Twenty-four hours after Tasmania's trump card with the bat steered his team into a strong position, New South Wales' star strokemaker reversed matters almost completely with a superb innings of his own. And, while Jamie Cox's 160 has outshone Michael Bevan's 119 in terms of raw productivity, the latter importantly appears to have given his team the inside running to obtain first innings points in this Pura Cup battle between the teams here in Sydney.

There wasn't even a ray, not a glimmer, nor even a shaft of sunlight at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the second day of this match. But it scarcely mattered. Bevan's forty-eighth first-class century, and his generation of a powerful 197 run stand for the second wicket with opener Greg Mail (87*), capped an enjoyable six hours of cricket, at the end of which the Blues' score of 2/240 has them well placed to overtake the Tigers' 369.

Together with Mail and bowlers Nathan Bracken and Stuart MacGill, the left handed Bevan was the shining light on another dull, overcast Sydney day. Under the firm glow of floodlights which remained in use all day, he played an enlightened innings against a Tasmanian attack that seemed horribly light-on for depth.

As Bevan began his 183 minute display, he was forced to counter some tidy bowling from the Tasmanians. Soon after, though, he hoisted two majestic sixes over long on from the left arm orthodox spin of Daniel Marsh (0/37). A brace of driven boundaries also flowed smoothly and it was clear that something major was afoot. A fifty partnership was rattled off in just forty-one minutes; Bevan's own half-century was raised in seventy-four; and the pair chalked up a century stand another twenty-four minutes after that. With the ever-compact Mail, he quickly guided New South Wales away from any danger and into an authoritative position.

"Unfortunately, at the start of the season, I got thirties and I didn't go on with them. So I've been a little disappointed in my season. I felt I'd been hitting them well but not going on with it," mused Bevan about his comparatively quiet summer for New South Wales before today.

"It's one of the better SCG wickets that I've played on. Obviously, the million dollar question is how much is it going to turn on the last couple of days. If we can bat well tomorrow and score a few runs then we're in the box seat," he added, in a blunt assessment about where the Blues' chances now rest of securing the outright victory that they need to keep their Pura Cup season alive.

For the Tasmanians, David Saker (0/51) and Shane Watson (1/31) stood head and shoulders above the remainder of an otherwise unimpressive attack. Saker beat the bat on several occasions in a rugged early spell and should later have had Mail (on 76 at the time) caught by either wicketkeeper Sean Clingeleffer or slip fieldsman Marsh when the ball flew straight between them off an outside edge. It was not difficult to identify with his obvious sense of frustration by the end of the day. Nine deliveries before stumps, Watson gained some measure of revenge when he converted an excellent burst of sharp medium pace into a wicket-taking one by finally finding Bevan's outside edge.

Otherwise, only the fine piece of fielding from Shaun Young at deep backward square leg that was responsible for the run out of Brett van Deinsen (27) loomed as a positive for the Tasmanians. It would have been hard, in fact, to imagine how this day could have gone any more awry for them than it did. To add to their misery, the cracks that have been evident in the pitch from as early as yesterday morning have seemingly failed to widen at all in the absence of warm, sunny weather. That must seriously threaten the Tigers' hopes of capturing all ten New South Wales second innings wickets if a fight for outright points is duly to develop.

Paceman Bracken (4/78) and leg spinner MacGill (3/117) also contributed to their opponents' woes by earlier triggering a dramatic batting collapse which saw the Tasmanians surrender their last six wickets for the addition of a paltry thirty-nine runs. From their overnight scoreline of 4/321, the visitors quickly headed into trouble. They lost the two mainstays of their innings – Cox and Young (67) - inside the first forty minutes to Bracken and then failed to capitalise at all upon the pair's work in constructing a ninety-six run stand for the fifth wicket.

Within twelve minutes of the start time, Bracken claimed the crucial wicket of Cox after luring the Tasmanian captain into a loose cut stroke. Things came apart at the seams rapidly for the Tigers after that.

Young soon chopped another Bracken delivery into his castle from outside the line of off stump; Clingeleffer (7) fanned away from his body at a ball of good pace that moved fractionally toward the slips; and Scott Kremerskothen (20) was another to be undone by the tall left armer, spooning a slower ball high to point.

In the process, the gangly left arm paceman had snared figures of 4/10 in the space of fifty-one deliveries. Where seam and pace had appeared near to non-existent both yesterday and again later today, Bracken extracted plenty from the Randwick End, albeit that his line was not completely consistent. The recently crowned Australian Young Cricketer of the Year produced his second best figures at first-class level in the process and a best ever return on the Sydney Cricket Ground.

In between times, MacGill (3/117) also attained appropriate reward for his persistence with the scalps of Shane Jurgensen (0) – out padding up – and Shannon Tubb (0), who was adjudged to have made contact with a sweep shot that ultimately landed the ball in the hands of van Deinsen at short leg.

© 2001 CricInfo Ltd