Doolan form mirrors Tigers' struggles

Four months ago Alex Doolan was batting at No.3 for Australia.

Since then the right-hander has managed a first-class top score of just 42 for Tasmania, and has more often than not struggled to reach double figures across 12 innings.

It's a slump indicative of the Tigers' recent woes which included a forgettable innings and 50 run loss to Queensland in their Bupa Sheffield Shield match.

Coach Dan Marsh, a former Tigers captain, described the thrashing as an embarrassment.

"Yesterday was as bad as it gets," he told reporters on Wednesday after the Bellerive Oval clash finished two days prematurely when the hosts were all out for 121 in their second innings.

"The way we fell away was just so disappointing and so un-Tasmanian."

But he's not rushing toward changing the Tigers' line-up and has confirmed that Doolan will remain skipper for the next round against South Australia in Adelaide, starting on Tuesday.

"He's got to spend some time in the middle, that's what he hasn't done," Marsh said of Doolan. “He's walked in and he's got out nearly every innings.”

Ahead of the clash with Queensland, selectors made a couple of changes to the Tasmania XI, ejecting an under-performing Jon Wells and introducing young allrounder Beau Webster.

In a frustrating twist, as Tasmania's batsmen collapsed on Tuesday, Wells was notching up a century playing Futures League against Victoria in Melbourne.

But that performance won't necessarily see him slotted back into the Tasmanian squad.

"When teams chop and change it means you're not going very well so we're pretty keen to keep the same group together," Marsh said. “We think they're the best batting group we've got.”

But by the coach’s own admission, Tasmania is already in a bad place, with low confidence among players.

The usually reliable Ed Cowan recorded ducks in both innings on Monday and Tuesday.

Fellow opener Jordan Silk managed 39 in the first innings, but added just 12 on Tuesday.

Marsh said his batsmen needed to build mental strength.

"We're going for a big, long walk up the mountain tomorrow for quite a few hours and we're going to make sure that if there are any issues in our group, we're going to get them talked about," he said.

Selectors will meet on Thursday night to finalise the squad to travel to Adelaide.