The Western Razorbacks continued to show heart and passion when the side took the field with just seven players on Saturday in the 11th round of the Narrabri District Cricket Association’s first grade one day competition.
While the Razorbacks players may have lost the game, they certainly won more respect within the local cricket community as they fought until the end on what was a very hot Narrabri afternoon at Collins Park.
The Wee Waa-based club was sent into bat by Tourist Hotel captain Luke Meppem after he won the toss, and it registered 94 runs before losing its sixth and final wicket in the 26th over.
Tourist Hotel went on to reach the required total in 20 overs, having lost just three wickets.
Leading by example for the Western Razorbacks on Saturday was the side’s vice-captain, Steve Phelps. Phelps, who has worked tirelessly off the field each week to ensure the Razorbacks have players to compete on game day, has been the side’s best player on the field this season. He earned three NDCA best and fairest points in a losing side at Collins Park after he produced an impressive all-round effort that included batting, bowling and wicketkeeping.
In the first innings, Phelps opened the batting and fell one run short of a half-century when he was caught and bowled by Matt Conroy in the 25th over. He smashed five fours and two sixes on his way to a match-best score of 49 and gave his side a slight chance of winning the match.
He then put the gloves on to wicketkeep for the majority of the game’s second innings before he bowled the 20th over when Tourist Hotel needed just two runs to win.
The chasing side did score those runs, but not before Phelps took a wicket as he knocked over Meppem (15), who was caught by Smith.
Phelps’ opening batting partner was Dustyn Allen (12), who combined for a 31-run first-wicket partnership with his vice-captain before he was bowled by Dylan Segundo in the eighth over.
The Razorbacks’ captain, Dylan Smith, was next in and he too scored 12 runs but was caught by Nick Tomlinson in the Chris Sargent-bowled 14th over.
That wicket made the score 2-49, which became 3-49 in the 16th over when Sargent bowled Matt Bradshaw for a duck.
Tourist Hotel’s opening bowler Jye Manton bowled nine straight overs in the heat and was rewarded for his determination in the 17th over, which was his last, with a wicket. He bowled DJ Allen (1) to make the score 4-60.
The Razorbacks eventually reached 89 runs, 49 of which Phelps scored before the opener was dismissed in the 25th over.
Kyne Allen (2) was stumped during the next over by Lachlan Woolford from the bowling of Tomlinson as Western Razorbacks fell for 94 runs.
Sargent (2-15 from seven overs) was Tourist Hotel’s best with the ball, and his teammates Conroy (1-2 from two overs), Tomlinson (1-4 from one over), Segundo (1-11 from five overs) and Manton (1-35 from nine overs) all took a wicket each.
Tourist Hotel’s openers Tomlinson and Hamish Duncan combined for a 31-run partnership before Duncan (10) was bowled by Dustyn Allen in the eighth over.
Tomlinson (22) departed soon after when he was bowled by Bradshaw as the score became 2-45.
Meppem and Woolford then put on a 48-run partnership, and the Tourist men went into the 20th over needing just two runs to win.
Phelps knocked over Meppem with the second ball of that over, but Woolford (33*) and Ciaran McCann (1*) got the job done.
The seven-wicket victory saw the Tourist Hotel men remain within one win of ladder-leading RSL with just one round left to play.
RSL prevailed by three wickets in its round 11 game against Tatts at Leitch Oval after chasing down 81 runs in 20.2 overs.
In the 12th and final round of the regular season on Saturday, Western Razorbacks will take on RSL at Leitch Oval, while Tatts and Tourist Hotel go head-to-head at Collins Park.
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