Test batsmen Ricky Ponting and Ed Cowan both missed out in their first domestic innings of the season, against a NSW team inspired by a career-best effort from Moises Henriques.
Henriques blasted an unbeaten 161, as NSW recovered from a sickly 3-7 to post 442 in their Sheffield Shield match at Bankstown Oval.
Cowan (17) and Ponting (9) perished quickly, as Tasmania reached 3-111 when bad light ended play around 40 minutes early.
Mark Cosgrove (73no) headed the Tigers’ chase, striking several powerful boundaries.
Fellow opener Cowan, who appeared for Australia A and English county Gloucestershire during the off season, looked set before leaving a ball from Trent Copeland (1-28) that crashed into his stumps.
Ponting received a warm welcome from the home spectators after Alex Doolan (5), was caught in the slips by Steve Smith off Doug Bollinger (1-26).
The former Test skipper faced 12 balls and struck a couple of sublime boundaries through cover and mid-on before playing around a delivery from Josh Hazlewood (1-36).
Ponting, whose last innings was in the third Test against the West Indies five months ago, should get another three first-class hitouts with the Tigers before the opening Test against South Africa in November.
The Blues were dismissed shortly after lunch, but not before Henriques and Copeland (55) each recorded highest first-class scores.
Their 124-run union represented the Blues’ highest Sheffield Shield eighth-wicket stand against Tasmania.
They batted through the entire morning session, but the Blues innings closed when they lost 3-17 from the time of Copeland’s dismissal.
Henriques, who had made nine first-class fifties, almost doubled his previous best first-class score of 82, made for Australia A against Pakistan A in Townsville in 2009.
The Australian one-day and T20 representative smashed 15 fours and four sixes in his impressive 229-ball innings.
Copeland notched his second first-class half century, eclipsing his previous best of 53 against Queensland at Blacktown in the 2010-11 season.
Six bowlers claimed wickets for Tasmania, but only former Bankstown and NSW second XI paceman Jackson Bird (3-75) took more than one.
