Tatts wins one-run thriller

What a start to the season.

The 2019-20 NDCA first grade one day campaign began on Saturday afternoon with a highly-anticipated grand final rematch between Tatts and the Western Imperial Razorbacks at Collins Park.

It was the defending champions Tatts which got the job done in the opening contest, holding on to win by one run following a nailbiting finish.

Tatts batted first after winning the toss and made 102, led by skipper Tom Craig who entered at four and scored a game-high 57 from 84 balls.

The Razorbacks were then cruising at 4-65 with a win looking likely before a collapse left them at 9-68.

After taking 5-3 Tatts was back on top and the final wicket and the win seemed inevitable.

However, the Razorbacks had other ideas. A 33-run final wicket partnership between Razorbacks duo Dylan Smith (25) and co-captain Jay Hall (8*) got the Wee

Waa-based side to 9-101, just one run from levelling the scores and two runs from the win.

That was midway through the 32nd over as the Razorbacks looked set to pull off a brilliant fightback and kick-start their season with a win before the unthinkable happened.

The Razorbacks’ batting duo took off for an attempted quick single after Smith punched a shot to the left of Daniel Kahl at mid-on.

Kahl picked up the ball cleanly and threw it to captain Craig, at the bowlers’ end, who took off the bails to secure the win.

Craig told The Courier that he was proud of his side for setting a defendable total and for staying focused when the game looked out of its reach.

“I’m very proud of the boys,” Craig said.

“I thought we were just about out before we got that runout at the end.

“We kept our concentration, it was a good effort to stay in it.

“Cricket is a grounding sport so you think you’re on top and need one wicket for about 40 runs on a wicket that’s difficult to bat on and for the other side to start taking it away from you is tough.

“We stayed in the zone and kept pushing for a wicket and then to get it by runout was a big effort.”

The Razorbacks got on top early in the match when 16-year-old opening bowler Smith dismissed Tatts openers Kahl (5) and Luke Morgan (10) to make the score 2-19 after seven overs.

That left Craig at the crease with Rod Kirk who together steered the ship to get Tatts to 2-70 in the 18th over.

Kirk chipped in with a hard-fought seven from 33 balls before being caught behind from the bowling of Razorbacks co-captain Justin Knight.

That wicket started a Tatts collapse as the side lost 6-26 which made the score 8-96 after the first ball of the 33rd over.

Craig was still at the crease at that stage on 57 runs and was joined by Michael Cain in the middle.

Cain faced the final five balls of the 33rd over, scoring six runs in the process to take Tatts past 100 to 8-102.

They were the last runs the defending champions would score.

In the Hall-bowled 34th over Craig (57) was caught by Josh Trindall before Josh Rose was bowled for a golden duck to close the innings.

Western Imperial Razorbacks’ opening bowler Smith was his team’s best with 4-21 from six overs.

Co-captains Knight (2-12 from six overs including a maiden) and Hall (2-17 from 6.4 overs including two maidens) both took two wickets each, and Josh Trindall (1-7 from seven overs including three maidens) and Ty Baker (1-2 from two overs including a maiden) took one wicket each.

Knight and teammate Hadley Sevil opened the batting for the Razorbacks to start their run chase which began in a less than ideal fashion for the Wee Waa-based team.

Tatts’ Jonty Schwager bowled the first over which went for three runs.

Anthony Schwager took the ball for the second over and bowled a no ball from his third delivery before taking the first wicket, trapping Sevil (0) in front to make the score 1-4.

Knight was joined in the middle by Daniel Hamilton and the pair put on a 23-run partnership before Knight (19) was bowled by Schwager in the sixth over.

Knight was replaced by Toby Reynolds who survived one delivery before being trapped in front for a duck to become a rampaging Schwager’s third wicket.

It would be his son Jonty who would strike next, bowling Ty Baker (2) to make the score 4-36 after nine overs.

Hamilton was joined by Steve Phelps at the crease and the pair combined for a 29-run partnership to make the score 4-65 after 16.5 overs.

With the last ball of the 17th over Kirk got the breakthrough for Tatts which started a Razorbacks collapse.

Kirk claimed the big wicket of Hamilton who was caught by Craig for a team-best 29 runs.

Six overs later the Razorbacks had gone from 5-65 to 9-68, with Craig and Kirk taking two wickets each in a game-swinging period.

Those wickets left young gun Smith at the crease with Hall.

Smith scored 25 runs from 31 balls which included four boundaries, while Hall chipped in with eight runs from 28 balls.

That put the Razorbacks on the verge of victory at 9-101 before Kahl would end the game with the match-winning runout.

Tatts’ best with the ball was Anthony Scwhager who took 3-23 from nine overs.

Kirk also took 3-23 but from seven overs, while Craig finished with 2-13 from 6.3 overs and Jonty Schwager’s nine-over spell went for 42 runs with a return of one wicket.

Tatts will go in search of a second straight win to start the season this Saturday when it takes on fellow round one winners Civeo at Leitch Oval in round two of the 2019-20 NDCA first grade season.

The Razorbacks will challenge RSL at Collins Park in a match where one side will most likely score its first win and the other will remain winless.