RSL charges into fourth straight second grade one day comp decider

Narrabri RSL Cricket Club has earned a chance to go in search of a fourth straight Narrabri District Cricket Association second grade one day premiership after it stormed past Tourist Sports Bar in the preliminary final at Hogan Oval on Saturday.

The defending champions scored a seven-wicket victory as they bounced back in style following a final-round top-of-the-table clash defeat against Tatts a week earlier, which saw them fall short of winning a fourth straight minor premiership.

RSL will play against Tatts in the grand final for the second time in three seasons this Saturday when the sides meet at Hogan Oval in the 2021-22 campaign decider.

RSL youngster Alistair Wheeler starred for his side in its dominant preliminary final victory with a man-of-the-match performance.

The 10-man Tourist Sports Bar team scored 106 runs in 37.5 overs after it was sent into bat by RSL’s captain Justin Saunders.

Wheeler opened the batting in the game’s second innings and scored an unbeaten 55 as RSL reached the required total at the end of the 20th over when Beau Tomlinson (21*) scored the game-clinching single.

Earlier in the day, Tourist Sports Bar only lost three wickets during the first 20 overs of play, but it only managed to score 47 runs in that time.

Skipper David McInnes entered the middle in the 20th over and made his intentions clear immediately as he got off the mark with a four from the first ball he faced. McInnes combined with teammate Kallum Mallows for a 53-run partnership before departing for a team-best 37 in the 32nd over, which made the score 4-92.

RSL finally took control of the innings with back-to-back double-wicket-maidens in the 36th and 37th overs as Tourist Sports Bar limped to 8-103 after the score was 4-103 at the end of the 35th over.

Jordan Doolan took one of those double-wicket-maidens and finished off the innings when he claimed his third scalp with one ball left in the 38th over. He bowled four maidens and finished with a match-best 3-7 off 6.5 overs.

Teammates Karan Veer Dhiman (2-5 off two overs), Saunders (2-19 off eight overs), Will Hong (1-18 off five overs) and Matt Tubner (1-29 off four overs) were RSL’s other wicket-takers, while opener Luke Baker (0-16 off eight overs) and Christ Watkins (0-10 off four overs) were both economical during their respective spells.

In form RSL opener Nick Baird made another start to get RSL’s run-chase on the front foot before he was bowled by McInnes for 17 in the fifth over, which made the score 1-31.

RSL lost Karan (0) in the eighth over then Watkins (5) in the ninth as the score became 3-43.

But any hope of a Tourist Sports Bar win faded away quite quickly as Wheeler and Tomlinson combined for a 63-run fourth-wicket partnership to guide their side to victory.