Only 27 overs were bowled at Blundstone Arena on Tuesday as intermittent rain stalled proceedings between the PKF Tasmanian Tigers and NSW Blues, putting the likelihood of an outright result in some jeopardy after two days.
Tasmania finished the day on 0-81 in pursuit of the Blues first innings total of 7-341 declared, but despite admitting to a sense of frustration, NSW paceman Trent Copeland believes there's still plenty to play for in Hobart.
"(We had) five warm-ups today, so it was one of those days that was very frustrating for us and Tassie," he said.
"It's very hard for them batting and then starting again and very hard for us bowlers to get warm and try to find our rhythm."
"(It was) a testing day and one that leaves both teams in a position where it’s going to be on Tasmania I suppose to set up a game and hopefully we can bowl well tomorrow morning and make it very difficult for them."
Copeland was at his miserly best in conceding just 16 runs from 13 overs on the second day, bowling unchanged from the Southern end either side of four rain delays.
"The ball was continually getting wet (but) the boys did a great job keeping the seam quite dry.... as a whole I think the bowling unit worked quite well. The scoreboard doesn't show that but we were quite happy and I think the wickets will come in a hurry if we can just be patient," he said.
Both camps are likely to push for an outright victory despite the loss of large chunks of play on Tuesday, needing maximum points to keep up with Bupa Sheffield Shield pace-setters the Bulls and Warriors.
But Copeland didn't want to second-guess the likely strategy of Tasmanian captain George Bailey and the potential for a sporting declaration, preferring to concentrate on taking wickets to force pressure on the home side.
"I don't know their mindset but I think if we bowl well tomorrow morning we'll take that out of their hands anyway and hopefully bowl them out," he said.
"All we can do is concentrate on what’s in front of us and if we can execute our plans well tomorrow morning we’ll bowl them out and be ahead in the game and then we can dictate from there."