RSL spoils Western Razorbacks’ highly-anticipated return at Collins Park

The Western Razorbacks lined up for the first time in Narrabri District Cricket Association’s 2022/23 season on Saturday after the Wee Waa-based club was affected by flooding and player unavailability last year.

Round nine of the first grade one day competition saw the campaign resume following the conclusion of the association’s T20 competitions one week earlier, and the Razorbacks were determined to keep their slim finals hopes alive after they endured four washed-out draws and just as many forfeits across the opening eight rounds.

They took on defending champs and current ladder leaders RSL at Collins Park in that clash, and they were up against it from the get-go as they were only able to field eight players on the day.

As expected, RSL made them pay.

The defending champions extended their win streak to five games as they earned a comfortable seven-wicket victory.

The Razorbacks batted first after captain Dylan Smith won the toss, and the side scored 85 runs before losing its final wicket in the 35th over. RSL then chased down the required total before the first drinks break as it scored 3-86 in 14.1 overs.

Jake Brayshaw was awarded the three NDCA best and fairest points following a standout game with both bat and ball for RSL.

He took an impressive 3-10 from seven overs during the Razorbacks’ innings and also held onto a catch, and then opened the batting during his team’s chase and registered an unbeaten 25 runs.

After starting the 2022/23 campaign with just three runs in two games, the all-rounder has gone on to score 112 runs in his past three innings at an average of 112. He has also taken five wickets in that time.

On Saturday, Steve Phelps and Dustyn Allen opened the batting for the Razorbacks and they produced a patient opening stand as they scored at three an over for the first seven overs.

However, the partnership was broken in the eighth over when RSL skipper Jarrett Tough replaced opening bowler Will Ford with Cody Kember from the bridge end, and the all-rounder struck with his first delivery. He knocked over Dustyn Allen (16) to start his spell in style as he found an edge and the Razorbacks batsman was caught at first slip by Nathan Trindall.

That wicket made the score 1-21, which became 2-28 in the 10th over when the Razorbacks’ newest recruit Matt Bradshaw (1) became Kember’s second victim when he was caught by Bernard O’Connor.

Phelps was joined by Angus Galagher  following that wicket, and the duo guided their side into the 15-over drinks break on 2-35. They put on 13 more runs after the break before Phelps (16) skied a shot to mid-on in the 20th and was caught by Brayshaw as Kember celebrated his third wicket.

That brought Clay Hoffman to the crease, and he chipped in with 15 runs in 10 overs before being bowled by Brayshaw in the 30th over.

Brayshaw then knocked over Smith (0) in the 32nd over as Shane Murphy caught the Razorbacks skipper, and he struck on a third occasion in the 34th over when he bowled Galagher for a team-best score of 24.

Trindall took RSL’s seventh and final wicket four balls into the following over when he bowled DJ Allen (3) as the eight-man Razorbacks side fell for 85 runs in 34.4 overs.

Brayshaw (3-10 from seven overs, including three maidens) was his side’s best with the ball, and Kember (3-19 from seven overs, including one maiden) also took three wickets. Trindall (1-9 from 6.4 overs, including two maidens) was the side’s other wicket-taker.

The Western Razorbacks managed to take two early wickets during the game’s second innings to start their defence on the front foot.

Smith removed Jordan Doolan (2) in the first over with the assistance of an Allen catch and then bowled Zaac Brayshaw (2) in the third over.

However, the game quickly started to get away from the Wee Waa-based club after that wicket had fallen.

RSL scored at a run a ball during the first five overs as Jake Brayshaw and O’Connor batted aggressively to make the score 2-30. Their partnership was broken in the eighth over when O’Connor (17) was bowled by Allen.

The run rate was still six an over at that stage as the scoreboard read 3-48 after eight overs, and it continued at that rate up until RSL arrived at the required total just one ball into the 15th over.

Brayshaw remained unbeaten on 25 when the innings had come to a close, and Shane Murphy, who had entered at number five to replace O’Connor, scored a match-best unbeaten 26.

Smith (2-29 from 4.1 overs) was the Razorbacks’ best with the ball.

The victory saw RSL set up a blockbuster round 10 clash against Tourist Hotel this Saturday at Leitch Oval. Those two sides went into round nine at the top of the table locked on 41 points, and the Tourist men also got the job done when they defeated Tatts by 31 runs.

The winner of this Saturday’s clash between the two top-ranked sides will finish in outright first place with just two rounds remaining in the regular season. That game will be played at Leitch Oval while Tatts and the Razorbacks go head-to-head at Collins Park. Tatts can lock in third place on the ladder and secure a spot in the preliminary final if it wins that match.