Tatts demolishes seven-man Razorbacks side by nine wickets

Tatts Cricket Club returned to the winners’ circle with a dominant win against the Western Razorbacks in round six of Narrabri District Cricket Association’s 2021-22 first grade one day season on Saturday.

A week after its maiden loss, Tatts beat a seven-man Razorbacks side by nine wickets at Collins Park to remain in second place on the competition ladder.

Tatts captain Jake Packer won the toss and sent the Razorbacks into bat. His side then rolled the 2020-21 season grand finalists for 43 runs in 16.2 overs before chasing down the required total just one wicket down in 11.5 overs.

It was an inevitable victory for Tatts on a dark day for the Razorbacks.

The Wee Waa-based club entered the 2021-22 season missing several key players from its three previous campaigns, during which the side reached three straight grand finals.

The Razorbacks’ lack of depth was exposed on Saturday when captain Justin Knight and fellow regulars Clay Hoffman and Daniel Hamilton were all unavailable, and the side was left with just 10 players.

They were still confident they could put up a fight against Tatts, with gun all-rounder Josh Trindall stepping up to captain the side.

Trindall was determined to lead by example and help his teammates win their first game of the season, but when three players withdrew from the match the morning of the game the Razorbacks knew it would take a miracle to win.

The seven players who turned up to represent their club, which included Trindall, Steve Phelps, Chris Smith, Rob Doolan, Dustyn Allen, DJ Allen and Angus Galagher, all produced gutsy and admirable efforts.

But it was never going to be enough against an in-form Tatts side which wrapped up victory by 2.45pm.

The win saw the second-placed Tatts team move to 30 points after three wins, two washed-out draws and a loss during the opening six rounds.

Tatts sits just one win behind the competition ladder leaders RSL (36 points), which won its fourth straight game in round six on Saturday when it beat Tourist Hotel by three wickets.

Tatts is now two wins clear of third-placed Tourist Hotel (18 points) and three wins clear of the Razorbacks, which are last on 12 points following two draws and four losses.

On Saturday, Jonty Schwager took the new ball for the first over of the game for Tatts and struck a devastating early blow with a wicket-maiden first up.

He removed Smith (0) with the second delivery of the game after the Razorbacks opener was caught by Tatts’ gloveman Packer.

Schwager claimed another scalp in the third over of the match when Packer held onto another catch to remove Trindall (2).

Packer later brought on one of the Tatts side’s newest additions, Gregg Gray, in the 10th over of the innings. Gray produced a dominant four-over spell which saw him spin his way to game-best figures of 3-8.

He bowled Galagher (5) in the 10th over, then dismissed Doolan (0) in the 12th over with the assistance of a brilliant Jakeb Nipperess catch about five metres inside the boundary at deep mid-wicket.

Gray then took the key wicket for Tatts in the 14th over when he bowled Razorbacks opener and the Wee Waa-based side’s leading run-scorer Steve Phelps for a game-best 27.

As Phelps walked from the field, so did any hope of a miraculous Razorbacks win.

That wicket left Dustyn and DJ Allen at the crease together for the sixth and final partnership of the undermanned Western Razorbacks’ innings.

DJ scored one run before he was caught from the bowling of Waldo Botha, which brought the innings to a close. Dustyn scored an unbeaten five as his side fell for just 43 runs.

Gray (3-8 from four overs) was Tatts’ best with the ball for the second game in three rounds after he burst onto the scene for his new club with 4-35 from nine overs in a round four win against Tourist Hotel on Saturday, January 22.

In the round six match, teammates Schwager (2-10 from five overs) and Botha (1-0 from 0.2 overs) were the other two wicket-takers.

Hugh Lennon and Ben Keys opened the batting for Tatts and put on a 27-run partnership before Keys (4) was trapped in front by Dustyn Allen in the seventh over of the innings.

That brought Sid Harvey to the crease, who scored 18 runs in a 23-run partnership with Lennon to guide Tatts home to a dominant nine-wicket victory.

Harvey struck the game’s maiden six in the 12th over to bring the match to a close. At the other end, Lennon finished unbeaten on 15.

Dustyn Allen (1-13 from four overs) was the Razorbacks’ only wicket-taker on the day.

The Razorbacks will go in search of their first win of the 2021-22 season this Saturday when they challenge defending champions and unbeaten ladder leaders RSL at Collins Park in round seven.

The other round seven contest will see Tatts attempt to create a three-win gap between itself and Tourist Hotel when those two teams meet at Leitch Oval.