Western Australia have made a disastrous start to their Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania at Bellerive.

Winning the toss and batting on the best looking Hobart pitch of the season, the Warriors have crashed to 7-60 at lunch on day one.

Tigers pacemen Jackson Bird (3-22) and Evan Gulbis (2-12) have been the chief destroyers, with James Faulkner (1-10) chipping in.

WA are relying on former Tiger Tom Triffitt, unbeaten on five, and former Test star Mitchell Johnson, yet to score, to add some respectability.

On a sorry looking scoreboard, only Marcus Harris (21) and former Test batsman Shaun Marsh (11) reached double figures for WA after captain Adam Voges took the unusual step of batting first at Bellerive.

The strip didn’t resemble the green-tops that have produced two shortened matches already this season, but Tasmania’s quicks were able to find more bounce from the relaid deck.

Bird struck in the second over, trapping Sam Whiteman (0) with a swinging delivery and the Warriors were 2-20 when Marcus North (6) nicked Faulkner to Mark Cosgrove at first slip.

Voges (4) gave Bird his second scalp, and Cosgrove his second catch, at 3-29 before disaster struck when Harris misjudged a single and was brilliantly run out by a direct hit from Alex Doolan.

Gulbis then struck twice in the 25th over, removing ex-Tiger Travis Birt (4) when he flashed at a wide ball and was caught by Doolan, and then Marsh caught behind with a ball that sizzled off a good length.

Nathan Coulter-Nile flicked a ball to Aiden Blizzard at square leg off Bird and lunch was taken at 7-60.

Both sides need maximum points from the match to stay in touch with runaway ladder leaders Queensland and Victoria.