Colts off to a winning start in debut game against Tatts

The SignPrintStitch Colts celebrated their debut match with a dominant win in the opening round of Narrabri District Cricket Association’s 2024/25 season second grade T20 competition on Saturday.

The Colts took on Tatts at Hogan Oval and scored a six-wicket victory after chasing down 130 in 19 overs.

Tatts batted first after their skipper Jesse Packer won the toss and the side made 6-129 in their 20 overs. They only managed to take four wickets of their own in the second innings and could not stop the Colts from reaching the required total with six deliveries remaining.

It was Michael Harris-Clayton who made history for the Colts when he claimed their first wicket in the fourth over of the game. It was an important one too as he bowled Tatts’ big-hitter Ryan Steel, who had scored 13 of the side’s first 16 runs.

Jake Cooper arrived at number three for Tatts and he helped add a 34-run partnership with opener Guy Gleeson, which was broken in the ninth over when Gleeson (19) was bowled by Brock Allen.

Allen struck again in the 13th over to dismiss Cooper (14) with the assistance of a Gareth Lamond catch, and Gus Ford got in on the action during the 14th over as he took the big wicket of Rod Kirk (6), who was caught behind by Steven Hallet.

Tatts lost two more wickets in the Blair Lennox-bowled 17th over as Kyne Allen took two catches to dismiss Campbell Hancock (8) and Emily Hartnett (0) as the score became 6-92, but Packer and Saad Kahn put on a 37-run partnership to take Tatts well past 100 and they ended up guiding the 2023/24 season grand finalists to 6-129.

Kahn finished unbeaten with a team-best score of 47 and his captain also remained not out after reaching 12 runs.

Brock Allen (2-19 from three overs) and Lennox (2-22 from three overs) both claimed two scalps each for the Colts, and their teammates Ford (1-13 from three overs) and Harris-Clayton (1-15 from three overs) both took one wicket each.

Jarrod Gould took the new ball for Tatts in the second innings of the game and Brendan Jenkins faced the first delivery.

It was the Colts batsman who won the first battle of the contest as he struck a four to get his side off the mark, which was a sign of things to come for one of the team’s veterans.

His opening partner George Barton scored a single later in the over to also open his personal account, but that was the only run he scored before he was bowled by Cooper in the second over of the innings.

Ford arrived at the crease next and scored six runs during a 39-run partnership with Jenkins before he was bowled by Hartnett in the ninth over as the score became 2-46.

Jenkins brought up his half-century with a boundary in the 12th over, but he was dismissed in the 13th when Cooper was brought back on to bowl his second spell and took the wicket of the Colts opener with the help of a Rhett Myers catch. The Colts batsman departed for a match-high 51 runs and had put his team in a position to win, which they capitalised on.

Jakson Dowdell (1) was dismissed in the 15th over when he was caught by Packer to become Cooper’s third scalp, but Kyne Allen (24*) and Hallet (28*) put on a 38-run partnership to guide the Colts to a six-wicket victory as they finished up on 4-133 after 19 overs.

Cooper ended the contest with impressive figures of 3-10 from four overs and was unlucky to miss out on a best and fairest point or two, but they went to well-deserved recipients as Jenkins was awarded three, Brock Allen tallied two and Kahn received one.

The SignPrintStitch Colts will have a chance to remain undefeated in round two this Saturday when they return to Hogan Oval to challenge the defending champs and round one losers RSL. RSL were beaten by 61 runs when they met Tourist Hotel at Leitch Oval.

Tatts will meet Tourist this Saturday in round two at Leitch Oval.