Tourist Hotel Cricket Club enjoyed a day of success on Saturday when its two second grade sides were both victorious in the third round of the 2021-22 Narrabri District Cricket Association one day competition.
Tourist Sports Bar became the first team to score back-to-back on-field victories this season when it downed RSL by two wickets at Cooma Oval, while clubmates Tourist Hotel earned its first victory of the campaign when it defeated Tatts by 23 runs at Wee Waa’s Dangar Park.
Defending champions RSL won the toss and elected to bat first at Cooma Oval, then put 121 runs on the board before losing its final wicket in the 26th over of the innings.
After losing eight wickets, Tourist Sports Bar chased down the required total in 26.2 overs.
RSL got off to a flying start in that match as openers Nick Baird and Alistair Wheeler combined for a 55-run opening-wicket partnership inside the first 10 overs.
Baird scored 42 of those runs as he blasted five fours and three huge sixes before being caught and bowled by Matt Conroy.
That was in the 10th over, which was Conroy’s second of the game, during which he also removed number three batsman Chris Watkins (0) to make the score 2-55.
He then knocked over RSL’s other opener Wheeler (15) to complete his demolition of the top three and make the score 3-63.
That left Beau Tomlinson and Will Ford together at the crease and they combined for a 41-run partnership to get RSL back on the front foot and make the score 3-103.
However, Tourist Sports Bar young gun Max Vogel and veteran Tim Hayne combined from opposite ends to rip apart RSL’s middle and lower order, which sparked an epic collapse as the defending champions lost their final seven wickets for just 18 runs.
Tomlinson scored an impressive 37, however, RSL’s bottom seven batsmen combined for just 16 runs off the bat.
Hayne eventually finished with a game-best 4-4 from four overs for Tourist Sports Bar following a fine spell which included a double-wicket maiden, while Vogel took 2-28 from four overs.
Conroy finished with 3-33 from five overs, while debutant Tharindy Yakoom took a wicket with his first delivery in Narrabri cricket to bring the innings to a close as RSL fell for 121 in 25.1 overs.
Sudintha Perera was the anchor for the chasing side’s innings as he scored a match-winning unbeaten 48.
Perera entered the middle at number four when his side was struggling on 2-13 in the fourth over. He lost six partners during his time at the crease as Tourist Sports Bar limped to 8-63 after 19 overs of play.
But once again, it would wrestle back momentum from RSL, with Conroy at the front and centre of that battle. He entered at number 10 and scored an unbeaten 34 in a 59-run partnership with Perera as the two experienced batsmen guided their team to victory.
The chasing side had levelled the scores by the end of the 26th over, and then Perera hit the winning run two balls later.
RSL’s best with the ball was skipper Justin Saunders who took 3-8 from five overs.
In Wee Waa, Tourist Hotel batted first after winning the toss and scored 208 runs in 31.3 overs before losing its final wicket.
It then knocked over Tatts for 185 runs in 35.5 overs.
Shane Robinson (23) was the only top-five batsman to reach double figures as Jye Manton did the damage for Tourist Hotel with a game-best 73 from number six. His best partnership was with Sawan Bodla (16), which contributed 74 runs to the total and took the side from 5-59 to 6-133.
Newcomers Joey Madden (18*) and Sonny Madden (26) made impressive contributions from numbers 10 and 11, respectively, to guide the side to a defendable 208.
Tatts’ opening bowlers Brin Davis (3-33 from eight overs) and Pat Legge (3-42 from eight overs) both took three wickets each, while Ash Watt (2-52 from eight overs) took two and Mark Crutcher (1-7 from 1.3 overs) and Jesse Packer (1-42 from three overs) took one each.
Manton opened the bowling with Max Smith for Tourist Hotel, and the pair ripped through the Tatts top order as the chasing side struggled its way to 4-20 in the seventh over when Manton took his third of the innings to remove Packer (7), who was the best of the Tatts top order.
Bill Wood entered at number five and lost three partners as the score became 6-60 before he combined with Chris Hartnett for a 63-run partnership which got Tatts right back in the contest.
However, the chasing side’s chances took a significant blow when Bodla bowled Hartnett (27) in the 20th over to make the score 7-123.
Any remaining hope was lost in the 25th over when Wood was stumped for a game-best 70.
James Cooper scored a quick-fire unbeaten 27 from number 11 for Tatts, but it was too little too late for the chasing side, which lost its final wicket in the 36th over as it fell 24 runs short of the required total.
All six bowlers used by Tourist Hotel took at least one wicket.
Manton (3-18 from five overs) was best with the ball, just as he was with the bat. Smith (2-17 from 7.5 overs) and Joey Madden (2-35 from eight overs) took two wickets each, while Sonny Madden (1-29 from three overs), Bodla (1-33 from four overs) and Tallen Robinson (1-42 from eight overs) took a wicket each.
Those two results saw the defending champs RSL head into the Christmas and New Year break at the bottom of the ladder, winless on just six points following a washed-out draw and two losses.
Tatts and Tourist Sports Bar are on top with 15 points each following two wins and a loss, while Tourist Hotel has 12 points following a win, a loss and a washed-out draw.
The NDCA’s second grade one day competition will not resume until Saturday, February 5, when it continues with round four games.
The four sides will compete for shorter format glory during January in the T20 competition.
There will be three rounds of play, all of which will be on Friday nights under lights, before the two top-ranked teams contest the January 28 grand final.
The first round will be played on Friday, January 7, when defending champs RSL take on Tourist Hotel at Collins Park while Tourist Sports Bar meets Tatts at Hogan Oval.
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