Tatts Cricket Club’s first XI ensured it will finish third on Narrabri District Cricket Association’s first grade one day competition ladder as it scored a 46-run victory against the Western Razorbacks in round 10 of the 2022/23 season at Collins Park on Saturday.
Tatts batted first after skipper Jakeb Nipperess won the toss and the side made 132 runs before losing its final wicket with one ball remaining in the 38th over. Nipperess’ men then defended their total with ease as they restricted the Razorbacks to 86 runs before taking the final wicket of the match in the 27th over of the second innings.
It was a must-win game of cricket for the Wee Waa-based club as it entered the contest well aware that its finals hopes would be over with a loss.
It was yet to win a match this season after only playing its first game a week earlier, which was a loss against RSL following four washed-out draws and as many forfeits across the first eight rounds.
The Razorbacks, and mainly key bowler Jay Hall, dominated the first session of the round 10 match as they took 4-45 in 15 overs before drinks. Hall had a hand in all four of those wickets.
Brendon Ward (7) was the first Tatts batsman to depart when he was caught by Hall during the Matt Bradshaw-bowled sixth over.
The game’s second wicket fell in the 12th over, which was Hall’s second with the ball, as he completed a run out at the bowlers’ end after being thrown the ball by Dustyn Allen to send Nipperess (6) on his way.
Hall then claimed a huge scalp in the 14th over when he caught and bowled Sid Harvey (10), and he bowled Eben Botha (2) during that over as well.
While that first session went to the Razorbacks, the second went to Tatts as the batting side scored 67 runs and lost just two wickets.
Two experienced Tatts batsmen and former first grade captains, Tom Craig and Craig Gleeson, were at the crease together following the fall of the first four wickets, and they combined for a 48-run partnership to get their side back on track. Gleeson scored 17 of those before he was caught by Greg Melton in the Allen-bowled 27th over, which made the score 5-90.
That became 6-112 in the 30th when Brock Schwager (2) was caught by Hall from the bowling of Bradshaw.
Craig entered the 30-over drinks break on 47 runs and scored two more in the 31st over before he was bowled by Melton. That saw the Tatts batsman fall one run short of a half-century as he departed for a game-best score of 49 runs.
Guy Gleeson (3) and Jesse Packer (8) also fell victim to Melton late in the innings before Clay Hoffman took the final wicket in the 38th over when Waldo Botha (4) was caught by Dylan Smith as Tatts finished all out on 132 runs in 37.5 overs.
Melton (3-25 from eight overs) was his side’s best with the ball, while Hall (2-12 from six overs) and Bradshaw (2-17 from seven overs) claimed two wickets each and Allen (1-25 from three overs) and Hoffman (1-31 from seven overs) chipped in with one each.
Tatts’ opening bowlers Harvey and Jonty Schwager got their side off to a red-hot start in the second innings.
Harvey took the ball for the first over and produced a maiden before Schwager struck with the first wicket in the second over when he bowled Allen (2) to make the score 1-3.
That became 2-8 during the third over when Harvey bounced back from a Bradshaw boundary to bowl the number three batsman for just five runs.
The Razorbacks regrouped and they finished the 12th over on 2-30.
However, the game changed when Nipperess brought Brock Schwager into the attack in the 13th over and the Tatts bowler produced one of the most dominant spells on a Narrabri cricket field in recent memory. He took six wickets at the expense of just 10 runs during his first four overs as the score went from 2-30 to 8-49 at the end of the 19th over, and he went on to finish with season-best figures of 6-27 from seven overs.
Apart from opener Angus Galagher (10), who was Schwager’s first victim in the six-wicket mauling, only Razorbacks skipper Smith reached double figures in that innings. Smith scored 26 runs from number eight before he was caught and bowled by Eben Botha in the 26th over.
It was all over two balls into the 27th when Craig Gleeson trapped Hall (7) in front as Tatts secured the 46-run win.
Nipperess’ men will look to secure back-to-back victories for the first time this season on Saturday when they take on fellow round 10 winners RSL at Leitch Oval.
RSL played at that venue at the weekend and won by five wickets against Tourist Hotel in a top-of-the-table clash.
In the other round 11 contest, the Razorbacks will go in search of their first win of the season when they meet Tourist Hotel at Collins Park.
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