Moss gathers runs

HOBART - Jon Moss and Darren Berry hit Victoria out of humiliation after a first day of bowling supremacy in the Pura Cup match against Tasmania at Bellerive Oval today.

Moss and Berry made a mystery of what had gone before as they cracked 77 runs in 54 minutes in a seventh wicket stand that gave Victoria first innings points and a clear edge.

At stumps, Victoria was 8-160, with Moss 75 and Michael Lewis 14, after Tasmania had been bowled out for 120.

Until Berry joined Moss, 16 wickets had fallen for 178 runs as first Shane Harwood took four wickets for the Bushrangers and then Adam Griffith, in his best return for the Tigers, took five.

The wicket had plenty of bounce but there was nothing in it to explain the collapses. It was more a matter of aggressive and controlled bowling and indifferent batting.

Moss, however, thought the key was surviving until the ball was old.

Apart from Victorian opener Jason Arnberger's run out, the first 14 wickets to fall were either leg before or caught behind.

In the Tasmanian innings, Dan Marsh, whose unbeaten 58 was almost half the total, was the only batsmen to look assured.

Mathew Inness started the rot with wickets from successive balls. Harwood took the next two and then it was Lewis' turn for a brace.

At that point, the Tigers were 6-46 and in danger of plumbing new depths - failing to reach their record lowest total of 76 against New South Wales in 1991-92.

Marsh ensured they avoided that ignominy and, in a 10th wicket stand with Griffith, took Tasmania into three figures.

Griffith played the limpet, scoring six in 65 minutes while he and Marsh put on 40, the best stand of the innings.

After taking everything the pace battery could deliver, he perished to the first ball of spin he faced after Cameron White was brought on.

The total represented a mini-recovery, but was still 10 runs less than Tasmania's previous lowest score against Victoria at Bellerive.

But it quickly looked respectable as Victoria started even more disastrously, losing 4-5.

When White fell, Victoria was 6-58 and 16 wickets had fallen for 178.

Then Moss and Berry took over as the frontline bowlers tired and the wicket and ball lost some juice.

Both lived dangerously at times, but they attacked bravely, taking a heavy toll of the second string bowlers and ensuring Victoria took the two points before Berry fell for 41, shouldering arms to Griffith and having his off bail clipped.

Moss said it was a new ball wicket.

"In the first 25 to 30 overs it was moving round a hell of a lot," he said.

"It was one of those days when you had to wear a few on the body because the ball tended to come out of nowhere.

"But once the ball got older it wasn't the worst wicket in the world to bat on."