Tatts and RSL set up second grade grand final showdown

Tatts Cricket Club will go head-to-head with Narrabri RSL Cricket Club in the grand final of Narrabri District Cricket Association’s 2022/23 season second grade T20 competition this Saturday after the two sides finished first and second on the three-team ladder, respectively.

The final two rounds of the season were contested on Saturday when the defending champions, RSL, played a double header with two consecutive fixtures at Hogan Oval.

RSL challenged Tatts first and went down by three wickets to relinquish any hope of finishing on top of the regular season ladder.

RSL batted first in that match and made 9-114. Tatts then chased down the required total inside 19 overs after losing seven wickets.

That game got underway at 3.30pm and wrapped up just after 6.30pm, and RSL then had a short break before their next match against Tourist Hotel got underway at 7pm.

Those two sides went into the final-round fixture requiring a win to finish second and join Tatts in the decider.

Tatts’ round five win had seen them lock up first place on the ladder with 22 points following three wins, one loss and two byes.

RSL and Tourist Hotel went into their match locked on nine points, having both won once, lost twice and sat out with two byes throughout the campaign, and therefore the round six clash was a must-win match for both sides.

RSL batted first and made 61 runs in 18.4 overs, and then Tourist Hotel was 0-4 off 1.3 overs in its chase before heavy rain began to fall and players were forced from the field.

The match was abandoned and declared a draw, which meant that RSL and Tourist Hotel both finished locked on 13 points.

The defending champions claimed the second spot on the ladder based on a formula that takes into account the number of runs that teams have scored and conceded and the number of wickets they have taken and lost.

It was a cruel way for Tourist Hotel to miss out on the decider, as the side was confident it would have chased down the 62-run required total on Saturday night.

Nevertheless, RSL now gets a chance to defend its title as it goes in search of a fourth consecutive T20 premiership this Saturday at Collins Park.

When grand final opponents RSL and Tatts met in round five at Hogan Oval on Saturday, an entertaining match was contested.

Nick Baird and Tyson Gilmore opened the batting for RSL and put on a 42-run first-wicket partnership before Baird (21) was trapped in front by Jake Cooper in the sixth over.

Gilmore (15) then departed during the next over when he was bowled by Guy Gleeson, which made the score 2-42.

Handy contributions from Alistair Wheeler (24), Craig O’Connor (18), Gabe O’Connor (14) and Jordan Doolan (12) took RSL past 100, and the side batted out the 20 overs to finish on 9-114.

Tatts’ best with the ball was Jesse Packer who was filling in as captain in the absence of Craig Gleeson and stood up to claim an impressive 3-19 from four overs.

Jonty Fowler (2-21 from four overs) took two wickets and secured one more via a runout, and the other three wickets were shared between Cooper (1-20 from four overs), Guy Gleeson (1-23 from four overs) and Bill Wood (1-30 from four overs).

Tatts’ opening batsmen Gleeson and Chris Hartnett got their side off to a positive start with a 44-run first-wicket partnership that was broken in the eighth over when Gleeson (10) was run out by RSL gloveman Tyson Gilmore.

Joey Fowler (3), Hartnett (30) and Travis Tilse (3) all departed soon after as the score became 4-60 in the 12th over.

That left Michael Hewett at the crease with Bill Wood, and the two former captains of the Tatts second XI showed their experience as they batted their way towards the required total.

Wood (11) eventually departed in the 15th over as the score became 5-81, which was 5-91 at the end of the 17th.

The game looked set to come down to the wire as Tatts required 24 runs for victory from the final three overs, however, Hewett reduced that to eight runs after he scored a six, a four and then another six from the first three balls of the 18th over as he brought the crowd to its feet. He then turned the strike over to Campbell Hancock with a single, and Hancock smashed a four to take Tatts to 5-112.

The chasing side finished that over on 5-113 following a no ball, which meant that it only required two runs to win from the final two overs.

Karan Veer Dhiman struck early in the 19th over to remove Hewett for a match-best score of 33, and it was Gilmore who took the catch that sent the Tatts man on his way. That was the fourth assist from the RSL wicketkeeper in that innings.

Veer Dhiman also bowled Hancock (5) during that over, however, three no balls saw Tatts reach the required total and celebrate the three-wicket win.

Veer Dhiman (3-12 from four overs) was RSL’s best with the ball.

RSL batted first again in its second match of the day at Hogan Oval when it took on Tourist Hotel.

Only number three batsman Alistair Wheeler (19) and the number eight batsman Rowan Keeler (15) reached double figures as the side fell for 61 in the 19th over.

Dylan Segundo (3-6 from four overs) was outstanding with the ball for Tourist Hotel, as was his teammate Scott Smith (2-8 from three overs).

Skipper Kaleb Mowle (1-6 from four overs), Chris Smith (1-9 from four overs) and Aash Koirala (1-29 from three overs) all claimed a scalp each, while Lachlan Woolford and Mitch Foster both chipped in with a runout.

There were only nine balls bowled in Tourist’s chasing innings before the match was abandoned due to rain.