New South Wales 1 for 141 (Hughes 71*, Cowan 51*) and 253 trail Tasmania 490 (Bailey 200*, Somerville 5-99) by 96 runs
Scorecard

Captain George Bailey soared to a double-century in Tasmania's first innings of 490 against New South Wales but the Blues top order responded in kind to lessen the chance of an outright result on the final day of the Sheffield Shield match in Wollongong.

It was the allrounder Simon Milenko (87) who followed up his four wickets on day one with a staunch innings in support of Bailey, their seventh-wicket stand ultimately worth 185 and frustrating the NSW bowlers.

Will Somerville was able to maintain his strong displays while Steve O'Keefe and Nathan Lyon are unavailable due to their India exploits, claiming another five-wicket haul on a surface not as supportive of his art as the SCG had been against Queensland.

Bailey finished on 200 not out, leaving NSW with 43 overs to face, and when Nick Larkin edged Sam Rainbird through to Tim Paine the Tigers had opened up an end. However Daniel Hughes and Ed Cowan strode comfortably to the close, cutting the visitors' lead to 96 runs.