Tasmania and Queensland have fought out a dawdling six hours of play on the third day of the teams' Pura Cup match at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane today. But, after the visitors finished at a second innings score of 5/177 (and in the lead by 291 runs overall) at stumps, the action off the field did not prove so restrained - both captains firing parting shots at their rivals' tactics.

The Tigers still appear well placed to press for outright victory on the final day. But skipper Jamie Cox was seething after watching as his batsmen were held to their score of 177 runs from as many as eighty-five overs.

"You're not going to hit it far when you're trying to score runs against a 10-1 field and they're bowling two foot wide of off stump," said Cox.

"If they had bowled at the stumps and tried to get us out we would have scored a lot quicker, I'm sure."

The Tasmanians' struggle for quick runs was typified by the containment of Test star Ricky Ponting, who was forced to labour over 187 deliveries before a dubious caught behind decision down the leg side ended his innings at 61. Cox, similarly, found many of his normal avenues to scoring blocked off as he constructed an innings of 44. And, most noticeable of all in the funereal march, Dene Hills (2) was able to score from only two of the fifty-three balls that he faced.

Cox's opposite number, Stuart Law, played down such claims, suggesting that the Bulls had no option but to stem the run flow and force the Tasmanians into error.

"They could have taken a few more risks and it might have been a different picture. But we were in no position to do that because we could have been six hundred runs behind if we came out and went really hard at them," Law argued.

As for Hills' approach, Law said that it was indicative of the Tasmanians' second innings mindset.

"He was letting cuts and cover drives go … but it was obvious that they just wanted to grind us into the turf."

Earlier in the day, there was no disputing the Tigers' right to open up their Pura Cup scoring account for the season with the two on offer for a first innings win. The Tasmanians established a 114-run lead when they initiated a spectacular late collapse to end the Bulls' innings at a mark of 289. Spinner Daniel Marsh (3/50) and paceman Andrew Downton were the architects of the slide, four wickets tumbling for the addition of a solitary run in the space of nineteen balls as they combined to share the spoils. Accordingly, they two left armers had put the seal on a very fine overall bowling performance from the visitors on what still remains a true batting wicket.

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