NSW opener Ryan Carters says runs against England instilled the confidence for a stunning run of form that steered his side to a Sheffield Shield victory over Tasmania.
Carters’ second hundred in as many Shield games, after he made 94 and 40 in a tour match against the English, ensured the Blues a come-from-behind six-wicket win at Bellerive.
The 23-year-old made a neat 100 on a tricky wicket as NSW reached their target at 4-255 shortly after tea on day four to remain top of the ladder.
Carters is averaging 81.8 from three Shield games this season after backing up his runs against the tourists with scores of 154 and 67 against Queensland.
The one-time keeper-batsman said his appearance for the Cricket Australia XI at the SCG had begun some run-scoring momentum.
“When you play against international opposition you really feel like, wow, this is a great chance to play against the best in the world and see where my skills are at and have a crack,” he said.
“I learnt a lot, I probably gained some confidence out of scoring runs in that match.
“These things definitely build up, form is a bit of a momentum game.”
The Blues completed a remarkable turnaround after heading into the second innings 90 runs behind.
A dramatic Tasmanian second innings collapse of 7-29 on day three, after superb spells from Doug Bollinger and Sean Abbott, left the home side all out for 164 and the Blues needing 255.
Resuming at 0-43 on Monday, they patiently accumulated the runs on an occasionally up and down pitch, Scott Henry (76no) and Nic Maddinson (43) playing the support roles.
“You felt like eventually you were probably going to get out to one playing a bit funny so we just had to try and be positive and score as many runs as possible,” Carters said.
The Tigers battled hard without injured former Test paceman Ben Hilfenhaus (side strain), impressive left-armer Sam Rainbird finishing with 3-52.
Coach Dan Marsh said Saturday’s collapse was a major concern.
“It was good quality bowling but we needed someone … to stick it out,” he said.
