RSL and Civeo continue 2020 form with round 10 wins

Narrabri District Cricket Association’s 2020-21 first grade one day competition resumed on Saturday with round 10 games which saw the two top-ranked teams continue their 2020 form by scoring their first wins of the calendar year.

Civeo downed Tatts while RSL defeated the Western Razorbacks in what were 40 over matches.

In both games, the two innings were shortened by five overs as both fixtures started at 1pm to allow pitch preparation to be properly completed following Friday afternoon’s downpour of rain in Narrabri.

At Leitch Oval, second-placed RSL scored a comfortable 92-run win against third-placed Western Razorbacks.

RSL batted first after being sent in by the Razorbacks and it made 9-167 in its 40 overs. In reply, the Razorbacks could only put 75 runs on the board before losing their last wicket in the 26th over of their innings.

At Hogan Oval, Civeo extended its run at the top of the ladder with a 33-run win against last-placed Tatts. Civeo batted first after winning the toss and made 125 runs in 38.4 overs before knocking over Tatts for 92 in 35.2 overs.

That extended Civeo’s winning streak, which began in round four on Saturday, November 7, to seven games.

Civeo finished round 10 with 55 points, one win clear of RSL (49 points), four wins clear of the Razorbacks (31 points) and five wins clear of Tatts (25 points).

The four NDCA teams will be back in action on Saturday, January 30, in their respective round 11 matches. Civeo and RSL will meet in a top-of-the-table clash while Tatts and the Western Razorbacks go head-to-head.

Those matches were scheduled to be played as round one games back on October 12 last year, but when the pitches were not ready for that date the games were rescheduled.

In round 10 on Saturday, the ladder leaders were forced to do it the hard way against the defending champions.

Civeo skipper Lachlan Cameron won the toss and elected to bat but it was Tatts which got on top early.

Tatts skipper Ryan O’Neill trapped Jade Lees in front for a golden duck in the first over to make the score 1-1, which became 2-3 in the third over of the innings when O’Neill bowled Matt Conroy for a second ball duck.

That left Cameron at the crease with opener Nick Smart, but their partnership only contributed 10 runs to the total before Smart (5) was caught by Luke Morgan in the Jonty Schwager-bowled sixth over.

Civeo’s start went from bad to worse in the 10th over when Schwager claimed his second wicket, dismissing Nick Tomlinson (4) who was caught behind by Jacob Nichols as the score became 4-23.

Cameron (22) did his best to get his side back on track, but in the 18th over O’Neill struck again, dismissing the Civeo captain who was also caught behind.

As Civeo slumped to 5-50, three of its lower order batsmen rallied to help their side not only reach 100, but also go on to set a defendable total. Jock Small top scored with an unbeaten 34, while Jordyn Mowle (19) and Tim Hayne (22) also made valuable contributions.

Civeo reached 125 before Blake Jarrett (0) was caught at point by Morgan from the bowling of Craig Gleeson in the 39th over which brought the innings to a close.

Tatts skipper O’Neill eventually finished with a game-best 5-23 from his eight overs. Teammates Jonty Schwager (2-18 from eight overs), Sid Harvey (1-15 from six overs), Craig Gleeson (1-18 from four overs) and Jakeb Nipperess (1-18 from three overs) combined for the other five wickets.

Just as Civeo’s did, Tatts’ innings suffered several early blows. It was Mowle and Small who did the early damage after starring with the bat for Civeo.

Mowle dismissed Tatts opener Nichols (2) who was caught behind by Conroy in the third over, then Small knocked over Nichols’ opening partner Jake Packer (7) who was caught at mid wicket by a diving Hayne in the eighth over.

That made the score 2-23, which became 3-26 in the 11th over when Mowle removed Craig Gleeson (10) who was caught behind.
Mowle (2-26 from eight overs) and Small (1-24 from eight overs) both bowled eight straight overs before the spinners were introduced with the score at 3-50 after 16.

Spin trio Smart (2-10 from six overs), Cameron (2-10 from four overs) and Lees (2-14 from eight overs) all claimed two scalps each to rip through the Tatts middle and lower order and restrict the chasing side to 92. The other wicket was a Mowle runout.

Tatts’ best with the bat was Sid Harvey (15).

In the other round 10 match, RSL’s opening duo Tim Shields (51) and Mick Dowdell (49) combined for a 98-run first-wicket partnership which lasted almost 26 overs before Dowdell skied a Chris Smith delivery which was caught by wicketkeeper Hadley Sevil.

Shields’ knock was a patient one. The youngster lost five more partners before he was finally dismissed in the 38th over of the 40-over innings.

With the exception of the side’s openers, no RSL batsmen were able to reach a double digit score in that match, but their individual efforts all contributed to their team’s final score of 9-167 which was also boosted by 31 Razorbacks wides.

With the ball, Josh Trindall (5-15 from seven overs) was the Razorbacks’ best.

RSL was clinical with the ball and in the field as it knocked over the Razorbacks for just 75 to win by 92 runs.

RSL skipper Jarrett Tough (3-27 from six overs) dominated early, removing three of the Razorbacks’ top four batsmen including openers Justin Knight (1) and Ty Baker (19) as well as Trindall (6).

Nathan Trindall (1-15 from four overs) took the other wicket, catching number three Daniel Hamilton (4) from his own bowling.

Cooper Brayshaw took the next three wickets to finish the game with a team-best 3-11 from four overs. He knocked over Sevil (3), Chris Smith (12) and Nathan Hamblin (2).

RSL’s in-form spin duo Matt Tubner (2-6 from three overs) and Jake Brayshaw (1-9 from six overs) cleaned up the tail as the chasing side fell for 75.