Queensland have recovered from an early collapse on day one of their Sheffield Shield clash against Tasmania to reach 2-46 before rain delayed play before noon (AEDT) at Bellerive.

The Bulls were sent in to bat after Tigers captain George Bailey won the toss and were 2-13 after nine overs, following the early dismissals of openers Wade Townsend and Ryan Broad.

James Faulkner was a late withdrawal for the home side due to back spasms, while Bulls skipper James Hopes returned to the sidelines following his appearance in their one-day cup defeat to the Tigers on Wednesday.

In difficult conditions, the Tassie attack had the Sheffield Shield leaders on the back foot early, when Townsend, the competition’s fourth-highest run scorer, was caught behind for a golden duck.

Townsend edged a Luke Butterworth delivery to Tassie keeper Brady Jones just three balls into the match and Broad followed soon after, dismissed lbw by Jackson Bird with just 13 runs on the scoresheet.

Queensland could have slipped further behind two balls later when Joe Burns hesitated for a single following Jason Krejza’s misfield, but reached the crease before Ed Cowan struck the wickets.

Burns and Andrew Robinson stabilised the scoresheet, forging a 33-run partnership before rain called off play just before 12pm.

Tasmania are looking to leapfrog the Victorian Bushrangers with victory in Hobart, while Queensland can strengthen their grip at the summit of the Shield table if they can hold out against the Tigers’ attack.