A fired-up Doug Bollinger delivered Test selectors another timely reminder with a menacing spell to help NSW back into their Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania.
Bollinger produced a masterclass of pace and swing in a post-tea blitz with Sean Abbott to destroy the Tigers’ second innings for just 164.
The 32-year-old’s spell came on a day speculation increased he could be a shadow paceman for the third Ashes Test in Perth, and with selector Rod Marsh having been spotted at Bellerive for the Shield match.
Bollinger finished with 2-39 and Abbott a career-best 4-36 but it was the veteran’s superb inswinging yorker to bowl Tim Paine (1) that ensured a collapse of 7-29.
“When someone’s bowling that fast and bowling that well it gets the whole team up,” Abbott said.
“You don’t often see a guy bowling that fast and with the ball swinging like that.”
The Tigers will have had enough of Bollinger, who took 6-62 against them in Sydney earlier this season.
“Painey’s was an unbelievable ball,” Tigers top-scorer Mark Cosgrove (81) said.
“After I saw that it was always going to be quite hard to keep him out.
“He executed his balls amazingly.”
Tasmania’s collapse left the Blues with a target of 255 for an unlikely outright win after they had begun the second innings trailing by 90.
The ladder-leaders were 0-43 at stumps on day three, Nic Maddinson to resume on 17 and Ryan Carters 26.
Tasmania had been in the box seat when they went to tea at 3-123 and eyeing a sizeable lead, but only opener Cosgrove passed 20 for the home side.
Bollinger got the initial breakthrough to remove opener Jordan Silk (12) before spinner Steve O’Keefe (2-31) dismissed Test aspirants Ed Cowan (12) and Alex Doolan (17).
Abbott claimed his four scalps supporting Bollinger after tea to top his previous best of 3-60, while Gurinder Sandhu (2-24) helped mop up the tail.
“Two hundred is a lot of runs to get, especially on a fourth-day wicket that’s deteriorating,” Abbott said.
“We’ve definitely given ourselves a chance.”
The Tigers had dismissed the Blues for a first innings 264 before lunch on Sunday in reply to their own total of 354.
