SEASON 2022/23 of the Sheffield Shield is in full swing, as states lock horns in first class format on weekly basis around the country.

There have been a few sides getting off to emphatic starts to the year, while others clearly have some work to do in the coming weeks if they are to bounce back.

There have been four games take place across the grounds to start the fixture, with another three set to be held over the next week, before international duties force an interruption to the fixture.

The Queensland Bulls got off to the ideal start, defeating the Tasmanian Tigers by an innings and 172 runs. Last year’s premiers could not have started their quest for consecutive titles any better, posting a thumping victory and heading straight to the top of the table.

The likes of Mark Skeetee (4/43) and Michael Neser (3/42) struck with ball in hand in the first innings, claiming some massive scalps as the Tigers could only post 147, which is not good enough against a deep-batting Queensland outfit.

At the crease, the Bulls got to work in a big way, with four players scoring 72 runs or more. Marnus Labuschagne top scored with 127 runs at a strike rate of 54.27, showing he is still one of Australia’s best in this format. Jimmy Pierson was not far behind with 123 runs and a strike rate of 59.42. Joe Burns (85 runs) and Usman Khawaja (72 runs) chimed in too, showing that the big guns were the ones leading the charge for Queensland. It reached a whopping total of 458 runs, a total that seemed far too great for the Tigers to chase down.

Once again, the Bulls were clinical with ball in hand, allowing the Tigers to get just 137 runs in the second innings. Gurinder Sandhu was the man of the moment this time around, with figures of 5/41 and an economy rate of 2.41 simply too much for the Tasmanian batting lineup. He claimed some big scalps at the top end of the batting lineup, with the likes of Caleb Jewell (caught) and Ben McDermott (trapped lbw) falling to his impeccable deliveries.

No Tiger scored over 44 runs in the match, and that total came from Jarrod Freeman, who is at the tail-end of the batting order and is expected to produce his impact on the other end of the match. Despite some big names playing, the Tigers could not get going, and many of their wickets came in cheap fashion.

The result shows that the Bulls are still clearly the side to beat, and should be favourites ahead of their match against the NSW Blues, which kicks off on Tuesday.