Steve Waugh dusted off his bowling arm with dramatic effect against Victoria on Friday, but some ill-disciplined batting saw NSW slide back into the mire on day two of the Pura Cup cricket game at the SCG.

Waugh picked up two timely wickets as Victoria was bowled out for 269 in its first innings, but his good work was undone by some poor batting options as the Blues struggled to 5-110 in their second innings at stumps on day two.

Mark Waugh (35 not out) and Michael Clarke (23 not out) stopped the rot late in the day, but the pair will need to stay together with the Blues requiring another 18 runs to make Victoria bat again.

Steve Waugh was among NSW batsmen to fall victim to another spell of tight bowling by the Bushrangers' pace attack, trapped in front by Michael Lewis after making only 12.

Earlier in the day, the Test captain had done his bit with the ball, taking 2-15 from seven crafty overs on a wicket which came under fire from NSW coach Steve Rixon.

"When you have to stay there for a long period of time and never feel like you're in, you know it's not a good batting wicket or cricket wicket," Rixon said.

"It's going to be very difficult to bat on at all stages."

Waugh, who had resisted bowling for the Blues this summer, wasted little time in sending a message to the Australian selectors, who overlooked him for the preliminary World Cup squad named earlier this month, almost certainly ending his international one day career.

His first delivery was an ugly wide outside off stump, but three balls later he found his radar and trapped Jon Moss (four) in front for four.

In his next over, he added the wicket of Ian Harvey (two).

"It was good to see him with the ball in his hand," Rixon said. "He's always had the ability to do something extra with the ball... the art of taking a wicket at the appropriate stage."

Leg spinner Stuart MacGill also did his bit ahead of the Australian side being named on Sunday for the fourth Test, taking 3-56 including a spell of 3-16 from nine overs after lunch.

But their good work was undone by some poor batting from the top order late in the day.

Openers Michael Phelps (two) and Michael Slater (12) both fell cheaply, the latter out-thought by a good spell from Shane Harwood.

Harwood (1-31 from ten overs) peppered the former Test opener with short balls and then delivered a full length out-swinger wide of off-stump, coaxing Slater into a rash shot which he edged behind to Darren Berry.

Nathan Bracken, surprisingly sent in when Phelps was dismissed, also provided Berry with the chance to showcase his skills, the Bushrangers skipper taking a brilliant one hand catch in front of first slip off the bowling of Mathew Inness (2-18, nine).

Lewis (2-27, six) delivered the coup de gras when he trapped Waugh (12) in front with an in-swinger and had first innings hero Simon Katich caught behind by Berry for nine, leaving the Blues 5-51.

And things could have been worse for the home side, with Michael Clarke surviving a confident appeal for caught behind off Lewis with the score on 58 and caught by Jon Moss in the gully off a Shane Harwood no-ball.

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