Watson, Clingeleffer fire as revenge burns bright

What shaped as a David and Goliath battle was transformed into the Shane and Sean show as two outstanding young players helped Tasmania slay Queensland by an innings and 50 runs in an amazing finish to the teams' Pura Cup clash here in Hobart today.

Where Tasmania has been a generous host in previous matches this summer, all-rounder Shane Watson turned inhospitable today, producing an electric display of pace bowling to reverse the tide of poor form that has washed over his side of late. With it arrived the incredible figures of 11/78 inside a day as the Tigers gained sweet revenge for a two-day defeat of their own in Brisbane last month.

Sean Clingeleffer, a wicketkeeper-batsman of immense promise, meanwhile led a spectacular exhibition of catching with a performance that established a new record for his state.

Suitably stunned into committing an uncharacteristic string of errors, the Bulls crashed to be dismissed for 130 in their first innings before folding for a dismal 101 as they followed on.

"I'm very happy about that; it's still a bit of a weird feeling at the moment," commented Watson of his first-ever ten-wicket haul in a first-class match.

"Eleven wickets is a big tally but everyone bowled really well; I had good support at the other end which really helped me out a lot."

The former Queenslander was only introduced into the attack shortly before lunch but his impact was almost immediate. In his second over, he found the outside edge of the bat of Stuart Law (2), therein claiming a wicket that delivered the near-ultimate in satisfaction.

Law, who had been less than flattering in his assessment of both Watson and the nature of his defection before the corresponding fixture last summer, groped at a brisk leg cutter and feathered an outside edge to Clingeleffer.

"It's been a good rivalry between me and Stuart and I was really pumped to try and get his wicket to lift our team. He's a very good player and it was definitely a key wicket," added Watson.

Just for good measure, the Queensland captain then succumbed exactly the same way as his team's game began to fall apart again in the second innings. His wicket appeared to be the catalyst of Queensland's slide in both innings.

Six of the last seven first innings wickets fell Watson's way - in the midst of a collapse that saw eight wickets crash for a mere 53 runs. Another five came in the second as he magnetically found outside and bottom edges as well as the gate between bat and pad.

The strongly built 20-year-old enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top tier of Australian domestic cricket as a teenager last summer, performing with brilliance as Tasmania took advantage of Queensland's reluctance to blood him into state ranks at such an early age.

Clamour for his inclusion in an Australian senior team has been building steadily in Tasmania ever since. A favourable effort in an appearance for Australia 'A' earlier this month couldn't have harmed his cause. And national selectors Trevor Hohns and David Boon must have been further moved by what they saw first-hand here at a sun-drenched Bellerive Oval today.

His bowling, the velocity of which sometimes rivals that of the stiff breezes which blow across the nearby Derwent River, was exceptional.

As far as impressive efforts from players on the fielding side were concerned, he was not alone.

Fellow pacemen Damien Wright, Shane Jurgensen and David Saker also bowled with venom. Wright beat the bat on countless occasions; Jurgensen maintained his reputation for impeccable line on a pitch that offered the same variable bounce as it had done yesterday; and Saker, as Watson later suggested, has probably never bowled better in close to two years of cricket with Tasmania.

And, where their bowlers opened up chances, Tasmania's fielders emphatically capitalised upon them. Their catching was of a consistently high standard and in no-one was the trend better emphasised than Clingeleffer. A brilliant one-handed overhead mark as he seized a rocketing edge from the bat of Wade Seccombe (0) in the first innings was the highlight among the total of nine catches which helped him set a new mark for the most taken in a first-class match by a Tasmanian fieldsman.

In the face of Tasmania's multi-faceted assault, opener Jimmy Maher (20 and 41) bravely defied the odds both times for the Bulls. But he encountered precious little in the way of support.

Tasmania unhappily tumbled into last spot on the competition table after it lost in Brisbane and a period of soul-searching has followed. All to the accompaniment of a general lack of respect for the team from various quarters.

But Watson and Clingeleffer both confirmed that the spirit of enthusiasm and commitment displayed on the field today has been spreading at an infectious rate in the dressing room all week.

Cricket can truly be a remarkable leveller at times.