A dogged Matthew Wade century has lifted Tasmania into a strong position at stumps on day one of their Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia in Hobart.
The former Test wicketkeeper was 138 not out at Friday's close of play, with a third-session flurry pushing the Tigers to 5-327.
Wade shared an unbeaten 168-run stand with allrounder Simon Milenko (66no) to drag Tasmania out of trouble.
He brought up his tenth first-class ton with a tuck off his hip.
"To be honest, it's one of the better ones I've played - I know that's cliched," Wade told reporters.
"It's rewarding; I've worked hard on my game."
Western Australia's inexperienced bowling attack had the upper hand across the opening two sessions, reducing the home side to a crawl and 5-159 early in the third session.
After being sent in at a cool and windy Bellerive Oval, openers Beau Webster (8) and Alex Doolan (12) were dismissed early by Andrew Holder (2-55).
Captain George Bailey (10) soon followed.
Wade was 36 from 124 deliveries at tea but teed off late in the day.
In the final session, he hit 102 from 107 balls.
"The wicket was difficult for a long period of time," Wade said.
"It was never going to be easy for the first couple of hours. The weather didn't help. It rained on and off ... so it (the pitch) probably didn't dry off until after tea."
The Warriors, missing eight players to Australian T20 or Test duty, bowled a loose 42 extras.
Third-placed WA twice bowled out NSW cheaply last weekend for an impressive win that knocked the Blues off top spot on the Shield standings.
Share
