Part of the desperate late fight for spots in the competition final, the Pura Cup clash between Victoria and Tasmania in Melbourne might have been expected to provide plenty of fireworks. But it was a damp squib for its first few hours, only exploding into life late on the opening day as paceman David Saker laid waste to a promising Victorian start to reduce his former team to 6/257 by stumps.

Back at his alma mater - and the venue that was his home for six seasons - Saker (4/53) produced a pair of outstanding spells through the two closing sessions of the day. The first served up an outside edge from the bat of the stubborn Jon Moss (1). The second then delivered three wickets in the space of 13 balls as outswingers helped shatter the stumps of Brad Hodge (85) and Andrew McDonald (0) and a leg cutter lured Cameron White (3) into edging to second slip.

In total, Saker's last 15 overs produced figures of 4/25 as a combination of swing and accuracy confounded a series of batsmen on a generally placid MCG pitch.

"It's always nice to get wickets against the old team," said Saker.

"I've still got a lot of good friends here. It's still strange to me even now - it hasn't quite kicked in that I'm not playing for Victoria any more, especially when I come to the MCG.

"I still really want them to go well, but not as well as Tasmania."

Much like in the last meeting between the two teams, Victoria weathered a spirited opening from the Tasmanian bowlers before losing its way later in the day as Saker intervened.

Where it suffered an ignominious collapse on that occasion, though, the side's three most dangerous batsmen - Hodge, Ian Harvey (65*) and Matthew Elliott (64) - had built the foundations of a much more substantial total by the time this slide started.

Without playing quite at their fluent best, Hodge and Elliott each presented consistent problems for the bowlers, driving and cutting loose balls with aplomb. Harvey was even more assertive, arguably assembling the best individual hand of the day as he complemented an early attack on young left arm spinner Xavier Doherty (0/39) with patient, disciplined batting upon which the Bushrangers later came to depend heavily.

Elliott would have been removed with his score at 13 if Scott Kremerskothen had intercepted a viciously hit cut shot low to his left at point. Hodge would also have been a Kremerskothen victim - with his total at only 3 - if a throw from cover had connected with the stumps as an urgent single was attempted in the final over before lunch.

Kremerskothen's revenge was only extracted much later in the piece when he snared a fine catch - this time low to his right - after Elliott had rocked back and failed to completely control a cut at Damien Wright (1/44).

Around an excellent 100-run stand for the fourth wicket between Hodge and Harvey, the young all-rounder was therein part of a fightback that offered yet more evidence that Tasmania remains a serious finals aspirant this season. Earlier in the summer, the Tigers might have been inclined to lose their way after dropping a catch, missing a run out, and watching immaculate line and length bowling from Wright pass with little reward.

But here they maintained concentration and their line continued to be unerring for the majority of a cloudless Melbourne day.

The Victorians - who were forced to leave out paceman Mathew Inness because of ongoing problems with an injured toe and who surprised by making Michael Klinger twelfth man - meanwhile enjoyed some good early moments of their own. Though their eleven is stacked with all-rounders, they'll be hoping that their small contingent of specialist bowlers is now able to match the productivity of their equally small group of specialist batsmen.

© 2002 CricInfo Ltd