Tasmania 171 & 259 (Weatherald 94, Silk 57; Kelly 6-49, Gannon 3-65)
Western Australia 172 & 255 (Hardie 61, Curtis 50; Meredith 3-41, Bell 3-79)
Tasmania won by three runs
Tasmania squeezed past Western Australia by the slimmest of margins in Hobart, claiming victory with just three runs to spare after a breath-taking final session. The visitors, chasing 259, were bowled out for 255 when Riley Meredith pinned Joel Curtis lbw and Jackson Bird repeated the dose to Liam Haskett two balls later.
Those strikes ended a determined 52-run ninth-wicket stand between Curtis and Corey Rocchiccioli that had dragged WA from 203 for 8 to within touching distance. At the start of the fourth morning the equation was a straightforward 44 needed, two wickets in hand. Tasmania held their nerve; Western Australia fell agonisingly short.
Scoreboard pressure told
Tasmania’s second-innings 259, built around Jake Weatherald’s brisk 94 and Jordan Silk’s composed 57, never looked imposing. Yet on a wearing Bellerive pitch the target forced Western Australia to graft. After Gabe Bell removed Cameron Bancroft early on the third evening, and Meredith nicked off Sam Whiteman, the chase was always edgy.
Curtis, on debut, showed mature judgement. He took 140 balls for his fifty, farming the strike sensibly. “I just tried to play straight and trust the bloke at the other end,” he said at stumps on day three, a comment that summed up WA’s approach. Rocchiccioli, more known for off-spin than late-order runs, matched that intent by clipping Bird to mid-wicket and slashing Meredith behind point for boundaries that brought the ask down to single figures.
Drama in brief
Play resumed at 10.30am local time. Six overs later it was done. Meredith came round the wicket, skidded one low into Curtis’s pad and umpire Mike Graham-Smith’s finger went straight up. Two balls later Bird produced an in-swinging yorker that trapped Haskett in front. Craig Howard, Tasmania’s bowling coach, admitted the camp felt “relief more than elation” as the players celebrated.
Historical footnote
The three-run cushion equals the second-closest win by runs in 134 Sheffield Shield seasons, matching Victoria’s victory over South Australia in 1981-82. Coincidentally, Tasmania lost to South Australia by two runs on the same ground last summer. Captain Jordan Silk noted: “Nice to be on the right side of one at last.”
Early-season picture
The result leaves Western Australia with two defeats from two, an unfamiliar position for the reigning champions. Coach Adam Voges insisted “there’s no panic”, pointing to fighting efforts from Aaron Hardie and Curtis. Tasmania, meanwhile, move to one win and a draw, a handy start before they travel to Sydney next week.
Numbers that mattered
• Weatherald’s 94 was his highest red-ball score since moving south.
• Matthew Kelly’s 6-49 was his third first-class six-for.
• Meredith has now dismissed left-handers 12 times in his last four Shield innings.
Upshot
A game that see-sawed throughout finished in fitting fashion—tight, tense, and won by two pieces of full, straight bowling. Not flawless cricket, but gripping all the same. Tasmania bank the points; Western Australia pack up wondering how they let it slip.
