RSL continues first grade winning streak in round six

Narrabri RSL Cricket Club continued an undefeated start to its first grade one day competition premiership defence after defeating Tourist Hotel in the sixth round of Narrabri District Cricket Association’s 2021-22 season at Leitch Oval on Saturday.

RSL earned a three-wicket victory by scoring 7-123 in the second innings of the contest after Tourist Hotel totalled 8-119 in the first.

It took RSL 35.4 overs to surpass the total that Tourist Hotel managed to set in 45 overs.

The win was RSL’s fourth in as many games it has played this season.

RSL skipper Jarrett Tough won the toss and sent Tourist Hotel into bat on Saturday. He then removed any doubt over the questionable decision in the first over of the contest, which he bowled himself.

He removed Tourist Hotel opener Lachlan Woolford (0), who attempted to flick a shot to the on side but struck the ball up into the air with the leading edge. Tough reacted quickly to get both hands to the ball and take the catch.

That wicket brought Tourist Hotel captain Luke Meppem to the crease, who combined for a 41-run partnership with Matt Conroy, which was eventually the side’s largest.

It was broken when Tough struck again in the 14th over.

The RSL skipper only bowled the first over of the game in his first spell but brought himself back on in the 12th. He went for nine runs in the first over of his second spell before bowling a wicket-maiden in the 14th over, during which he caught Conroy (18) from his own bowling.

That made the score 2-42, which became 3-46 in the 17th over when Bernard O’Connor removed former teammate Hamish Duncan (3), who skied a shot that RSL wicketkeeper Hadley Sevil got under and caught.

Jade Lees (0) was next to depart when Tough claimed his third wicket in the 20th over of the innings before Cody Kember knocked over Meppem (22) in the 28th over to make the score 5-64.

Tourist Hotel lost another wicket just before the 30-over drinks break when Harry Pattison bowled Kallum Mallows (3), which left Tourist struggling at 6-66.

However, the side came out firing in the final session of the innings as it fought its way back into the contest.

Tourist’s leading run-scorer and wicket-taker Jordyn Mowle scored 14 runs in his final game of the season before he relocates to Queensland to live later this week, while veteran teammate Chris Sargent added a team-best 27 to the total.

They were the only two batsmen to depart in the final 15 overs as Joel Hogan (5) and Jason Paull (3) both remained unbeaten after the final ball had been bowled.

RSL’s best with the ball was Tough, who took 3-17 from nine overs, while teammates O’Connor (2-21 from nine overs) and Kember (2-29 from nine overs) claimed two wickets each, and Pattison finished with 1-15 from four overs.

The Tourist Hotel men went into the innings change confident they could win the match after scoring 8-119.

That confidence only grew stronger in the first over of their defence when Mowle bowled Tough (2) to make the score 1-3.

The Tourist Hotel quick then made it 2-18 in the seventh over when he trapped O’Connor (5) in front.

Another wicket fell in the Mowle-bowled 11th over, but it came via a phenomenal run out by Lees which dismissed Jordan Doolan (3).

Mowle continued his impressive spell in the 15th over when, with the last delivery before drinks, he bowled Shane Murphy (4) to make the score 4-33.

The score became 6-67 three overs before the second drinks break as Sevil (5) was trapped in front by the spin bowling of Sargent in the 26th over, and Jake Thurston (2) was stumped by Woolford in the Conroy-bowled 27th over.

Watching on at the other end of the pitch was Zaac Brayshaw, who had entered the middle in the first over at number three following the dismissal of Tough before beginning to carve out a patient, match-winning innings.

Following the dismissal of Thurston, Brayshaw was joined by Kember and the pair combined for RSL’s largest partnership of the contest.

They put on 46 runs together before Kember (24) was removed by Sargent in the 34th over, just one delivery after Brayshaw scored a single to bring up his half-century.

That made the score 7-111, which meant that Tourist Hotel needed three wickets to win and RSL required nine runs for victory.

It was RSL that got the job done.

Brayshaw scored a single in the 36th over which left his newest partner Will Ford on strike.

The 16-year-old scored two runs to get off the mark and make the score 7-117 before he sent the following delivery flying back over Sargent’s head and over the fence for six to bring up the victory for RSL.

The chasing side finished on 7-123 after 35.4 overs to win the contest by three wickets. Brayshaw picked up the three NDCA best and fairest points after scoring an unbeaten 52, while Ford totalled eight runs.

Mowle (3-22 from nine overs) was Tourist Hotel’s best with the ball, while Sargent (2-39 from 8.4 overs) claimed two scalps and Conroy (1-17 from two overs) took one.

RSL moved to 36 points following that victory to remain a win clear of fellow round six winners Tatts (30 points) and move three wins clear of Tourist Hotel (18 points) and four wins clear of the Western Razorbacks (12 points).

RSL will go in search of a fifth consecutive 2021-22 campaign win this Saturday when the undefeated ladder leaders take on the winless Western Razorbacks in round seven at Collins Park. Meanwhile, Tourist Hotel will look to bounce back from its most recent loss when it challenges Tatts at Leitch Oval.