Razorbacks back up Tate’s bold call in the NDCA’s first grade decider

It was only last month that Jack Tate won the toss and fielded first in the Narrabri District Cricket Association representative side’s Country Plate loss away from home against Singleton, so it was always going to be a gutsy call to do so again in Saturday’s first grade grand final.

Despite the Pink Slugs conceding 223 runs and losing by 85 that day, the Wilga Hotel Razorbacks’ skipper stuck to his guns and made the decision he thought was best for his side, which was to bowl first against Tatts in the big dance at Collins Park.

The skipper himself was determined to prove it was the right decision, and he went a long way towards doing so when he knocked over both of Tatts’ openers in the first over.

His side went on to bowl and field superbly to limit Tatts to 106 runs, and they then chased down the required total in 28.1 overs, having only lost four wickets, as they secured the club’s first NDCA one day premiership.

Bowling first was the correct decision indeed, and the Wilga Hotel skipper was full of praise for the way that his teammates backed up his bold call.

“A couple of the grand finals that we have played in in the past, I think we batted first and it almost felt like that we’d lost the game already in the first half-an-hour to an hour,” Tate said.

“Having runs on the board is always nice in a grand final, but you’ve got to get them.

“Bowling first had been something I was thinking about. It didn’t work at Singleton, but I just thought that given the wicket was a little bit softer, it gave me that confidence that it was going to be the right decision to make.

“I could have looked like a bit of a goose if Tatts came out and made 200, but it worked out for us, and I’m pretty pleased that it did.”

“The guys made sure it was the right decision.”

Tate felt that the decider was a typical grand final grind and thought that Tatts fought hard for the runs they scored.

In the end though, a red-hot start with the two early wickets set the tone for a memorable victory for the Wilga Hotel men.

“The game was typical of a grand final. It was quite a grind,” he said.

“We got a few wickets early, which definitely helped. I think it would have been our best bowling performance of the year.

“We’ve bowled teams out for less, but given the circumstances, I think it was our best performance of the year. In the field as well.

“Tatts did what they could though. They ran well between the wickets, but there wasn’t a lot of big shots.

“Going into our innings, I thought it was going to be tough, but Bradshaw and Angus Galagher did really well to get us over the line.

“It was a tough game, and like I said, really typical of a grand final.

“The outfield is incredibly slow there at number one, and the wicket was also pretty slow too, which helped us.

“Those conditions made it hard to score freely.

“The early couple of wickets started us off really well and gave us plenty of confidence that we were going to be in the contest.

“It was awesome to get the win.”