RSL and Civeo score first grade wins in round seven on Saturday

The RSL Cricket Club and Civeo Tourist Cricket Club first XIs were both victorious on Saturday in round seven of the 2020-21 Narrabri District Cricket Association first grade one day season as, for the second time in as many rounds, the two 2019-20 grand finalists were both defeated by the two teams which failed to qualify for the most recent decider.

RSL took on the Western Razorbacks at Hogan Oval and scored a three-wicket win. The Razorbacks won the toss and made 6-183 from 45 overs after electing to bat first. RSL lost seven wickets on its way to reaching the required total in the 44th over with just 11 balls to spare.

In the other round seven match, Civeo downed Tatts by 28 runs at Leitch Oval. Civeo won the toss and reached 148 runs before losing its final wicket in the 42nd over. Tatts then fell 29 runs short of the required total, all out for 120 in the 37th over.

Those results saw the two winning sides finish on 34 points each, a victory clear of the third-placed Razorbacks and three wins clear of last-placed Tatts.

Both RSL and Civeo have won four matches and lost twice to go with round two washout draws.

The Razorbacks are on 28 points following three wins and as many losses to go with the washout draw.

Tatts is on 16 points having won just one game to go with five losses and a washout draw.

On Saturday, seven of the eight Razorbacks batsmen who were used reached double figure scores.

Opener Ty Baker (4) was bowled by RSL’s Nathan Trindall in the third over.

Fellow opener Hadley Sevil took it upon himself to hold up an end while his teammates scored quickly around him. He lost Daniel Hamilton (15), Steve Phelps (21) and Chris Smith (30), before Sevil (34) was finally dismissed in the 35th over which made the score 5-125.

Brandon Couley (11) was the last Razorbacks batsman to depart before skipper Justin Knight (25*) and Jay Hall (18*) guided the side to 6-183.

RSL’s Tim Shields (2-9 from six overs), Trindall (2-33 from eight overs) and Matt Tubner (2-40 from five overs) were their team’s wicket takers with two each.

The two Western Razorbacks’ opening bowlers combined to take their side’s first wicket of its defence, when Harry Pattison caught RSL skipper Jarrett Tough (6) at short fine leg during the Nathan Hamblin-bowled sixth over.

That made the score 1-20 and left opener Cody Kember at the crease with Zaac Brayshaw. They put on a 79-run partnership to take the score to 1-99 before RSL lost 4-6 as Kember (58), Brayshaw (27), Shane Murphy (0) and Jordan Doolan (3) all departed.

It was the spin bowling of Knight and Baker which began to unravel RSL’s chase, with both Razorbacks bowlers taking two of those scalps each.

Those wickets left Shields and Cooper Brayshaw at the crease who together forged a 52-run partnership which got RSL’s run chase back on track.

It was broken in the 40th over when Shields (31) was dismissed. That made the score 6-157 which became 7-162 in the 41st over when Brayshaw (23) departed.

That left Mick Dowdell at the crease with Jake Brayshaw, with RSL needing 20 to win from the final four overs. Dowdell (14*) and Brayshaw (6*) got the job done for their side with 11 balls to spare.

The Razorbacks’ wicket takers were Baker (2-18 from nine overs), Knight (2-47 from nine overs), Hall (1-21 from 4.1 overs), Couley (1-32 from nine overs) and Hamblin (1-46 from eight overs).

At Leitch Oval, Tatts got on top early in its match against Civeo.

Tatts opening bowler Jonty Schwager knocked over both of Civeo’s opening batsmen in the first three overs as Matt Conroy (1) and Nick Tomlinson (0) only contributed one run between them.

The next three batsmen included experienced trio Jade Lees (21), skipper Luke Meppem (43) and Tim Hayne (20) who got the innings back on track.

Number six batsman Jordyn Mowle (22) also contributed a start before David McInnes (7) and Mitch Clifton (10*) chipped in late as Civeo set Tatts 149 to win.

Tatts’ Sid Harvey (3-31 from nine overs) and Jakeb Nipperess (3-35 from nine overs) took three wickets each while the Schwager brothers Jonty (2-11 from seven overs) and Brock (2-33 from nine overs) picked up two each.

Tatts’ chase got off to a rocky start as Jesse Nancarrow lost his opening partner Luke Morgan (8), Brendon Ward (2) and Daniel Kahl (4) in the first nine overs which made the score 3-26. Nancarrow (9) was the fourth Tatts batsman to fall which left Harvey and Nipperess at the crease in the 12th over with the score at 4-38.

Harvey lost three more partners as Nipperess (3), Craig Gleeson (8) and Eben Botha (18) were dismissed which made the score 7-102 in the 32nd over.

Tatts needed 47 runs to win from the final 13 overs of the match, but the job got significantly harder when the team’s leading run scorer Harvey (47) departed for a match-best score in the 25th over.

That made the score 8-115 which became 9-119 in the 36th over when Chris Sargent dismissed Jonty Schwager (0).

Meppem secured Civeo’s victory the following over when he bowled Waldo Botha (3) as Tatts fell 29 runs short of the required total.

Mowle (3-23 from nine overs) and Sargent (3-26 from nine overs) took three wickets each for Civeo while John Lawlor (1-14 from three overs), Lees (1-21 from nine overs) and Meppem (1-29 from 6.4 overs) took three between them. There was also a runout in that innings.

This Saturday in round eight, the two round seven winners will play against the round seven losers. RSL and Tatts will go head-to-head at Collins Park, while Civeo takes on the Razorbacks at Hogan Oval.