At 3-10, Victoria were in all sorts of trouble in their second innings against a fired-up Tasmanian attack. Standing in Tasmania's way however, were the in-form Matthew Wade and the always, cool, calm and collected David Hussey.

Tasmania v Victoria - Sheffield Shield Review –November 4-7, 2011

WHAT HAPPENED: Victoria won by 55 runs.
Cameron White won the toss and elected to bat on a greenish deck at Hobart's Blundstone Arena on Friday. The first day, however, proved somewhat representative of the entire match, as both of these top-notch sides slugged it out. Each time Victoria's batsmen appeared to be gaining the upper hand, the Tigers would respond with a couple of wickets here and there. But despite the best efforts of Tasmania's James Faulkner, Xavier Doherty and former Victorian Evan Gulbis, who all took three wickets apiece, the Tigers couldn't stop Chris Rogers from scoring 54 nor wicketkeeper Matthew Wade from adding a classy 108 as the Bushrangers made 362 in their first dig before being dismissed early on the second day.

That was the cue for Victoria's pace battery to go to work and it was the scariest one of them all, Jayde Herrick, who did most of the damage as he claimed 4-59 from 19 overs, including the key early wickets of Ed Cowan (25), George Bailey (0), Gulbis (0) and James Pattinson (two). At one stage, Tasmania were in all sorts of trouble as they slumped to 9-179, but a late rearguard from Tigers wicketkeeper Brady Jones (21) and Ben Hilfenhaus (29) took the hosts through to a competitive 235, even though they conceded first-innings points.

By lunch on the third day, Victoria was back batting and had faced an over. But whatever the Bushrangers were munching on during the break mustn't have agreed with them as Tasmania opened with intent, claiming the wickets of Robert Quiney (0), Chris Rogers (6) and Aaron Finch (3) to have the Bushrangers teetering at 3-10. However, cometh the hour, cometh the men and they proved to be David Hussey and Matthew Wade. The Tigers' attack may have had their tails up, but Hussey quickly beat them into submission with some big hitting as he notched up 74 from 125 deliveries, while Wade again top-scored with 80 for the innings. At 3-160, Victoria were absolutely cruising, but then Hussey attempted one big hit too many and was caught on the long-on boundary by Doherty, leading to another collapse. This time, the final seven wickets fell for just 30 runs as Victoria were dismissed for 190. Skipper Cameron White could hardly be blamed, though, as he bravely attempted to face up to Tasmania's bowlers, despite suffering a side strain. Ben Hilfenhaus proved the destroyer for Tasmania, picking up his first five-wicket haul since 2008, with figures of 5-44 from 16 overs.

Needing 318 to win, Tasmania appeared to be cruising towards victory early on the final day as openers Steve Cazzulino and Ed Cowan added 50 for the first wicket. It took Victoria 24 overs to finally make a breakthrough, but it proved a big one as Glenn Maxwell dismissed Cowan (18) and Nick Kruger (0) within the space of three balls to expose Tasmania's middle order. At lunch, Tasmania were 2-76, needing a further 242 for the win, while Victoria needed the last seven wickets. The middle session, though, proved to be an arm-wrestle as Jon Holland claimed Alex Doolen for 35, before Herrick stepped up just before tea to knock over Bailey (five) and Gulbis (0) again in quick succession. The Tigers needed 156 runs with five wickets in hand in the final session to claim their first Shield victory of the season, but when Maxwell wrapped Cazzulino on the pads for 95, it paved the way for the Bushrangers to take the wickets they needed. James Faulkner (44) and Luke Butterworth (30) offered some resistance, but the Victorians managed to dismiss Tasmania with 16 balls to spare in a dramatic finish by the Derwent River. Maxwell finished with 3-36, Herrick 3-44 and Pattinson knocked over the tail to take 3-54 in a fine team performance.

THE HERO: Matthew Wade

Two brilliant knocks of 108 and 80 from the diminutive wicketkeeper pretty much say it all. His runs proved vital in a close encounter between two very good sides, particularly his 150-run partnership with David Hussey on Day three. Not surprisingly, Wade was awarded the man of the match award.

THE VILLAIN: Robert Quiney
The opener endured a tough mate, being dismissed for nine and zero in his two innings. However, it's worth noting that he was coming up against an attack that took Tasmania to the Shield title last season.

DEFINING MOMENT: Hussey and Wade's partnership

At 3-10, Victoria were in all sorts of trouble in their second innings against a fired-up Tasmanian attack. Luke Butterworth was steaming in like there was no tomorrow, while Hilfenhaus appeared to have found his mojo once again in a serious way. Standing in Tasmania's way however, were the in-form Wade, who makes up for his lack of height with mountains of courage, and the always, cool, calm and collected David Hussey. Their 150-run partnership ultimately proved the difference, although there were some nervous moments. Wade was dropped on two occasions, while Hussey was given the benefit of the doubt when Jones claimed a caught behind down very low.

THE UPSHOT: Equal second on the Shield table

It may have been a slow start to the Shield session for Victoria, but their first six-points of the season sees them climb into equal second on the table, alongside Western Australia on eight points.

WHERE TO NOW: MCG on November 11
Victoria will immediately have the chance to go ahead of Western Australia when they host the Warriors in the Bupa Sheffield Shield clash at the MCG from Friday November 11.

07 NOVEMBER, 2011