Warriors maintain clear edge after opening day

New South Wales' bowlers have made a valiant late challenge on day one of their Pura Cup match against the Western Warriors at the WACA Ground here in Perth today. But it was still not enough to make amends for a dismal display with the bat that has left the Blues in difficulty in this match after an action-packed opening six hours of play.

Warriors batsmen Ryan Campbell, Mike Hussey, Simon Katich and Murray Goodwin all fell to the visitors' bowling attack, leaving the home side 4/111 at stumps in response to New South Wales' paltry total of 131.

Blues strike bowler Don Nash (2/26) removed Campbell (15) in the first over after drinks, following an attempted pull shot. Brett van Deinsen made no mistake with the catch at short leg, leaving the Warriors 1/24 and bringing Katich to the crease.

Several overs later, with the score on forty, fellow paceman Stuart Clark (1/29) caught Hussey (13) playing a defensive stroke. Hussey's prod gathered an edge, and 'keeper Brad Haddin gloved the catch easily.

The Warriors' plans of heading to stumps without any further losses were then disrupted again when Katich (40) was caught deep in the leg side field, becoming Nash's second victim and leaving the home side at 3/89 in the process. The Test aspirant unleashed a ferocious pull stroke but only succeeded in top edging the ball to Clark, who was stationed just inside the fine leg boundary at the time. Soon after, stand-in captain Shane Lee (1/11) enticed the former Zimbabwean international, Goodwin (15) into glancing at, and thin edging, a delivery arrowing down the leg side.

The late wickets represented a form of welcome relief for the Blues, who had been on the back foot all day after a horror performance with the bat. From the moment that Jo Angel (3/39) vindicated the decision of Western Australian captain Tom Moody to invite the Blues to bat first by snaring the wicket of stubborn opener Greg Mail (4), the visitors' batsmen struggled. Batsmen succumbed regularly and the Blues were even unable to profit from at least two dropped chances in the Western Australian field. Angel, Gavin Swan (3/34), Moody (1/22) and Brendon Julian (3/28) all applied the clamps on their opponents and no batsmen ever looked like breaking free. Only van Deinsen (29), Michael Bevan (28) and Mark Higgs (23) appeared so much as vaguely comfortable.

Left with a target of just 132 to secure first innings points, Hussey and Campbell then sought to complement the fine work in the field that had seen them snare seven catches between them. A confident opening stand of twenty-four ensued before the latter departed to his mistimed stroke. Nash, Clark and Lee bowled admirably, and never let the Warriors' rate of progress reach unmanageable proportions. But Katich's cameo, and the development of a neat, unbroken stand of twenty for the fifth wicket between Marcus North (13*) and Moody (9*) left the Warriors holding a very clear edge by the end of the day. If the North-Moody association is left unchecked for too much longer when play resumes in the morning, then the Blues are likely to be experiencing serious headaches again tomorrow.