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Brilliant Blues storm into Shield final

NSW take all 10 wickets before lunch, routing Tasmania for just 120 to set up a date against Victoria

A seven-wicket haul to Sean Abbott has guided NSW into their first JLT Sheffield Shield final in five years after they thrashed Tasmania in Hobart on Saturday.

Needing a win to jump ahead of Western Australia and claim a spot in the final against Victoria, the Blues bravely declared their overnight total at Blundstone Arena, leaving the Tigers an achievable victory target of 270 in 112 overs at just 2.41 an over.

But the Blues were rewarded for their bold declaration as they ripped through Tasmania for just 120 in an extended morning session, including five wickets inside the first 10 overs of the day.

Brilliant Blues bag five in 10 overs

Abbott led the way with career-best figures of 7-45, swinging the ball prodigiously to rip through the Tigers' batting line-up.

The Blues will now take on the Vics at Melbourne's Junction Oval in the five-day decider, starting on Thursday. NSW's last Shield title was five years ago, while the Vics will be chasing their fourth Shield title in five seasons.

This season's final will be the first played under new rules where, in the event of a drawn match, the 'winner' will be determined by a bonus-points system.

In matches that last at least 270 overs, each team will receive 0.01 'points' for each run scored above 200 in the first 100 overs of their first innings, and 0.1 for each wicket within 100 overs of their opponents' first innings. This is the same bonus-points system used during the Shield's regular season.

With rain forecast late on Saturday, NSW's decision to declare on their overnight score was vindicated inside the first hour of the day when Abbott led a rout of 5-23.

After Jordan Silk tamely sliced Abbott to point, Trent Copeland - who took eight wickets for the match - trapped Alex Doolan in front after the Tasmanian offered no shot.

Wade cameo can't save Tasmania

Abbott then unleashed a superb spell of sharp in-swingers, removing Charlie Wakim (lbw for 4), Ben McDermott (bowled for 0) and Tim Paine (lbw for 2) in the space of three overs.

Matthew Wade stood firm with an innings of 65 to move him past 1000 runs for the season and briefly give rise to any hopes Western Australia had of a drawn match that would have guided the Warriors into the final.

But Wade's dismissal, caught and bowled to hand Abbott his fifth, signalled the beginning of the end and the Blues wrapped up the match before lunch. 

Tasmania: Jordan Silk, Alex Doolan, Charlie Wakim, Matthew Wade (c), Ben McDermott, Tim Paine (wk), Simon Milenko, Hamish Kingtson, Jackson Bird, Gabe Bell, Riley Meredith

NSW: Daniel Hughes, Nick Larkin, Kurtis Patterson (c), Moises Henriques, Jason Sangha, Nick Bertus, Jack Edwards, Baxter Holt (wk), Trent Copeland, Sean Abbott, Harry Conway.