was forced to unsuccessfully grasp one-handed at a ball that had ballooned toward mid wicket at gentle pace off inside edge and pad to a Joe Dawes (0/13) delivery.

Nash's chance at short leg - with Phelps at 46 - was lower to the ground and significantly more difficult.

And another half-chance went begging when a frustrated Noffke failed to convince umpire Simon Taufel of the merits of an lbw appeal against Richards with the right hander's score at 32.

It still remained Queensland's day, however.

Though Maher (198) and Love (184) each fell despairingly short of double centuries before Law declared the visitors' innings closed in the shadows of tea, the opening two sessions again belonged to the Bulls. The pair's methodical 294-run partnership was an all-time Queensland record for the second wicket against New South Wales and helped ease the Bulls into a position from which outright defeat seems an impossibility.

Resuming at the overnight score of 1/325 and with their own partnership resting at 191, each of the two players again dominated the NSW bowlers as play re-commenced. They availed themselves of almost every opportunity to score and the Blues were barely given so much as a whiff of a chance until a lapse in concentration finally saw Maher - just two runs short of his second double-century of the season - cut off the top edge to a juggling Phelps in the gully.

Love fell in the following session - and also to paceman Stuart Clark (3/106) - when wicketkeeper Brad Haddin dived spectacularly to his right to make a one-handed interception of an outside edged off drive.

But, by then, both had made an indelible impression in plying their trade on a placid pitch. They must each remain a genuine chance of being included in the soon-to-be-named Australian one-day squad to tour South Africa and Zimbabwe.