Queensland's hopes of reaching the Sheffield Shield final are on the brink of being washed away by Sydney's big wet - and now the Blues are determined to put a further dent in their title chances.
Queensland's precarious position on the Shield ladder was not helped on Friday when day two of its clash with New South Wales at the SCG was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
And now, despite sitting in second place, the Bulls will nervously scan the weather forecasts knowing that Tasmania, which is just two points behind, is dominating South Australia after a Ricky Ponting century gave them a 273-run first-innings lead.
A victory over the Blues would put Queensland in the box seat to reach the final - but as Blues captain Stephen O'Keefe is quick to declare, the Bulls can ill afford to drop points.
Led by a return to form from opener Phil Hughes, who compiled a classy 73, NSW reached 4 for 207 by stumps on day one, something O'Keefe believes gives them the upper hand on a tricky wicket.
"They have to get points the way it looks with the other Shield games going on at the moment," O'Keefe said after play.
"For us, if we can get 300 plus we can control the running of the match. That's our plan tomorrow to build on that 200 runs and see what happens.
"I think there's enough in it for the bowlers in these sorts of conditions."
With the overcast conditions and a green wicket perfect for seam bowling, O'Keefe predicted his bowling line-up, spearheaded by fringe Test players Mitchell Starc and Trent Copeland, would enjoy getting a bowl.
"Definitely, I'm not going to curse them too much, but the ball is still moving around at 66 overs and seaming and whatever else," the off-spinning all-rounder said.
"If you're asking me as a tall quick bowler, these are the conditions you want - overcast and seaming around."
Meanwhile, entry to the match will be free for the final two days' play, with Cricket NSW opening the gates to all spectators.
Play is scheduled to start at 10.30am (AEDT).
AAP
Tags: cricket, sport, qld, nsw First posted March 02, 2012 19:01:01
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