Tasmania 493 (Hope 132, Doran 118, Webster 103) beat New South Wales 181 and 311 (Davies 62, Green 61, Neil-Smith 3-57) by innings and one run.
Tasmania have maintained their dominant start to the Sheffield Shield season, edging out New South Wales by an innings and a run to stay top of the table after five rounds.
After resuming the third day at 46 for 3, New South Wales worked hard at Bellerive Oval to take the game to the final day and get the home team batting again but fell short.
Spinner Jarrod Freeman made a key breakthrough late in the final session, trapping Ben Dwarshuis lbw for 21 and ending his 51-run stand for the eighth wicket with Chris Green.
Freeman also caught Chris Tremain for a golden duck, ending the match, with the Blues dismissed for 311. The visitors could only manage 181 on the first day and Tasmania took control with their first innings of 493.
Tasmania is the only undefeated team after five rounds and this is their third victory. They have 28.77 points, followed by Western Australia, which is in second place, with 25.22.
Ryan Hackney and Matthew Gilkes scored 82 for the fourth wicket earlier on Monday, raising the Blues’ hopes of taking the game to Tasmania. Gilkes made 56 while Hackney made 44.
Ollie Davies top-scored with 62 and Green achieved his highest Shield score, an unbeaten 61 that came off 159 balls and featured 10 fours, as he and Dwarshuis batted well into the afternoon.
But the Blues lost their last three wickets in four overs and remain second last in the standings. Tasmania’s Bradley Hope was the player of the match for his unbeaten century and two wickets.
Lawrence Neil-Smith took 3 for 57 in the Blues’ second innings, while Freeman and Hope claimed two wickets each.
New South Wales will host Tasmania from November 28 in their next Shield game and Test player Nathan Lyon will return having been rested from the trip to Hobart.
